St. Louis - Illinois State Swimming and Dive was picked second in the annual Missouri Valley Conference pre-championship coaches poll, as announced by the league office on Friday.
The Redbirds finished second in the 2022 Valley Championships and that's where they're picked heading into 2023. Missouri State tallied nine of ten first-place votes and was named the favorite to win the MVC title. The Redbirds were picked ahead of Southern Illinois (third), Marshall (fourth), Indiana State (fifth), UNI (sixth), UIC (seventh), Little Rock (eighth), Evansville (ninth), and Valparaiso (tenth). The Sycamores earned the lone first-place vote not awarded to Missouri State.