KANSAS CITY, MO – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced its preseason rankings for the 2025 baseball season. MIAA head coaches selected the defending regular season champion Central Missouri to finish at the top of the league standings for the sixth consecutive season.
 
The Central Missouri Mules received 11 first-place votes and 141 total points in the MIAA baseball preseason coaches poll to claim the No. 1 spot in the 2025 preseason rankings. The Mules finished the 2024 season with a league record of 29-4 to capture the program’s fifth straight regular season title and 30th overall – the most regular season title in conference history. The Mules 2024 season ended in the NCAA Division II College Baseball World Series, posting an overall record of 52-10.
 
Missouri Southern was tabbed the league’s 2025 runner-up by MIAA head coaches after receiving 128 points and the remaining first-place votes (2). The Lions finished second in the 2024 regular standings with a league record of 24-9 and upset Central Missouri in the MIAA postseason championship to capture Southern’s first conference tournament title since 2015. 
 
Pittsburg State finished third in the preseason poll with 120 points, just one point ahead of Central Oklahoma at No. 4 with 119 points. Both the Gorillas and Bronchos ended the 2024 season with an MIAA record of 22-11. The Bronchos received an at-large bid into the NCAA postseason and fell to Arkansas-Monticello in the Central Region Tournament, hosted by the Mules in Warrensburg.
 
Washburn culminated the coaches’ top five with 97 points, followed by Fort Hays State at No. 6 (78 points), Emporia State at No. 7 (67 points), Rogers State at No. 8 (65 points), Missouri Western at No. 9 (53 points), and MIAA newcomers Arkansas-Fort Smith concluded the top ten (52 points).
 
The first pitches of the 2025 NCAA Division II baseball season will happen this Friday, January 31 with MIAA series beginning Friday, February 21. The 2025 MIAA Baseball Championship will take place May 7-11 at the Warren Turner Field in Joplin, Mo. To view the complete 2025 schedules for all 13 MIAA baseball teams, visit theMIAA.com/baseball.
 
2025 MIAA BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Central Missouri [11] – 141 points
2. Missouri Southern [2] – 128 points
3. Pittsburg State – 120 points
4. Central Oklahoma – 119 points
5. Washburn – 97 points
6. Fort Hays State – 78 points
7. Emporia State – 67 points
8. Rogers State – 65 points
9. Missouri Western – 53 points
10. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 52 points
11. Northeastern State – 41 points
12. Northwest Missouri – 33 points
13. Newman – 20 points
[#] - First Place Votes