GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado State University Pueblo baseball was selected seventh in the 2026 preseason National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) South Central Region Poll, as announced by the organization on Monday.
The South Central Region poll is composed of programs from both the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Voting was conducted by a panel of eight committee members, with four representatives from each conference.
The ThunderWolves received 30 points in the poll after finishing the 2025 season with a 32-20 overall record and closing the year as the No. 7 team in the South Central Region. CSU Pueblo was one of four RMAC programs represented in the regional rankings, joining Colorado Mesa (ranked second), MSU Denver (eighth), and MSU Denver (eighth).
Only the top six teams in the South Central Region advance to postseason play, placing the ThunderWolves just outside the projected cutoff entering the 2026 campaign.
UT Tyler was selected as the preseason regional favorite, earning five first-place votes and totaling 77 points after posting a 49-13 mark last season and going to the College World Series. Colorado Mesa followed in second with two first-place votes and 69 points, while Angelo State garnered one first-place vote and ranked third with 63 points. St. Edward's rounded out the top four with 51 points.
Lubbock Christian placed fifth with 45 points, followed by West Texas A&M in sixth with 31 points. CSU Pueblo edged out MSU Denver by one point for seventh, as the Roadrunners totaled 29 points. St. Mary's checked in ninth with 18 points, while Texas A&M-Kingsville completed the top ten with 14 points.
Colorado Mesa enters the season as the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion. From the Lone Star Conference, UT Tyler — the reigning South Central Regional Champion — was picked to win the league, while Angelo State, the 2023 Division II National Champions and reigning Lone Star Conference champions, were selected as the preseason runner-up behind the Patriots.
The Pack are led by head coach Bobby Applegate, now in his fourth season at the helm, and has turned around the program in a short amount of time as CSU Pueblo continues its climb within one of the most competitive regions in Division II baseball.
CSU Pueblo opens the 2026 season on February 4 with a three-game series at Rawlings Field, hosting Montana State University Billings.
