Columbus State have been named favorites to take home the 2026 Baseball title, as voted by the league’s coaches. The Cougars received five first place votes, with Lander receiving four votes, and North Georgia receiving one.  
 
The Cougars closed out the 2025 regular season in fourth place, receiving the #4 seed in the PBC Tournament. Columbus State won their first two games of the tournament, where North Georgia forced the Cougars to game seven of the double elimination bracket. The Cougars completed an incredible comeback in the final game to advance to the PBC Tournament Championship series. The Cougars eventually fell to PBC Tournament Champions Lander, closing their season at 30-23 overall. 
 
Reigning PBC Regular Season Co-Champions, North Georgia, have been tabbed to finish second in 2026. The Nighthawks completed one of their best seasons in history in 2025, completing their season with a 41-17 record following an NCAA Southeast Region appearance. The Nighthawks are under new leadership this season as Nolan Belcher takes the reigns as first year Head Coach.  
 
Reigning PBC Regular Season Co-Champions and PBC Tournament Champions, Lander, have been projected to finish third in 2026. The Bearcats completed their season with a 43-15 record, the third-most victories in program history. Alongside their regular season and tournament victories, the Bearcats advanced to the NCAA Southeast Region tournament for the first time since 2016. Lander also enter the 2026 season with new leadership as Nick Popp is set to lead the team as Head Coach following two seasons on the coaching staff with the Bearcats. 
 
Georgia Southwestern were voted to finish in fourth place, followed by GCSU, Flagler, USCA, Augusta, Middle Georgia, USC Beaufort and Claflin who round out the Preseason Coaches Poll. The coaches' poll is below, followed by the preseason All-Conference team. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own team or vote for their own players.

Rank	Team	Points
1.	Columbus State (5)	89
2.	North Georgia (2)	86
3.	Lander (4)	83
4.	Georgia Southwestern	71
5.	GCSU	62
6.	Flagler	58
7.	USCA	54
8.	Augusta	37
9.	Middle Georgia	32
10.	USC Beaufort	23
11.	Claflin	10

PBC Baseball Preseason All-Conference

1b- Cayden Evans, Columbus State

• Played and started 53 games
• Had a .354 batting average, .536 slugging percentage and a .445 on base percentage
• Totaled 195 putouts with a .991 fielding percentage

 
2b- Jon Davis, USC Beaufort

• Started 35 of 39 games played
• Had a .328 batting average, .460 slugging percentage and a .400 on base percentage
• Totaled 57 putouts and 36 assists with a .969 fielding percentage

 
3b- Jake Prince, North Georgia

• Started 36 of 39 games played
• Had a .275 batting average, .389 slugging percentage and a .366 on base percentage
• Totaled 52 putouts and 79 assists with a .956 fielding percentage

 
SS- Nolan Turner, Augusta

• Played and started 52 games
• Had a .294 batting average, .477 slugging percentage and a .350 on base percentage
• Totaled 76 putouts and 131 assists with a .920 fielding percentage

 
C- Kyle Robitzch, North Georgia

• Started 44 of 45 games played
• Had a .305 batting average, .390 slugging percentage and a .431 on base percentage
• Totaled 73 putouts with a .975 fielding percentage

 
DH- Eli Maddox, Flagler

• Played and started 48 games
• Had a .386 batting average, .544 slugging percentage and a .459 on base percentage
• Totaled 121 putouts with a .971 fielding percentage
• 2025 PBC First Team All-Conference
• 2025 D2CCA All-Region First Team

 
OF- Cole Eison, Columbus State

• Started 49 of 50 games played 
• Had a .320 batting average, .549 slugging percentage and a .397 on base percentage
• Totaled 130 putouts with a perfect 1.00 fielding percentage
• 2025 PBC Second Team All-Conference
• 2025 ABCA Southeast Region All-Defensive Team

 
OF- Luke Miller, Columbus State

• Started 48 of 51 games played 
• Had a .327 batting average, .500 slugging percentage and a .425 on base percentage
• Totaled 86 putouts with a .978 fielding percentage
• 2025 PBC All-Tournament Team

 
OF- Carson Phillips, GCSU

• Played and started 53 games
• Had a .320 batting average, .437 slugging percentage and a .396 on base percentage
• Totaled 99 putouts with a .990 fielding percentage
• 2025 PBC All-Tournament Team

 
RP- Cooper Sain, Georgia Southwestern

• Made 19 appearances
• Went 2-3 with 3.83 ERA and 37 strikeouts
• Faced 171 batters with a batting average of .215

 
SP- Matthew Heard, North Georgia

• Made 23 appearances, starting 6 
• Went 5-3 with 4.14 ERA and 72 strikeouts
• Faced 317 batters with a batting average of .240