Jan. 28, 2015
2015 MVC Preseason Poll | MVC Preseason Release 
ST. LOUIS - For the second straight year, Missouri State has been picked by the Missouri Valley Conference baseball coaches for the second spot in the league's annual preseason baseball poll, which was announced Wednesday. The Bears garnered 53 total points, including one first-place vote, to finish 10 points behind conference favorite Dallas Baptist.
Dallas Baptist, the defending MVC Tournament champ, returns just 11 letterwinners from last year's 40-21 squad, but boasts a league-best four preseason All-MVC honorees. MSU, whose 19 returning lettermen matches Indiana State for the most in the circuit, placed three veterans on the league's preseason team. Tate Matheny was named to the list as an outfielder, while Jon Harris was selected as one of just two starting pitchers and Dylan Becker was picked as a utility player. After squaring off nine times in 2014, the Bears and Patriots will renew their rivalry April 2 with a three-game set in Springfield.
Matheny was one of 54 Division I baseball players picked by Perfect Game for 2015 preseason All-America honors. A two-time all-conference performer, Matheny landed a spot of PG's second team and was one of just two Valley players selected by the organization for its preseason All-America squads. The St. Louis native, who has started all 108 games of his Missouri State career, was a First-Team All-MVC selection last spring after leading all MVC regulars with 35 hits in league play and ranking among the conference's statistical leaders in nearly every significant offensive category.
Becker was a stabilizing force for the Bears as a junior, starting all 57 games at third base, reaching base safely in 49 and logging 17 multi-hit efforts. The Leawood, Kan., product batted .266 with 59 total hits, 26 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs, 14 steals and 30 RBIs--all of which represented career highs. He will also bring a career-best seven-game hit streak into the new year after hitting .444 with five RBIs at the MVC Championship last May.
Harris is a preseason All-MVC pick for the second consecutive season after turning in a strong sophomore campaign in which he provided shutdown performances as both a regular weekend starter and bullpen stopper. The Florissant, Mo., native finished the year 3-5 with a 3.16 earned run average and a pair of saves, striking out 66 batters in a team-high 79.2 inning in which he allowed just 66 hits while holding the opposition to a .226 batting average.
Wichita State (43) earned the No. 3 position in the poll, while Indiana State finished just one point behind the Shockers to claim the fourth spot. Defending MVC regular-season champ Evansville (28 points) and Illinois State (26) came home fifth and sixth, respectively, and Bradley (18) and Southern Illinois (15) rounded out the poll.
The 2015 MVC Baseball Championship returns to Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan., (May 20-23) with the champion earning the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
The Bears, who will be looking to bounce back from a 26-31 season, begin the 2015 campaign with a three-game Feb. 13 against UT Arlington at the SFA Tournament in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale now through the MSU Athletics Box Office at JQH Arena, online through MissouriStateBears.com, or by calling Duane Miller at (417) 836-8899. Individuals who either place their order for a new ticket package or renew an existing plan by Feb. 2 will receive an equal number of complementary tickets to First Pitch Night.
