Kansas City, Mo. - After sweeping the regular season and conference tournament titles in 2021, the Central Methodist baseball program has been picked to repeat in the Heart Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll, announced by the Heart office Thursday. 

Heart Tournament runner-up MidAmerica Nazarene has been tabbed at No. 2, followed by Clarke at No. 3. 

Led by head coach Heart Coach of the Year, Nate Breland, the Eagles went an impressive 49-8 last season and won the 2021 Heart regular-season title with a conference record of 26-3. Central cruised through the conference tournament in Springfield, Mo., defeating MidAmerica Nazarene in the Championship game by a score of 6-5. It marked the first time in program history the Eagles had swept both the regular season and conference tournament championships. 

CMU went on to win their Opening Round bracket to advance to NAIA World Series for the first time in school history. The Eagles reached the national title game, before falling to eventual champion Georgia Gwinnett, 8-4.

Central returns the 2021 Heart Pitcher of the Year, Nick Merkel to the bump for his senior year. Merkel was also tabbed as ABCA-NAIA All-American, after posting a perfect 14-0 record to lead the nation last season. 

In addition to the release of this year's Heart Preseason Poll, the Heart of America Athletic Conference will be hosting 2022 Heart Baseball Media Day.

Fans can hear interviews with all 14 head coaches from across the Heart to preview their upcoming seasons. The interviews will be hosted by Steven Davis and will take place virtually on Friday, Feb. 4 on the Heart YouTube Channel, Heart Twitter, and Facebook page. 

To view the complete 2022 Heart Baseball Coaches' Preseason poll, please see below. 

2022 Heart Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll

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