MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – With seven first-place votes, Salve Regina University claims the top spot in the 2026 NEWMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Seahawks, coached by Eric Cirella, are fresh off an NCAA Super Regional appearance and are ranked No. 10 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Preseason Poll. NEWMAC first team All-Conference pitcher and preseason All-American Kyle Carozza returns after a 6-0 campaign in 2025. Nolan Romanowski also returns to the mound after going 5-1 with a 0.57 ERA in 2025, earning second-team all-conference accolades. Fellow second-team All-Conference honorees Shea Donovan and Evan O'Rourke also return for the Seahawks after hitting .319 and .330 in 2025, respectively.

Coast Guard secured two first-place votes to take second. Coast Guard Head Coach Brian Casey returns for his sixth year at the helm of Coast Guard. Highlighting the returners is Carson Cho, who was the NEWMAC leader in batting average a season ago, hitting .398 and earning First Team All-Region and All-Conference honors. Pitcher Vito Giordano also earned a spot on the first team All-Conference and All-Region team last season, while pitcher Jackson Dorsey earned second team All-Region and All-Conference honors. Former NEWMAC Player and Rookie of the Year Nathan Stafford also returns after garnering second-team All-Conference honors last season.
 
Babson College lands in the third spot in the poll. Head coach Matt Noone returns for his 24th season at the helm of the Beavers. Babson brings back All-NEWMAC first-team selection Zander Teator and second-team pitcher Jason Finkelstein from a team that was ousted in the opening round of the conference tournament last May. Teator hit .386 last season, good for fourth in the NEWMAC.
 
Nabbing the fourth spot is MIT, which is led by first-year head coach Chris Moore.  NEWMAC Rookie of the Year John Spivey returns after leading the NEWMAC in runs scored (23), RBI (23), and total bases (47) in conference play. Fellow first-team All-Conference honoree Zev Moore also returns after hitting .378 with 10 home runs in 2025.

Wheaton College takes fifth and is coached by first-year head coach Dan Tischler. Wheaton returns infielder Casey Wensley, who hit .395 and earned NEWMAC second team honors in 2025.
 
Clark University, coached by Billy Cather, slides into the sixth spot in the poll. The scarlet and white return 29 players from last year's team, including senior Dom Mariani, who was named to the All-NEWMAC Second Team last year after batting .378, driving in 40 runs, and tallying 54 hits.
 
Seventh place goes to WPI. The Engineers will be coached by Branden Casey and return Jonathan Lattimer, who was second for the Engineers in batting average, hitting .386, and driving in 18 runs.
 
Springfield College and Emerson College round out the poll in eighth and ninth place, respectively. Both teams feature new head coaches, as Chad Shade takes over for the Pride and Billy Uberti takes over for the Lions. Both teams will look to vie for postseason berths this season.
 
The NEWMAC Baseball Championship will take place from May 6 through May 10.  
 
2026 NEWMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
 
1. Salve Regina (7)
2. Coast Guard (2)
3. Babson
4. MIT
5. Wheaton
6. Clark
7. WPI
8. Springfield
9. Emerson

About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and United States Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.