BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team has been picked to finish 11^th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll which was released Thursday, Jan. 17 by the league office. USF, which is directed by third-year head coach Grant Hieb, finished 10^th in the NSIC at 15-21 (15-31 overall) a year ago and finished with 65 poll points and just behind Minnesota Crookston for 10^th (67 points) in the poll.

Augustana was the top pick in the 2019 NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll, which marks the first time since joining the NSIC in 2008 that the Vikings have been picked to win the league. Augustana amassed 193 points after receiving 13 first place votes (coaches can't vote for their own team). Minnesota State was second with 175 points and two first place votes. Minot State, the defending regular season champions, were picked third with 172 points, while St. Cloud State was fourth with 162 points. The preseason coaches' poll is based off each coach ranking each team from 14-to-1 with the top team receiving 14 points, second, 13 points; etc.

The 2019 USF Baseball Team, which returns five position starters and three pitchers who made starts a year ago, will open the season on Feb. 15-17 with three games against Metro State-Denver in Denver, Colo. The Cougars will open the NSIC portion of the schedule on March 16-17 with three games against U-Mary at the Birdcage (Sioux Falls Stadium).

In the preseason announcement senior first baseman/third baseman Josh Rehwaldt of Apple Valley, Minn., and sophomore pitcher Brandon Roesler of Kindred, N.D., were selected as "Players to Watch."

Rehwaldt, a two-time All-NSIC selection, finished in the NSIC's top-10 in eight offensive categories, including sixth in hitting at .388; fourth in slugging (.631), on-base percentage (.459), hits (52), sixth in doubles (13) and home runs (eight) and eighth in RBIs (38).  He returns with a career average of .377, which ranks best among USF players in the DII era. In the DII era, Rehwaldt ranks first in doubles with 47, second in hits with 208, second in home runs with 18  and second in RBIs with 134. He trails former USF teammate Matthew Minnick who had 212 hits, 19 home runs and 134 RBIs from 2015-18.  Rehwaldt has 65 career multi-hit games which includes 23 with three hits or better. He also has recorded 33 multi-RBI games with 15 of three RBIs or more. In 2017, he was USF's first-ever NCAA DII all-region player with his selection to the 2017 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) DII squad.

Roesler is USF's leading returning pitcher after putting together  a 4-3 record with a 3.41 ERA (16^th, NSIC) in 2018 as a true freshman. He recorded three complete games in 10 starts and had a shutout. He registered 42 strikeouts and just 14 walks in tossing 63 1/3 innings across 13 appearances.  

With Rehwaldt and Roesler leading the way, USF will look to move up in the NSIC standings.

USF, which finished with a 5.51 team earned run average (9^th, NSIC) and 231 strikeouts against 172 walks in 359.2 innings, has a bevy of experience returning to the mound. Another starter back will be junior Keenahn Coyle who was 2-3 with a 7.59 ERA in six starts. Sophomore Alex Loosbrock was 1-2 with a 8.39 ERA with six starts and 10 appearances. Others returning to do work on the mound include junior Jackson Olson (19 appearances, 6.51 ERA, four saves), sophomore Payton Livingston (seven appearances, 4.00 ERA), redshirt senior Spencer Dokken (1-2, 4.24 ERA, 19 appearances, save), sophomore Anthony Reese (1-1, 4.32 ERA, 13 appearances), and senior Christian Lazar (18 appearances, 7.00 ERA).

Aside from Rehwaldt, USF's also will return junior first-baseman and outfielder Ryan Bernardy (three home runs, nine RBIs in career), sophomore catcher Alex Elizonzo (.269, one home run, five RBIS), sophomore shortstop Grant Lung (.241, 14 RBI, .356 OBP), sophomore infielder Ryan Meyer, and outfielders Alex Robinson and Luke Rysavy as position players. A year ago, USF hit .243 as a team with 194 runs, 26 home runs, 169 RBI with a team .334 on-base percentage.

NSIC Preseason Baseball Poll
1. Augustana (13), 193
2. Minnesota State (2), 175
3. Minot State, 172
4. St. Cloud State, 162
5. Concordia-St. Paul, 139
6. Wayne State, 121
7. Winona State, 115
8. Northern State, 109
9. Minnesota Duluth, 91
10. Minnesota Crookston, 67
11. Sioux Falls, 65
12. SMSU, 55
12. Upper Iowa, 55
14. Bemidji State, 34
15. U-Mary, 22