Missouri State All-Americans Jake Burger and Bryan Young were named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s preseason all-conference squad Tuesday, while the Bears were tabbed third in the league’s 2017 preseason poll in a vote of the Valley’s head coaches.
Defending Valley champion Dallas Baptist garnered five of the eight first-place votes and finished with 59 points overall to claim the top spot in the poll. The Patriots narrowly edged second-place pick Southern Illinois (53 points), which received the remaining three first-place votes.
With 15 letterwinners returning from last year’s 38-21 squad, the Bears gained 51 points to place third, out-distancing Indiana State and Wichita State, which tied for the fourth spot with 36 points. Bradley (25 points) earned the sixth position in the poll, followed by Evansville (20) and Illinois State (8).
“There were no real surprises with the poll,” MSU head coach Keith Guttin stated. “You have to look at Dallas Baptist as the returning champion with some talented players back. Southern Illinois has its whole team back, so it didn’t surprise me at all to see them selected second. It will be a challenge for us as, but we’ll be ready to compete.”
The league’s eight clubs will convene in Springfield at the conclusion of the conference season for the right to represent the Valley in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. This year’s MVC Championship will mark the return of the circuit’s postseason tournament to Hammons Field for the first time since 2012, as well as the Bears’ fourth time overall serving as the host of the league meet.
Bears’ single-game tickets for the 2017 season, which will also go on-sale in February, remain priced at $5 for the general public, $2.50 for Missouri State faculty and staff, $2 for students and special rates are offered for groups of 20 or more. All children ages 12 and under not accompanied by a season-ticket holder will require a $2 ticket for admission. Students must show a valid and current BearPass Card along with a student ticket to gain entry to Hammons Field.
All Bears baseball season-ticket holders – including new orders and renewals placed by Feb. 6 – will be entitled to the same number of complementary tickets to MSU’s ninth-annual First Pitch fundraiser, additional details for which will be announced in the near future.
MVC Championship all-session packages begin at $45 for Bears season ticket-holders and are also available now through the MSU Athletics Box Office. General public (including faculty/staff non-season ticket holders) all-tournament packages are available for $55, while student tournament passes are on sale for $20. Single-game prices for the tournament are $12 for adults and $5 for students and children between the ages of 2 and 12. Kids under the age of 2 will be admitted free of charge. Single-game tournament tickets will be available for purchase in February.
