Greenville, SC – North Greenville University and Francis Marion University were picked atop the 2026 Conference Carolinas Baseball Preseason Poll, the conference office announced on Friday.
Both programs received 149 points and four first place votes. Francis Marion earned a share of their first Conference Carolinas regular season title a season ago with North Greenville winning the previous three regular season crowns.
Young Harris College and Belmont Abbey College both received three first place votes and are picked third and fourth, respectively. The Mountain Lions received 145 points while the 2025 tournament champion Crusaders received 136 points. The University of Mount Olive finished the top five with 136 points.
UNC Pembroke (118), Emmanuel University (92), Barton College (92), Shorter University (75), Erskine College (58), King University (48), Southern Wesleyan University (40), Chowan University (23) and Ferrum College (23), rounded out the poll.
Southern Wesleyan returns several key contributors from the 2025 season including the leader in stolen bases, Tristan Tillman. Tillman accumulated eighteen steals last season while batting .310 with 18 hits including five doubles. Offensively, he will be joined by fellow infielders Nolan Evatt and Josh Long who both hit above .300 last season. On the mound, the Warriors will be looking to the returning arms of Lukas Arvantides and Ash Faulk, who were both among those listed as players to watch in Conference Carolinas.
The Warriors will open up the 2026 season on the road as they travel to Newberry, SC to take on the Newberry Wolves on January 30 at 4pm. They will then host their home opener on January 31 as they welcome the Wolves to Dr. C Keith Connor Field for a double header beginning at 1pm. Southern Wesleyan will open up Conference Carolinas action on the road as they travel over the mountains to Young Harris, GA to take on the Young Harris Mountain Lions on February 13-14. They will then host their first Conference Carolinas series the following weekend (February 20-21) against the King Tornado. The Warriors' annual Military Appreciation game will be held on April 11 against the Belmont Abbey Crusaders.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, April 29-Monday, May 4 at CaroMont Health Park and Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina.
The preseason poll was voted on by the league's head coaches and they can't vote for their own school.
