Kansas City, MO – The Patriots will enter the 2025-26 season ranked sixth in the GoRout NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll after receiving 371 points, announced by the national office Wednesday.
 
Cumberlands is coming off a historic 2024-25 campaign that featured the program's best finish at the NAIA World Series. The Patriots captured the Mid-South Conference regular season title for the third consecutive season and went 3-0 in the NAIA Opening Round, including a pair of extra-inning wins, to advance to the World Series for the third straight year. UC posted victories over Grand View and Loyola, marking the first time in program history the Patriots recorded multiple wins at the World Series.
 
The Patriots return two All-Conference standouts from last year's squad, including MSC First Team All-Conference selection Caden Petrey and MSC Second Team All-Conference honoree Derick Andiarena. Petrey, a senior third baseman, was one of UC's most consistent offensive threats last season, while Andiarena provided power and speed from the outfield. Both will look to help lead Cumberlands back to another postseason run in 2026.
 
On the mound, Cumberlands brings back key arms in Nolan Wilson and Wesley Culley, who were both named MSC Pitcher of the Week during the 2025 season. Culley started in five games while making nine appearances, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.73 ERA across 33 innings pitched. He struck out 50 batters and held opponents to a .248 average, highlighted by a career-high 11 strikeouts against Rochester Christian on March 1. Wilson appeared in 10 games with seven starts, tallying 48 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched. He finished with a 3-1 record and a 2.53 ERA while fielding .889 with three putouts and five assists.
 
Defending national champion LSU Shreveport tops the preseason poll, followed by Georgia Gwinnett and Southeastern to round out the top three. Nine of the 2025 Avista NAIA World Series qualifiers are represented in the top 10. Cumberland University is the only other Mid-South Conference team mentioned in the poll, receiving votes.
 
The Patriots will open their 2026 season on Saturday, January 31^st, at Spartanburg Methodist College.
 
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