Buena Vista Baseball, Defending A-R-C Champions, Picked Second in Preseason Coaches Poll

Buena Vista baseball, the defending American Rivers Conference regular-season and tournament champions, was selected to finish second in the 2026 A-R-C preseason coaches poll, an announcement the league office issued Tuesday afternoon. Coe College was tabbed No. 1, receiving eight of the nine first-place votes, while Buena Vista picked up the remaining first-place vote.

The preseason coaches' poll ranked the nine-team conference as follows: Coe (8 first-place votes, 64 points); Buena Vista (1 first-place vote, 57 points); Wartburg (41 points); Luther (38 points); Nebraska Wesleyan (33 points); Loras (30 points); Central (23 points); University of Dubuque (20 points); Simpson (18 points). The poll was announced with a dateline of STORM LAKE, Iowa on Feb. 3, 2026.

The top-two projection tightens the spotlight on Coe and Buena Vista entering the 2026 season. Coe finished 28-13 in 2025 and returns three all-conference performers in Jack Walsh, Ryan Thoreson and Jon Wille. Jack Walsh, a junior pitcher/catcher out of Dubuque Wahlert, was named a D3baseball.com third-team preseason All-American after a dominant 2025 campaign in which he went 6-1 with one save, posted a 2.05 ERA and struck out 72 batters in 66.0 innings. Steve Cook remains at the helm of Coe in his 30th season.

Loras College sits sixth in the poll but brings experience under coach Carl Tebon, who has recorded 608 career wins in 29 seasons. Tebon framed the conference picture for 2026: “A new, post-extra-eligibility era begins in the A-R-C and the NCAA,” said Tebon. “With a ton of talent leaving, I’m excited to see a young group of players across the conference step into a new role. This year, more than ever, I could see any team hoisting the trophy at the end of the season.” Loras returns three players who earned all-conference honors a year ago: Jackson Cullen, Vince Polizzi and Cody Sunny.

Other coaches and programs across the conference are also in transition. The University of Dubuque, under third-year head coach Dan Spain, returns five position players and five pitchers after finishing seventh in the league a season ago. Simpson is led by Nathan Roling, a Cascade graduate and former Loras assistant now in his 10th season as head coach. Wartburg, Luther and Central each figure to test the top teams with a mix of returning contributors, including players named in the preseason conference list such as Garrett Kadolph, Cael Funk, Tyrus Werner, Mark Kenney and Matthew Florence.

For Buena Vista County, the preseason nod reinforces the local program's standing and has practical implications for nearby businesses and youth baseball programs. A strong conference showing and the return of the A-R-C tournament to Veterans Memorial Stadium in 2026 are likely to concentrate visitors and regional attention on Storm Lake-area venues, increasing demand for game-day concessions, lodging and youth engagement with the sport.

The coaches' poll sets expectations but not outcomes. With roster turnover and a compressed window for extra-eligibility changes across Division III, the A-R-C looks poised for competitive balance. Buena Vista fans will be watching spring practice reports and the opening slate to see whether the defending champions can convert a preseason second-place projection into a repeat on the field.