BASEBALL

The Crossroads League announced its 2024 Baseball Preseason Poll on Tuesday, as voted on by the league’s head coaches, with Huntington picked to finish third.

The Foresters finished last year with a program-best 38 wins against just 16 losses. Last year’s success saw Coach Frame and crew finish second in the Crossroads League regular season standings with a CL record of 27-9 and that same spot in the league tournament.

Huntington returns the Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year in Graham Kollen. The junior hurler was also recognized as an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American last season. He finished 2023 with a league-leading 94 strikeouts while surrendering just 68 hits, 26 earned runs and 26 walks in 82.1 innings pitched.

Kollen limited opponents to a .227 batting average while averaging 10.28 strikeouts per nine. The Fort Wayne native is one of ten 2024 Crossroads League Player to Watch.

The 2024 Crossroads League schedule is set to open on the weekend of March 1 and 2, with the Crossroads League Tournament planned for May 3 through 8 at Taylor University’s Winterholter Field.

2024 Crossroads League Preseason Poll
1-Taylor, 89
2-Indiana Wesleyan, 83
3-Huntington, 71
4-Saint Francis, 64
5-Mount Vernon Nazarene, 57
6-Spring Arbor, 49
7-Grace, 45
8-Bethel, 33
9-Marian, 30
10-Goshen, 19

2024 Players to Watch
Matt Dutkowski, P, Taylor
Drue Young, P, Indiana Wesleyan
Graham Kollen, P, Huntington
Nick Parsons, 1B, Saint Francis
Casey Kalman, C, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Bryce Richey, 3B, Spring Arbor
Evan Etchison, P, Grace
Frank Plesac, P, Bethel
Bryce Davenport, 1B, Marian
Jenner Rodammer, OF, Goshen