Trojans picked second in OVC Preseason Baseball Poll

After winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title in 2024, the Little Rock Baseball team is highly-regarded heading into the new season, according to the OVC Preseason Poll released this morning by the league.
 
Little Rock received five first-place votes and 144 points overall, putting the Trojans at No. 2 in the poll, behind only Southeast Missouri, who picked up 13 first-place votes and 157 points. Morehead State and SIUE each received one first-place vote.
 
In addition to the poll, senior pitcher Jackson Wells was chosen as Little Rock's 2025 Player to Watch by the league. As a sophomore, Wells was named OVC Pitcher of the Year and led the nation in earned run average (1.65) in 2023. After going 5-3 last season with a 5.91 ERA, Wells is expected to lead a solid Trojan starting rotation into the new campaign.
 
Last season, Little Rock finished 32-22 overall and 17-9 in the OVC. The Trojans won 11 of 13 series overall and eight of nine in conference play, including a pair of sweeps to close out the year. Little Rock was eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the OVC Championship by Morehead State.
 
The Trojans open the season at home with a series against Evansville from Feb. 14-16 at Gary Hogan Field. Conference play begins March 21-23 against Tennessee Tech, also at home.
 
2025 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Southeast Missouri (13 first-place votes) - 157 points
2. Little Rock (5) - 144
3. Tennessee Tech - 118
4. Morehead State (1) - 107
5. Eastern Illinois - 92
6. SIUE (1) - 89
7. UT Martin - 69
8. Southern Indiana - 57
9. Lindenwood - 45
10. Western Illinois - 22
 
2025 Players to Watch
Eastern Illinois - Tyler Conklin (RHP, Sr.)
Lindenwood - Josh Newell (RHP, Jr.)
Little Rock - Jackson Wells (RHP, Sr.)
Morehead State - Davis Germann (OF, R-So.)
Southeast Missouri - Brooks Kettering (2B, So.)
SIUE - Ryan Niedzwiedz (INF, So.)
Southern Indiana - Blake Kimball (RHP, Jr.)
Tennessee Tech - Nicho Jordan (OF, Sr.)
UT Martin - T.J. Grines (2B, Jr.)
Western Illinois - Tyler Large (OF, Jr.)