Every Mid-American Conference (MAC) team besides Central Michigan will play a MAC foe this weekend for the first time this season.
Although every team has non-conference games sprinkled throughout the rest of their schedule, teams will now shift their focus to their conference games and MAC records.
I will be recapping every team’s non-conference opening stretch of the season as well as previewing every team’s key to a successful opening MAC weekend.
1. Ball State (8-5, 0-0 MAC)
The Cardinals were picked to finish first in the conference in the 2025 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll and they have lived up to the hype throughout their non-conference schedule.
Ball State is a game and a half up on Northern Illinois for first place in the MAC and has a quality 5-3 win over Maryland.
Ball State faces last-place Western Michigan in the opening MAC weekend. Junior infielder Dylan Grego will be a huge key to the Cardinals’ success because he has the most hits in the conference (17).
His team-leading .347 average is also the highest amongst the team’s consistent starters and 16th in the MAC. This should match up well against the Broncos’ pitching staff, which has the worst E.R.A. in the conference.
2. Northern Illinois (6-4, 0-0 MAC)
Ryan Copeland, one of the most impressive first-year head coaches last season, has the Huskies in second place and on a four-game winning streak.
Although NIU’s offense ranks 10th in the MAC in average, their pitching has been the best in the conference by far and will be their key to success against Kent State this weekend.
The Huskies’ staff leads the MAC in E.R.A., hits allowed, runs allowed, and earned runs allowed.
3. Bowling Green (6-5, 0-0 MAC)
Last year’s regular-season champions are off to a fairly good start. Although they are 2-4 in their last six games, the Falcons head into MAC play fresh off a 14-4 blowout win over Dayton.
The Orange & Brown face Ohio in their opening MAC weekend matchup. Bowling Green’s offensive duo of junior two-way player DJ Newman and sophomore first baseman Brady Birchmeier will be key to their success.
T4. Akron (5-7, 0-0 MAC)
Akron is already one-third of the way to their win total from last year. Their most impressive win thus far was giving BIG-10 powerhouse Purdue their only loss.
Second-year head coach Bryan Faulds has got the Zips playing well and it should be an interesting matchup against EMU to start off their MAC play.
Akron’s biggest advantage over Eastern Michigan is their plate discipline versus the Eagles’ walk rate. Akron’s offense walks the most in the conference (72), whereas EMU’s pitching staff has given up the most walks (68).
T4. Miami (5-7, 0-0 MAC)
Miami has had an up-and-down season that has included a massive 16-1 win over The Citadel but also a disappointing 19-18 loss to Northern Kentucky.
Last year was Miami’s first winning record in the MAC since 2019 and they will be trying to build off this program-wide improvement this season.
Miami redshirt junior first baseman Evan Appelwick is an early favorite to win MAC Player of the Year and should be a big key to Miami’s success against Toledo. Appelwick leads the conference in R.B.I’s (16) and is 2nd in home runs (4).
T6. Eastern Michigan (4-6, 0-0 MAC)
The Eagles are the definition of a one-sided baseball club right now. EMU has given up more than 8 runs in half of their games thus far while simultaneously scoring 7.4 runs per game themselves.
Eastern Michigan’s offense is definitely their biggest advantage over the Zips in their opening MAC weekend. The Eagles led the MAC in average (.301), are 3rd in hits (107), 1st in doubles (24) and 2nd in home runs (24).
T6. Kent State (4-6, 0-0 MAC)
Although the Golden Flashes have a losing record, they are on the rise, winning three out of their last four games, including a 7-6 win over East Carolina.
Graduate student utility man Hayden Jatczak will be key to Kent State’s success over NIU’s potent pitching staff. Jatczak, a transfer from Saginaw Valley State, is batting .385 (6th in MAC) with 13 R.B.I (5th in MAC).
8. Toledo (4-7, 0-0 MAC)
The Rockets beat 11th-ranked Oregon earlier this season, which was the biggest upset win in Rockets baseball history. However, they have had a rough start hitting the baseball and strikeout 8.7 times a game.
Toledo’s biggest key to their success is that their offense has a resurgence. Toledo has the worst average in the MAC (.198) and has a whopping 60 fewer R.B.I’s in just one less game played than their opening MAC weekend opponent, Miami.
On the other hand, Miami leads the conference in home runs and R.B.I’s, is 2nd in average (.289) and is 2nd in hits (114).
9. Ohio (2-8, 0-0 MAC)
Although the Bobcats have shown flashes of quality baseball this year, they have been wildly inconsistent and have an E.R.A. north of seven.
Ohio will face Bowling Green this weekend, a team that the Bobcats struggled heavily against last season, getting outscored 42-14 in just three games against the Falcons.
Ohio’s biggest advantage over Bowling Green is sophomore outfielder Ben Slanker. Slanker leads the MAC in home runs (5) and Bowling Green’s pitching staff has given up the third most home runs in the conference (13).
10. Central Michigan (2-9, 0-0 MAC)
With 11 teams in the MAC, Central Michigan is the odd one out and will have to start their conference play the following weekend. The Chippewas will instead face C-USA opponent Liberty.
Liberty will be a formidable opponent. The Flames are 8-4 so far this year with wins over Duke and North Carolina State that knocked both teams out of the national rankings.
Jake Sabol’s squad will then travel to Huntington. W.V to take on Marshall before finally starting MAC play against Ohio on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day.
11. Western Michigan (0-11, 0-0 MAC)
The most shocking storyline of the MAC baseball season so far is that the 2024 MAC Tournament champion Western Michigan Broncos have gone winless through their first 11 games.
Although WMU has played poorly, it is worth mentioning that eight out of their 11 games have been against Power-4 opponents (Michigan State, Louisville, and Georgia Tech).
The Broncos will look to climb out of their frigid cold start against Ball State this weekend. The biggest key to their success will be good pitching performances. WMU ranks dead last in the MAC in E.R.A., hits allowed, runs allowed, earned runs allowed, strikeouts, and opponent batting average.
