On Tuesday, the Missouri Valley Conference announced their annual coaches’ preseason poll and tabbed DBU as the league’s favorite to win the MVC title in 2020. The Patriots received five of the eight first place votes and totaled 61 points in the poll, 10 ahead of second place Missouri State.
DBU also placed three players on the 2020 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team including Burl Carraway (relief pitcher), Jimmy Glowenke (shortstop), and Blayne Jones (second base).
Carraway was a First Team All-MVC selection last year after leading DBU with six saves and striking out 72 batters in 41.2 innings. The Patriots’ closer has also been tabbed as a Preseason All-American by three publications entering the 2020 season.
Glowenke is a two-time First Team All-MVC selection in two seasons as a Patriot and finished last year in the top 10 in nine offensive categories in the MVC. He has also been named to the MVC All-Defensive Team in each of his first two seasons at DBU.
Jones is coming off a sophomore season in which he hit .254 with five home runs, 33 RBI, and was third on the team with 14 doubles. Defensively, Jones was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team in 2019 after committing just six errors in 263 chances.
DBU went 43-20 last season and made their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots also won 40 games for the sixth consecutive year, joining Florida State and Louisville as the only three teams in the nation to accomplish that feat.
Back from last year’s squad are 21 lettermen including six position players with over 100 at-bats and nine pitchers that saw time on the mound in 2019.
Below is a breakdown of the 2020 MVC Preseason Poll and this year’s MVC Preseason All-Conference Team.
2020 MVC PRESEASON POLL
Rank Team (First Place Votes)
1. DBU (5)
2. Missouri State (1)
3. Illinois State
4. Indiana State (1)
5. Bradley (1)
6. Evansville
7. Southern Illinois
8. Valparaiso
2020 MVC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
C- Max Wright, Indiana State
1B – Jack Butler, Illinois State
2B – Blayne Jones, DBU
3B – Joe Bulter, Illinois State
SS – Jimmy Glowenke, DBU
OF – Dan Bolt, Bradley
OF – Jack Duffy, Missouri State
OF – Dakota Kotowski, Missouri State
DH – Jordan Libman, Illinois State
SP – Colton Johnson, Illinois State
SP – Collin Liberatore, Indiana State
RP – Burl Carraway, DBU
RP – Tyler Grauer, Indiana State
