Anderson University received five of a possible seven first-place votes and 47 overall poll points to top the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Baseball Poll. The head coaches of each of the seven schools voted on the poll.
Mount St. Joseph finished second in the poll with 42 overall points and two first-place votes. Hanover's 35 poll points put it in third place. Manchester (29), Franklin (21), Defiance (13) and Bluffton (9) round out the 2001 preseason poll.
Anderson finished the 2000 regular season with the best conference record (12-2), but Mount St. Joseph was crowned the conference champion after winning the HCAC Tournament. With the tournament win, the Lions automatically advanced into the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The league plans on playing an 18-game schedule during the 2001 season, which begins on March 24. Each school will play a three-game series against every other school in the conference. The four teams with the best regular season record will meet for a double-elimination tournament at the site of the highest seed May 11-13. The winner of that tournament will claim the HCAC Champion and will automatically qualify for a berth into the NCAA Championship Tournament.
| Team | Points (1st place) |
| Anderson | 47 (5) |
| Mt. St. Joseph | 42 (2) |
| Hanover | 35 |
| Manchester | 29 |
| Franklin | 21 |
| Defiance | 13 |
| Bluffton | 9 |
Anderson: Jonathan Carey, Sr., 1B (.342 BA, 45 RBI); Ryan Fuller, Sr., P (10-2, 2.93 ERA); Derek Byard, Sr., P (10-1, 4.01 ERA)
Mount St. Joseph: Chris McKeever, Jr., 1B (.338 BA, 42 RBI); Mike Cronin, Jr., OF (.320 BA, 43 Runs); Zac Hall, Sr., P (7-1, 2.00 ERA)
Hanover: Kyle DeSpain, Sr., 1B (.441 BA, 33 RBI); Bryan Dougherty, Sr., C (.406 BA, 35 RBI); Josh Purvis, Sr., RF (.377, 38 RBI, 40 Runs)
Manchester: Craig Hersey, Sr., OF (.355 BA, 26 RBI, 17 Stl.); Darren Reed, Jr., OF (.372 BA, 36 RBI); Joel Barrus, So., P (6-2, 4 Sv)
Franklin: Nick Phillips, Jr., OF (.385 BA); Mike Stahly, Sr., RF (.356 BA); Brett Robertson, Jr., P (2-3, 3.09 ERA)
Defiance: Jay Ertine, Sr., SS (.354 BA); Adam Baumbartner, Sr., OF (.321 BA); Eric Langham, So., RHP (4-3, 2.23 ERA)
Bluffton: Dustin Kreis, Jr., OF (.380 BA); Todd Pickthorn, Jr., IF (.350 BA, 26 Runs); Brad Buckingham, Jr., OF (.314 BA, 25 RBI)
