So yesterday I stumbled upon this year’s MVC preseason poll while grabbing my morning coffee. Don’t know why, but something felt off about the order they had these teams ranked. Figured I’d dig in myself.
First Steps: Getting the Data Messy
Pulled up the official poll results first. Made a quick list. Then, fire up the trusty spreadsheet. Pasted all the teams and their predicted spots. Simple stuff. Headache started when I grabbed last season’s final standings and stats – win-loss records, run differentials, who graduated, key transfers. Lots of tabs open, cold coffee sitting forgotten.
Felt like a detective with a pile of clues. First thing I did? Spot the teams placed way higher than where they ended last season. Obvious ones jumped out. But then I looked for the sleepers – teams ranked low but whose stats last year didn’t scream “disaster,” maybe showed flashes late season.
Hunting for the Underdog Signs
This bit was tedious. Scrolling through school athletics sites, local sports blogs, even some fan forums (grain of salt needed!). Looking for:
- Which teams lost almost nobody? Sometimes a squad that was young and okay last year returns everyone.
- Who landed impact transfers? Especially pitchers or big bats. That JC shortstop suddenly showing up for Indiana State? Interesting.
- Injured players coming back? That ace Bradley lost mid-April? If he’s healthy, huge boost.
- Any surprise coaching hires? Did a struggling team bring in a new guru?
Copied all these little nuggets into my spreadsheet next to the teams. Started seeing patterns the pollsters maybe missed. Felt like putting together a puzzle, piece by annoying piece.
The “Aha!” Teams
Okay, crunch time. Compared my messy notes with the official poll order. A few teams stood out like a sore thumb:
- Evansville: Ranked way low. Barely above last place. But dude, they return almost their whole lineup, pitchers included. Found out their injured cleanup hitter is back 100%. How is no one talking about this?
- Belmont: Middle of the pack ranking. Looked at their transfer portal haul though. Snagged two legit starting pitchers from bigger conferences. Their run diff last year wasn’t terrible either. Why aren’t they ranked higher?
- Southern Illinois: Poll had them respectable, sure. But checking their late-season surge… they won like 8 of their last 10 MVC games with mostly underclassmen. Feels like they’re still being slept on a bit.
Made a separate list just for these guys. Called it my “Head-Scratchers and Risers.”
Putting it Out There
Time to write it up clean. Didn’t want to bash the official poll, just point out where some teams might surprise. Started drafting:
Laid out the preseason rankings as a baseline. Then, section by section, walked through my research process for each sleeper team. Made sure to explain why each pick felt low – the returning players, the transfers, the stats that didn’t fit the low ranking. Ended with a simple take: watch these teams, they might mess up the predicted order big time.
Final read-through, fixed typos (lots of coffee stains on my notes), and hit publish. Felt good pointing out the potential surprises the polls might have glossed over!