Baseball | 2/2/2026 12:00:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Washington & Jefferson College earned the top spot in the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) baseball coaches' preseason poll, which was announced Monday, along with the PAC Players to Watch list. The annual preseason poll collects votes from each of the league's 12 head coaches.
W&J collected 10 first-place votes and 120 points to secure the top spot in this year's polling. The Presidents, who have won 16 conference titles in program history, finished in front of defending champion Grove City College, who had 111 points in the poll, including the remaining two first-place votes.
Grove City, guided by 10th-year head coach Matt Royer, finished 16-4 in PAC regular season play a season ago and entered the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Wolverines then rolled through a 4-1 run in the playoffs to dethrone the five-time defending champions W&J and win its first PAC crown since 2008 and fourth in program history. The title-clinching win was an 8-1 triumph over Westminster College in the If Necessary game.
Named the PAC Coach of the Year following the title run, Royer led Grove City into the Mount Union Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines dropped match-ups to Rowan and Mount Union in the Regional to conclude the season with a 31-13 record, a new single-season program record for wins.
Allegheny College scored 98 points in this year's poll to finish in third place, ahead of last year's PAC runner-up Westminster, who was fourth with 90 points. They were followed in fifth place by Sant Vincent College with 72 points, who edged out Chatham University in sixth with 69 points. Placing seventh was Hiram College with 63 points, followed by Thiel College in eighth (55), Geneva College (36) in ninth, Bethany College (28) and Franciscan University and Waynesburg University tying with 25 points each.
Hiram returns for its first season in the PAC since 1989 after spending the last 26 years in the North Coast Athletic Conference. In their first stint in the PAC from 1972-89, the Terriers won a pair of baseball championships (1973, 1978) and finished second five times.
The Players to Watch list features 14 who collected All-PAC laurels in 2025, including four who were recognized with First Team honors. A pair of major award winners return in 2026, including last spring's Player of the Year in Grove City senior first baseman Colin Marinpetro and his teammate, Grove City sophomore shortstop Sam Meredith, who was the 2025 Newcomer of the Year.
In earning the PAC Player of the Year award, Marinpetro was the first Grove City player to win it since Brian Moran was chosen after he helped the Wolverines win their last conference crown in 2008. The slugger ranked in the top four in the PAC in nine categories, including first in walks (33); tied for first in runs (52) and doubles (17); second in hits (67), batting average (.401), on-base percentage (.517) and On-base+Slugging Percentage (1.098); third in RBIs (45); and fourth in slugging percentage (.581).
Among the many highlights to Marinpetro's season included a 27-game hitting streak that began March 7th during spring break, featured 16 multi-hit games and lasted through the month of April. A strong defensive first baseman as well, Marinpetro posted a .989 fielding percentage of the year with just four errors in 366 total chances.
Also a Second Team All-PAC selection, Meredith was the fourth consecutive Grove City player to collect the Newcomer of the Year award. He played in all 44 games last year with 43 starts and batted. 339. Meredith's 58 hits ranked fifth in the league and he added 13 walks with just 11 strikeouts in 171 at-bats for a .405 on-base percentage. He also finished fifth on the team with 34 RBIs and scored 38 runs.
Additionally, Meredith had a strong year with the glove while holding down the shortstop position, which helped Grove City lead the conference in fielding percentage (.968) and most double plays turned (35) in the PAC. He posted a .970 fielding percentage with just six errors in 201 chances and had a hand in 25 double plays.
The 2026 PAC Championship Tournament, a six-team, double-elimination tournament, is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 6 and run through Saturday, May 9. The tournament will be hosted at W&J's Ross Memorial Park
The PAC Championship Tournament winner will earn the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, May 11 with regional preliminary round play slated for Friday-Sunday, May 15-17. Regional champions will compete in the Super Regionals, a best-of-three series, to determine the eight participants in this year’s Division III College World Series, scheduled for Friday-Thursday, May 29-June 4. The Division III College World Series will be held at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio.
| 2026 PAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025 Records |
| 1. W&J (10) |
120 |
28-15, 16-4 PAC |
| 2. Grove City (2) |
111 |
31-13, 16-4 PAC |
| 3. Allegheny |
98 |
22-18, 13-7 PAC |
| 4. Westminster |
90 |
19-22, 11-9 PAC |
| 5. Saint Vincent |
72 |
19-22, 11-9 PAC |
| 6. Chatham |
69 |
18-21, 10-10 PAC |
| 7. Hiram |
63 |
14-24-1, 4-11 NCAC |
| 8. Thiel |
55 |
14-27, 10-9 PAC |
| 9. Geneva |
36 |
20-18, 6-14 PAC |
| 10. Bethany |
28 |
12-24-1, 7-13 PAC |
| 11t. Franciscan |
25 |
13-25, 6-14 PAC |
| 11t. Waynesburg |
25 |
7-29, 3-16 PAC |
2026 PAC Baseball Players to Watch
1 = 2025 First Team All-PAC / 2 = Second Team / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Liam Irving |
So. |
OF |
Olney, Md./Sherwood |
| Parker McRay |
So. |
P |
Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee |
| Zach Miner |
Fr. |
UT |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Ben Shields |
Jr. |
P |
Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi |
| Tyler Skaggs |
Jr. |
C |
Champion Heights, Ohio/Champion |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Gian DeGenova |
Jr. |
1B |
Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park |
| Marco Gonzalez |
So. |
UT |
Winters Springs, Fla./ |
| Jaden Nestor-Fox (1) |
Sr. |
2B |
Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion |
| Sonny Peluchette (2) |
Sr. |
UT |
Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Central Catholic |
| Payton Zupko |
Sr. |
P |
Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Cooper Baxter (2) |
Sr. |
3B/P |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| Nolan Boehm (HM) |
Jr. |
1B/P |
Monroeville, Pa./Gateway |
| Angelo DeLeonardis (HM) |
Sr. |
C/UT |
Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch |
| Eddie Rueda (HM) |
Sr. |
IF |
Miami, Fla./iMater Charter |
| Franciscan |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Holden Armstrong |
Jr. |
2B |
Nashville, Tenn./Homeschooled |
| Josiah Bodie (2) |
So. |
OF |
Pawleys Island, S.C./Waccamaw |
| Zack Cook |
Fr. |
OF |
Danbury, Texas/Danbury |
| Michael Manocchio |
Fr. |
3B |
Davie, Fla./West Broward |
| Nick Peffer |
Sr. |
SS |
Dawsonville, Ga./Homeschooled |
| Geneva |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Kirk Bearjar |
Sr. |
1B/P |
Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills |
| Ethan Blair |
Sr. |
P/1B |
Rochester, Pa./Rochester |
| Ryan Conover |
Sr. |
P |
Baden, Pa./Ambridge |
| Jake McFarland |
Sr. |
P/2B |
Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin |
| Eric Keaton |
Sr. |
P |
Rochester, Mich./Stephen F. Austin |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Colin Marinpetro (1) |
Sr. |
1B |
Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny |
| Sam Meredith (2) |
So. |
SS |
Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan |
| Nick Sampson (2) |
Sr. |
OF |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Bryce Trischler (HM) |
Jr. |
P |
Mars, Pa./Shady Side Academy |
| Hiram |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Tyler Fernandez |
Sr. |
|
Aurora, Ohio/Aurora |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jake Auld |
Jr. |
1B/3B/P |
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin |
| TJ Bucy |
Sr. |
OF |
Clairton, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |
| Dylan Schmude |
Sr. |
OF/IF |
Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park |
| Thiel |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Colton Brightwell |
Sr. |
OF |
Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth |
| Calvin Cackowski (1) |
Sr. |
C |
Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe |
| Cole Sherwin |
Sr. |
SS |
Karns City, Pa./Karns City |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Josh Dezenzo |
Sr. |
IF |
Alliance, Ohio/Marlington |
| Anthony Pass |
Sr. |
P |
Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny |
| Waynesburg |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ethan Erhard |
Sr. |
P |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Trent Giraffa |
Jr. |
UTL |
Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic |
| Hunter Hamilton |
Sr. |
OF |
Holbrook, Pa./West Greene |
| Hunter Mamie |
Jr. |
C |
Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold |
| Gavin Pratt |
Grad. |
P |
Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jon Albers |
Jr. |
RHP |
Corry, Pa./Corry |
| Tyson Djakovich (HM) |
Jr. |
RHP |
Hermitage, Pa./Hickory |
| Parker Lyons (1) |
Jr. |
IF |
Rochester, Pa./Rochester |
| Quinn Marquis |
Jr. |
OF |
Hinckley, Ohio/Highland |
| Josh Reed |
Sr. |
LHP/1B |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk |