2026 GLIAC Tournament Preview

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament kicks off Thursday, May 7 with the top six teams qualifying for the double-elimination tournament hosted by Wayne State at UWM Field in Utica, Mich. The championship game is set for Sunday, May 10 with the if necessary game to follow immediately after.

Links to know:

Tournament Website

Live Stream Page (Flo College $)

Live Stats Page

Tickets

No. 1 Seed: #7 Grand Valley State (41-8, 20-4 GLIAC)

The 2024 GLIAC Tournament champs, GVSU enters looking for its second tourney title in three years. The Lakers will open up against No. 6 seed Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m. Thursday. GVSU swept the four-game regular season series over Purdue Northwest. GVSU enters the tournament ranked atop the latest Midwest Regional rankings released Wednesday by the NCAA.

The Lakers head into postseason play hitting .333 as a team, led by shortstop Evan Morrison’s .395 average. The senior gets thing started atop the GVSU lineup and has tallied 22 XBH this season while going 25-30 in the stolen base department, while being the second-hardest hitter in Division II to strike out with just six in 210 at bats. Caleb Estrada leads the club in home runs with 14 and is hitting .394, while Jovan Gill leads the Lakers and ranks ninth in D2 in RBI with 72 while entering with a .360 average.

GVSU’s bread and butter is on the mound, entering GLIAC tourney play ranked second in the country with a 3.55 ERA. The three-headed rotation monster of Collin Bradley, Owen Avery, and Jackson Kees has combined to go 25-2 with a 2.58 ERA. Bradley is 9-0 with a 1.93 ERA in a team-high 74.2 innings, Avery enters 8-1 with a 2.44 ERA in 62.2 innings, while Kees is 8-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 59.2 innings. The Laker bullpen is a weapon, as well, with Ethan Houghtaling the go-to guy with 5 saves and a 1.95 ERA with 31 Ks in 32.1 innings. Duncan McLaughlin (3-0, 1 save, 2.45 ERA in 29.1 IP), Ty Uchman (3 saves, 4.35 ERA in 20.2 IP), and JJ Manion (6-1, 1 save, 4.41 ERA in 34.2 IP) have all been reliable and oft-used.

No. 2 Seed: #19 Wayne State (35-12, 17-7 GLIAC)

The 2023 GLIAC Tournament champs, Wayne State enters ranked second in the latest NCAA Regional rankings and will take on No. 5 seed Parkside at 11 a.m. Thursday. WSU took 3-of-4 from Parkside in the regular season series.

The Warriors come into postseason play hitting .296 as a team, led by Drew Hill’s .413 average. The junior leads Wayne State with 69 hits and has compiled a .510 OBP with 36 walks and just 22 strikeouts. Bennett Hitzelberger (.344, 14 2B, 9 HR, 36 RBI), Owen Tuccinardi (.316, 12 2B, 11 HR, 50 RBI), and Ty Garza (.282, 14 2B, 28 RBI) each logging double-digit doubles, with Tuccinardi being the lone Warrior to reach double-digits in home runs.

Another solid pitching staff in this field, the Warriors come in with a 4.04 team ERA and also feature three solid starters of its own. Will Lowery (11 starts, 7-1, 3.27 ERA in 63.1 IP), Gavin Nash (10 starts, 4-4, 3.62 ERA in 49.2 IP), and Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (11 starts, 5-1, 4.65 ERA in 60 IP) give Wayne State a trio of reliable arms to provide quality starts, while Gabe Nazelli has made eight starts and gone 4-1 with a 3.95 ERA in 43.1 innings. The top option in the bullpen is Rocco Cardinale with a 1.76 ERA and 6 saves in 15.1 innings. Nick Baker (10 APP, 2.55 ERA in 17.2 IP), TJ McAllister (11 APP, 2.93 ERA in 15.1 IP), and Philip Miller (14 APP, 5-0, 1 save, 3.30 ERA in 30 IP) also provide some bullpen depth.

No. 3 Seed: Davenport (26-24, 15-9 GLIAC)

The 2025 GLIAC Tournament champs head to Utica looking to be the first team to repeat since these Panthers did it in 2021 & 2022. Davenport will close out Day 1 of the tournament against No. 4 seed Saginaw Valley State at 7 p.m. Thursday. Davenport split the four-game regular season series against Saginaw Valley. The Panthers are ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Regional rankings.

Davenport enters GLIAC Tournament play hitting .324 as a team, led by Dylan Pawenski at .397. The senior catcher has added 12 doubles and a team-high 11 homers and 61 RBI. Justin Johnson and Wyatt Epple have each tallied 74 hits, with Johnson hitting .385 with 16 doubles and 48 RBI, while Epple sits at .357 with 11 doubles and 18-21 on SB attempts.

Travis Liford leads the Panthers in doubles with 20 and is hitting .295.

On the mound, Davenport enters with a 7.02 ERA, led by Easton Remick (10 starts, 4-4, 5.04 ERA in 55.1 IP) and Sean Knorr (11 starts, 3-1, 5.59 ERA in 56.1 IP). Brayden Flanders leads the Panthers with 20 appearances and has posted a 2-1 record with a save and a 4.28 ERA across 27.1 innings. Jaden Alberson (11 APP, 2-0, 1 save, 2.84 ERA in 25.1 IP) and Gage Vota (11 APP, 2-1, 1 save, 4.50 ERA in 18 IP) provide Davenport a couple more reliable bullpen options.

No. 4 Seed: Saginaw Valley State (26-23, 12-12 GLIAC)

The 2024 GLIAC regular season champs, Saginaw Valley State opens its pursuit of its first GLIAC tournament title against No. 3 seed Davenport at 7 p.m. Thursday. The two squads split the four-game regular season series. SVSU regional rankings

The Cardinals enter with a .299 batting average and the best team speed in the GLIAC with 163 stolen bases, good for sixth in the country. Buck Snabes leads the way at the plate and on the basepaths, entering postseason play with a .405 average with 15 XBH and a 40-44 clip on stolen base attempts. Ryan Jarvis comes in at .401 with 14 doubles and a team-high 54 RBI, while also chipping in with 16 stolen bases. Aaron Bess leads the Cardinals in doubles with 15 and is tied with Jarvis for the team lead in homers with seven, while stealing 20 bases.

SVSU has started 12 different pitchers this season, led by Jack Sequin’s nine. Sequin has gone 4-5 with a 5.37 ERA in 57 innings. Jack Decker leads the team with 60.1 innings and is 4-1 with a 4.62 ERA with 66 Ks. Nathan Masar has the best numbers of the three and has split his 12 appearances evenly between starting and relief outings. Masar comes in with a 5-3 record with a 3.27 ERA and 65 punchouts in 55 innings. Dan Wilcome leads the Cardinals with three saves and is 2-2 with a 3.91 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

No. 5 Seed: Parkside (24-23, 10-14 GLIAC)

Parkside heads to Utica looking for its first GLIAC Tournament title and will open up against No. 2 seed Wayne State at 11 a.m. Thursday. Parkside dropped 3-of-4 to Wayne State in the regular season series.

The Rangers enter the GLIAC Tournament hitting .280 as a team, led by Banjamin Loyd at .369 with a team-high 14 doubles and 18-21 on SB attempts. Dylan Sayles (.329, 11 SB, team-high .455 OBP) and Joe Mrowiec (.311, team-high 9 HRs and 40 RBI) join Loyd as the other regulars hitting above .300.

Brennen Miller and Keegan Waters have each made a team-high 11 starts for Parkside, with Miller posting a 3-4 record with a 5.17 ERA in 54 innings, while Waters is 2-4 with a 5.67 ERA in 46 innings. Isaiah Terrell is the key arm in the bullpen, going 1-1 with a pair of saves and  2.66 ERA in 23.2 innings. Tyler Kennen provides the Rangers another quality pen arm, posting a 4.67 ERA in 17.1 innings with 14 strikeouts against just 3 walks.

No. 6 Seed: Purdue Northwest (15-26, 7-17 GLIAC)

PNW will open its postseason play against No. 1 seed Grand Valley State at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The Lions were swept by GVSU in the four-game regular season series.

PNW comes in hitting .274 as a team, led by Brayden Barrett and Drew Kosteba as the lone regulars at .300 or better. Barrett is hitting .341 with just nine Ks in 129 ABs while also going 21-23 on stolen base attempts. Kosteba is at .329 with 15 XBH and a team-high 36 RBI. Joey Guiliano leads the Lions with 13 doubles and is hitting .264 with 20 SBs.

Owen Walkowiak leads PNW on the mound with a 4.96 ERA and 39 punchouts in 45.1 innings, while Mitchell Stanton is 2-2 with a 6.55 ERA in 11 appearances (8 starts) spanning 34.1 innings. Joey DalPonte leads the Lions in appearances with 19 and is 1-1 with a 6.16 ERA in 30.2 innings.