2026 College Baseball Mid-Major Preview: Midwest Region
A state-by-state breakdown of the top College Baseball teams in the Midwest that belong to the under-covered Mid-Major conferences.
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College baseball’s national spotlight often gravitates toward the power conferences.
Still, year after year, it’s the mid-major programs that quietly build winners, develop draft talent, and shake up the postseason. Just last year, we saw the Murray State Racers become America’s Team on their insane run to Omaha.
These teams don’t always get the attention they deserve. Yet, they consistently produce 40-win seasons, host regionals, send players to the big leagues, and knock off nationally ranked opponents when it matters most.
As the 2026 college baseball season approaches, we wanted to make sure those programs, and the coaches and players behind them, get highlighted.
This five-part series is designed to highlight the mid-major teams you need to be watching in 2026, broken down by region. From the West Coast to the Northeast, we’re focusing on programs with momentum, returning talent, strong player development pipelines, and real postseason upside.
Mid-Majors to Watch Series (2026):
- Mid-Majors to Watch: West
- Mid-Majors to Watch: Southwest
- Mid-Majors to Watch: Midwest
- Mid-Majors to Watch: Northeast
- Mid-Majors to Watch: Southeast
Let’s dive into the Midwest!
UW Milwaukee – Horizon League
2025 Overall Record: 24-35
2025 Conference Record: 16-13
Wisconsin is not known for its D1 baseball, with only one team in the state despite the consistent D3 National Champion Wisconsin Whitewater Warhawks just north of UW Milwaukee.
While the program has been in a consistent skid of losing seasons, their ability to retain in-state talent has slowly trended them in the right direction and should be frisky this season.
The most intriguing piece on the mound returns after a fantastic freshman campaign in sophomore left-handed pitcher Riley Peterson, who was automatic out of the pen for the Panthers in 2025, throwing 29 ⅓ innings over 23 appearances to the tune of a 1.83 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .231 average.
Peterson should be taking over a rotation role in 2026 and could take a massive step forward.
Grad-Senior right-handed pitcher Gavin Theis also returns after leading the Panthers in starts (16) and innings (88 ⅓), where he finished with a 4.38 ERA, racking up 74 punchouts.
Aric Ehmke rounds out the rotation after a junior season where he made 11 starts, throwing 60 innings, finishing second amongst the 2025 Panthers.
While the Panthers only return two qualified hitters from 2025, Charlie Marion will look to lead the offense after finishing with a team-best 12 home runs and 61 RBI. Sophomore infielder Tate Schmidt returns after starting 41 games in 2025.
While the majority of the offense will be new in 2026, the returning pitching is enough for this to be a year to keep tabs on Wisconsin’s lone Division 1 baseball school, and look for a step forward this year.
Creighton Blue Jays – Big East
2025 Overall record: 46-16
2025 Conference record: 17-4
Creighton is coming off an excellent 2025 campaign where they won the Big East regular season and conference tournament, finishing their season in the Fayetteville regional championship game in their 46-16 season.
The Blue Jays lose five of their eight qualified hitters from 2025, all of whom made 40 or more starts. Most notably, Nolan Sailors, who led the team with a 1.069 OPS, started all 59 games with 18 doubles, four triples, six home runs, and 44 RBI, all while finding his way on-base via the free pass more than he struck out.
On the pitching side, Creighton will be looking to replace Dominic Cancellieri, who made 13 starts with 55 innings with 59 strikeouts to a team-best 2.29 ERA. They will also look to replace some key bullpen arms in Matthew Aukerman and Garrett Langrell, who combined for 52 appearances and 95 ⅓ innings, as Langrell led the club in saves last year with 12.
However, the Blue Jays return four starters, including junior catcher Connor Capece, who started 45 games, racking up a .897 OPS with 41 RBI.
The 2025 RBI leader in grad-senior infielder Ben North is back, who led the team in home runs (8) and extra-base hits (26) and finished second in stolen bases with 15, and Tate Gillen, who was one of two players to start all 59 games in 2025.
On the mound, Creighton brings back two-thirds of their rotation, including Wilson Magers, who led in innings (72 ⅔) and starts (14) as a true freshman, finishing the season with a 3.47 ERA.
Expect the righty to take a big jump in year two as one of the best Friday night arms in the Big East.
Senior Ian Koosman returns after making 19 appearances and 10 starts in 2025, tallying up 60 ⅓ innings with a team-best 59 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .222 average.
With a slew of returners in the bullpen, Creighton is set up for another successful year where the top of the Big East will be stacked with talent, including UConn and Xavier, which will make for one of the more fun mid-major conference races.
Wright State Raiders – Horizon League
2025 Overall Record: 40-21
2025 Conference Record: 25-5
The Horizon League Champion Wright State Raiders are coming off a regional appearance where their season would end in the regional championship game against Louisville, but it was one of the more tricky four-seeds to navigate last postseason, coming off a 40-win season.
While they do lose five starters from 2025, including Boston Smith, who led the Raiders in nearly every offensive category after posting a 1.274 OPS, slugging a team-best 26 home runs and 71 RBI, there is a large gap to fill, but the returners have postseason experience and enough juice to make this another 35+ win club.
On the mound is where the Raiders took the biggest hit, losing two of their three starters in Jarrett Heilman and Garrett Peters, who combined for 15 starts and 88 ⅓ innings, but also brought back major pieces of last year’s team.
On offense, they’ll return centerpiece junior infielder JP Peltier, who belted 20 home runs and 69 RBI, finishing second in both categories last year, as well as led the club with 24 stolen bases, truly an all-around gamer that should be one of the best players in the Horizon this season.
Sophomore infielder Hunter Warren returns after being the only Raider to start all 61 games, driving in 45 runs, supported by senior infielder Evan Fultz, who posted a .914 OPS with 45 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
Not only is there a ton of power with this team, but a lot of speed returners, starters who went 56 of 67 on stolen base attempts in 2025, and I expect them to be a team that runs in 2026.
On the mound, they bring back ace right-hander Cam Allen, who most notably outdueled Vanderbilt in the 2025 postseason, leading the Raiders in 13 starts and 67 ⅓ innings, racking up 71 punch outs and a 4.95 ERA.
Two-way J.J. Thompson will be a key piece on both sides of the ball after making 24 appearances in 2025, holding opposing hitters to a .224 average.
While they are missing some big pieces of the puzzle, there’s no reason Wright State can’t steamroll the Horizon again in 2026 and again, likely be a pesky four-seed that no team will want to see come June.
Missouri State Bears – Missouri Valley
2025 Overall Record: 30-25
2025 Conference Record: 17-8
While Missouri State missed out on the NCAA tournament after seeing their season end at the hands of the Missouri Valley representative and eventual Omaha appearing Murray State Racers, they’ll look to finish atop the conference again in 2026.
While the Bears only lose three of their nine starters, they are big losses in their top two OPS leaders in Nick Rodriguez and Jake McCutcheon, as well as Tyler Epstein. The trio combined for 139 of the club’s 422 RBI (33%), and were responsible for 27 of the team’s 59 stolen bases (46%).
On the mound, the Bears lose very little as well in terms of man-power, but major contributors in Jason Schaff, one of their rotation arms, who made 11 starts with 69 innings to a 5.74 ERA, the best of the rotation.
Jackson Holmes will also be missing from the puzzle after leading the team in saves with five over his 22 appearances, totaling 54 ⅓ innings.
With six offensive starters back, including junior outfielder Caden Bogenpohl, who finished his sophomore season with a 1.007 OPS, 15 doubles, 13 home runs, and 44 RBI, they’ll retain a force in the middle of the order.
Five more bears are back that started 38 or more games, utility man Taeg Gollert returns after slugging for a team high 22 doubles, two-way star Max Knight who posted a .939 OPS and 47 ⅔ innings on the mound to the tune of a 4.34 ERA, paired with two-way Curry Sutherland who led the club in ERA over his 17 innings with a 2.65 as well as started 38 games in the field accumulating nine home runs and 27 RBI.
On the mound, frontline starters sophomore right-hander Michael Yusypchuk and junior southpaw Tyler Charlton are both back after each making 14 starts, combining for a 9-5 record over 128 ⅓ innings.
The majority of their main bullpen arms are back, mixed with an offensive onslaught that is known for leaving the yard. With Murray State losing many pieces from their Cinderella team a year ago, the Bears are an early favorite to take back the MVC and be the representative in the field of 64.
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