The Northern Sun Conference office has released the 2019-20 Preseason Coaches' Poll and Upper Iowa has been selected to finish second behind St. Cloud State University, the eight-time defending NSIC Champions. The Huskies were a unanimous choice to win the league with 64 points. Upper Iowa collected 53 points just ahead of Minnesota State University, Mankato, who pulled 52 points and a first place vote. Augustana was fourth with 41 points.
 
Upper Iowa's Nick Baumler was voted by the league coaches as the preseason wrestler of the year. Baumler returns for his senior season in a Peacock singlet after two straight NCAA All-American seasons at 197 pounds. The West Union native placed third at the NCAA Division II Championships in 2019 and seventh in 2018. With a career record of 82-33, Baumler is just 18 wins shy of joining the century wins club at Upper Iowa. He has recorded 34 bonus-points wins for the Peacocks including 10 falls, 3 tech falls and 21 majors. Baumler is also a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American.
 
The Peacock wrestling team is excited to get back on the mats in 2019-20 after sending four wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships and coming back with two All-Americans last year. Nick Baumler (197) placed third earning his second-straight All-American honor, while Justin Folley (133) placed seventh at the Championships. Brock Benitz (165) posted a win at the Championships, but came up one victory shy of joining his teammates in the placing rounds.
 
Upper Iowa finished the 2018-19 season with an 8-6 dual meet record, which included the program's 12th shutout under Head Coach Heath Grimm, a 56-0 win over Truman State, and wins over No. 25 Northern State, No. 20 UMary and Southwest Minnesota State (RV). UIU placed eighth at the at the NWCA National Duals marking the eleventh time in the last twelve years including the last eight straight that UIU has placed in the premier team event. The Peacocks finished the NSIC season with a 5-3 mark and had four wrestlers named All-NSIC including Benitz (1st), Folley (2nd), Dalton Hahn (2^nd, 184) and Triston Westerlund (2^nd, HWT). All four return to the lineup this year for Upper Iowa.
 
Grimm has loaded up on talent with the last two recruiting classes and is looking to mix the talented youth with his established upperclassmen to put together a championship squad for the NCAA Division II Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. in March. UIU opens their season with an underclassmen open tournament at Rochester C&TC on Nov. 2 before all classes will compete at the Millikin Open on Nov. 9. The Peacocks will open their home slate with a dual against Southwest Minnesota State on Dec. 12 and host Minnesota State University Moorhead, Augustana University and Minnesota State University, Mankato in the second semester.