Quick Hits• The 22nd-ranked Central Missouri Mules get the 2015 season underway with four games in Houston, Texas at the Third Annual Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park.
• UCM is ranked No. 22 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll and 20th in the D2BaseballNews.com preseason poll. The Mules are receiving votes in the other two Division II polls, Perfect Game Baseball and the NCBWA.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA's Preseason Coaches' poll.
• The Mules were 35-16 a season ago and captured the 24th MIAA Regular Season Championship in program history. The Mules missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.
Central Missouri opens 2015 season   Central Missouri will open the 2015 season against Henderson State on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Minute Maid Park in Houston as part of the 2015 Houston Winter Invitational.
   The Mules will then play Winona State on Friday at 6 p.m., 17th-ranked Arkansas Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. and UCM will wrap up the tournament against 38th-ranked St. Mary's (Texas) on Sunday at 10 a.m.
On the air• All of Central Missouri's games during the Houston Winter Invitational can be heard live on the Central Missouri Sports Radio Network. Thursday and Saturday's games will be on 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com. Friday night's game will be on 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com and Sunday's game will be on both radio stations and on the internet.
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Bob Jackson will be on the call with the UCM Office of Extended Studies Dugout Show beginning 25 minutes prior to first pitch.
The Series• The Mules hold a 17-2 all-time series lead with Henderson State. The Mules beat the Reddies 13-0 last year in Houston.
• UCM holds an 18-3 series lead against Winona State after beating the Warriors 3-2 in the final game of last year's Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules hold a slim 9-6 lead in the all-time series with Arkansas Tech. The teams did not play in last year's Houston Winter Invitational. The last meeting was a 10-4 UCM win at the 2013 Winter Invite.
• The series between Central Missouri and St. Mary's is all tied at 3-3 after the Rattlers beat UCM 5-4 in last year's season-opener in Houston. The Rattlers have two straight in the series.
Henderson State• Henderson State enters the season picked to finish ninth in the Great American Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Reddies were 17-31 overall last year and finished in ninth place in the GAC with an 11-19 conference mark.
• HSU begins the fifth year under head coach Cody Hooten, who is 83-111-1 in his first five seasons.
• The Reddies return all eight position starters from last season's squad.
Winona State• Winona State finished 27-22 in head coach Kyle Poock's 13th season last year. The Warriors were 20-11 in Northern Sun Conference play and finished in fifth in the NSIC.
• The Warriors received two first place votes and were picked to finish fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason coaches' poll.
• Junior shortstop Tyler Nehring and senior righthanded pitcher Chase Blazier were both named as NSIC players to watch in 2015.
• Blazier, Nehring and senior first baseman Travis Evanson were all named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Region Second Team.
Arkansas Tech• Arkansas Tech had one of the best seasons in school history in 2014. They finished 44-12 overall and won the GAC with a 25-5 conference mark. The Wonder Boys earned the No. 1 seed and hosted the NCAA-II Central Regional.
• ATU is 169-98 as they enter the sixth year under head coach Dave Dawson.
• The Wonder Boys are picked to finish second in the GAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. They received four of 11 first place votes and trail only Southern Arkansas in the poll.
• Arkansas Tech opened the 2015 season last weekend against Missouri Western, going 2-2 against the Griffons at Tech Field in Russellville.
St. Mary's• St. Mary's went 35-20 overall in 2014 and 18-12 in Heartland Conference play finishing fourth. The Rattlers are 1,049-471 under 29th-year head coach Charlie Migl.
• The Rattlers enter the 2015 season as the No. 3 pick in the Heartland Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• St. Mary's is ranked 38th in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason poll and No. 17 by Perfect Game Baseball.
• The Rattlers are ranked preseason No. 5 in the South Central Region by the NCBWA.
• Lefthanded pitcher Matt McClain was a preseason first team all-region selection by the NCBWA, infielder Joe Hermsen was named to the second team and outfielder/righthanded pitcher Brooks Orton was selected honorable mention.
The Mules• Central Missouri returns 18 letterwinners and six starters from the 2014 squad that finished 35-16 overall, and captured the 24th MIAA championship in program history with a 32-8 conference mark. The team missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years.
• UCM returns five All-MIAA players in utilityman
Jake Alexander, shorstop
Brad Jelinek, outfielder
Trevor Jones, starting pitcher
Ricky Rivera and third baseman
Tony Sandifer.
• The Mules return three of their top four hitters from last season in Alexander (.383), Jones (.366) and Sandifer (.366). Sandifer was second on the team in hits (64) and home runs (4) and led the team in RBI (48). Jones stole a team-leading 16 bases in 18 attempts in 2014.
• Rivera was second on the team in wins last year with six and
Jake Heissler also returns to the rotation after going 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA in seven starts before suffering a season-ending injury.
• The Mules are picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
Worth Noting• The Mules won six straight conference series to close out the 2014 regular season.
• Senior outfielder
Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.
Mules picked to finished second in MIAA Preseason Poll• Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA according to the 14 league coaches in the preseason poll released last Friday. The Mules received two of 14 first place votes and tallied 155 points to come in second. Emporia State received 10 first place votes and totaled 164 points to claim the top spot. Central Oklahoma garnered the other two first place nods adn 143 points to come in third. Missouri Western (132 points) and Nebraska-Kearney (121 points) rounded out the top five.
• UCM is scheduled to open MIAA play Feb. 20-22 hosting Fort Hays State in a four-game series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri is ranked No. 22 in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll. The Mules are ranked No. 20 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and receiving votes in the NCBWA poll.
Mules in season-openers• The Mules are 30-20 in season-openers since 1965. UCM has dropped two straight season-openers at the Houston Winter Invitational.
Mules in non-conference action• The Mules were 3-8 in non-conference games last season, including 2-2 at the season-opening Houston Winter Invitational.
Mules in MIAA play• The Mules were 32-8 in conference play last year as they captured the 24th MIAA Regular Season championship in program history and the 16th in the last 21 seasons.
Mules on the road• The Mules were 15-9 on the road last season.
Mules in Texas• Central Missouri is 5-3 in the state of Texas over the past two seasons, with all eight games coming during the Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules were 2-2 at the season-opening tournament last year.
Crookes era begins• This year's Houston Winter Invitational marks the beginning of the
Kyle Crookes era of Mules Baseball. After two years as the team's top assistant, Crookes takes over the reigns as head coach in 2015.
• The Mules were 71-29 in his two seasons as an assistant coach and captured the 2014 MIAA Regular Season Championship. The Mules garnered five First Team All-MIAA selections and three All-America honors during his two years as an assistant.
• Crookes compiled a 292-164 overall record in eight seasons as the head coach at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before taking over as an assistant coach at UCM.
Mules Baseball history   In the 59th season of UCM baseball the Mules have compiled a 1,759-686-9 (.719) record in 2,454 games played. The Mules have won 40 or more games 17 times, including 14 straight seasons from 1999-2012, and have won 50 or more games nine times.
   The Mules have won or shared 24 MIAA championships, 16 regional titles and two national championships.
Mules Baseball by the Numbers• 27 NCAA Regional Appearances (20 of the last 21 years)
• 24 MIAA Titles (16 of the last 21)
• 20 MIAA Tournament Titles (16 of the last 21)
• 16 Regional Championships
• 15 Regionals as host site
• 13 Top five national finishes
• 4 Third place finishes
• 1 National Runner-Up
• 2 National Championships
UCM Alumni to host pregame reception on Friday   There will be a pre-game UCM Alumni and Friends reception before Friday night's game against Winona State. The reception will be from 4-6 p.m. in the Insperity Club located behind home plate on the main concourse at Minute Maid Park. The event is free of charge once inside the stadium. Fans may RSVP for the event by calling 660-543-8000 or online at www.ucmo.edu/houston.
Mules Baseball: Winningest Team of the 2000s• The Central Missouri baseball program has had unprecedented success in the last 25 years and has been even more impressive since the year 2000. The Mules were the winningest team in all divisions of the NCAA by victories (508) and percentage (.814, 508-116) from 2000-09. That success has continued through the 2010s.
• The Mules are 728-175 (.806) since the year 2000. An average of 48.5 wins per season over the last 15 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics• Following the fall sports seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 202 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season titles, the most of any school in one season in league history, and the second time Central Missouri has accomplished the feat.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 146 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won six national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003 and men's basketball in 2014) and eight national championships overall.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom• Central Missouri had 220 student-athletes named to the 2013-14 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 41 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 12 student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with seven of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Upcoming• The Mules travel to Magnolia, Ark. for a two-game set with Southern Arkansas on Friday, February 13 and a single non-conference game with Lincoln on Saturday, February 14.
• Central Missouri opens MIAA play on Friday, Feb. 20 hosting Fort Hays State for a 3 p.m. game. It is the first game of a four-game series. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch with Sunday's single-game going at 1 p.m. as well.
