NIU baseball picked 5th in preseason poll

The Northern Illinois baseball team was picked to finish fifth in today's MAC Baseball preseason poll, selected by the league's head coaches.

Defending MAC regular season champion Bowling Green and defending West Division champion Ball State have been chosen by the league's head coaches to win their respective divisions. The Cardinals were also selected by six of the league's head coaches to take home the 2010 MAC Tournament title.

The Falcons were followed by 2009 MAC Tournament Champion Kent State in the East, while Ohio was picked to finish third. Miami was selected to finish in fourth place, while Akron was tabbed to place fifth. Buffalo rounded out this year's East Division predictions.

2009 MAC Tournament runner-up Toledo was picked to finish second in the West Division and was followed by Central Michigan in third place.

2010 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

East Division
1. Bowling Green - 64 points
2. Kent State - 61 points
3. Ohio - 49 points
4. Miami - 39 points
5. Akron - 25 points
6. Buffalo - 14 points

West Division
1. Ball State - 72 points
2. Toledo - 52 points
3. Central Michigan - 44 points
4. Eastern Michigan - 35 points
5. Northern Illinois - 29 points
6. Western Michigan - 21 points

Tournament Champion:
Ball State (5), Kent State (3), Bowling Green (2), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)