RICHARDSON, Texas — Entering its seventh year in the Lone Star Conference, the St. Mary's University Baseball team has been selected sixth, its second-highest ever in the preseason poll, the league announced on Thursday.
The 2021 team was predicted to finish fifth, coming off the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
The Rattlers received 404 points in the 2026 preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information personnel, and media. UT Tyler and Angelo State each gathered 20 first-place votes, but the Patriots edged the Rams in the title of preseason favorite by four points, 603 to 599. Lubbock Christian (510), St. Edward's (501), and West Texas A&M (474) round out the top five.
St. Mary's finished the 2025 season with a 29-24 record and played in the first week of the Lone Star Tournament, dropping a heart-wrenching three-game series at rival St. Edward's.
The team returns starters
Garrett Brooks (Spring Branch, Texas),
Jacob King (San Antonio),
Dillon Lopez (San Antonio), and
Raithen Malone (Mont Belvieu, Texas) in the field, and
Kaleb Gauna (Hondo, Texas) and
Gabe Cook (San Antonio) on the mound. Brooks and Gauna were both named to the league's Preseason Players to Watch list.
The 2026 season kicks off with a three-game series at Sul Ross State on Jan. 30.
Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team |
1st |
Total |
| 1 |
UT Tyler |
20 |
603 |
| 2 |
Angelo State |
20 |
599 |
| 3 |
Lubbock Christian |
|
510 |
| 4 |
St. Edward's |
|
501 |
| 5 |
West Texas A&M |
|
474 |
| 6 |
St. Mary's |
|
404 |
| 7 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
1 |
389 |
| 8 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
326 |
| 9 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
249 |
| 10 |
Texas A&M International |
1 |
246 |
| 11 |
UT Dallas |
|
243 |
| 12 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
181 |
| 13 |
Cameron |
|
164 |
| 14 |
Sul Ross State |
|
67 |
