ELMHURST, Ill. — The South Dakota State University baseball team has been picked to finish in the 2013 Summit League standings, according to a poll conducted among the league's six head coaches and revealed on Friday.

North Dakota State received five first-place votes to be tabbed as the preseason favorite with 25 points. The Jackrabbits were second with 17 points, followed by Oakland with 16 points, including the other first-place vote.

Rounding out the poll were Western Illinois (15 points), Fort Wayne (nine) and Summit League newcomer (eight).

The Jackrabbits are coming off a 2012 season in which they finished fifth in Summit League play with a 7-14 conference record. SDSU missed out on the postseason tournament for the first time after making three consecutive tournament championship series appearances from 2009-11. Overall, the Jackrabbits ended the 2012 campaign with an 18-33-1 record under first-year head coach Dave Schrage.

The 2013 season will feature a revamped Summit League schedule in which teams will play 30 league contests, starting on April 5. Each team will play the other five programs six times — a four-game series at one location and a doubleheader at the other site. The top four teams will advance to the Summit League Championship, which is scheduled to be played May 23-25 in Rochester, Mich. The winner of the postseason tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

SDSU opens the season with a Feb. 18 doubleheader against Waldorf (Iowa) at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.