Jan. 21, 2008

 

Arizona State tops NCBWA preseason poll

 

The Arizona State Sun Devils earn the top spot in the preseason poll of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, as released by the NCBWA.

 

ASU, which posted a 49-15 mark in 2007, is one of three Pac-10 schools in the Top 11. Arizona (42-17) sits at No. 5 and two-time defending national champion Oregon State (49-18) checks in at No. 11.

 

North Carolina (57-16), the national runner-up each of the past two seasons, holds down the second spot, followed by Rice (56-14) at No. 3 and South Carolina (46-20) in fourth. Rounding out the Top 10 are Texas (46-17), Ole Miss (40-25), Vanderbilt (54-13), San Diego (43-18) and Wichita State (53-22).

 

Rank       School                          Conference                   2007 Record         Final 2007 Ranking

1              Arizona State                Pacific-10                       49-15                       4

2              North Carolina              Atlantic Coast              57-16                       2

3              Rice                                Conference USA          56-14                       3

4              South Carolina              Southeastern                46-20                       8

5              Arizona                          Pacific-10                       42-17                       21

6              Texas                              Big 12                             46-17                       12

7              Mississippi                   Southeastern                40-25                       17

8              Vanderbilt                      Southeastern                54-13                       6

9              San Diego                      West Coast                   43-18                       23

10            Wichita State                Missouri Valley            53-22                       16

11            Oregon State                 Pacific-10                       49-18                       1

12            Miami (Fla.)                   Atlantic Coast              37-24                       NR

13            Florida State                  Atlantic Coast              49-13                       14

14            Cal State Fullerton       Big West                       38-25                       10

15            Michigan                       Big Ten                          42-19                       20

16            Clemson                         Atlantic Coast              41-23                       15

17            Missouri                        Big 12                             42-18                       25

18            Long Beach State         Big West                       39-20                       27

19            UCLA                             Pacific-10                       33-28                       26

20            Texas A&M                  Big 12                             48-19                       11

21            Virginia                          Atlantic Coast              45-16                       13

22            UC Irvine                       Big West                       47-17                       5

23            Louisville                       Big East                         47-24                       8

24            Mississippi State         Southeastern                38-22                       9

25            Kentucky                       Southeastern                34-19                       -

26            Baylor                            Big 12                             35-27                       -

27            Oklahoma State            Big 12                             42-21                       18

28            Louisiana-Lafayette     Sun Belt                         23-7                         29

29            Fresno State                  Western Athletic         38-29                       -

30            Coastal Carolina           Big South                      50-13                       19

31            Georgia Tech                Atlantic Coast              32-25                       -

32            Pepperdine                    West Coast                   35-22                       -

33            Southern Mississippi  Conference USA          39-23                       -

34            Louisiana State             Southeastern                29-26                       -

35            Arkansas                       Southeastern                43-21                       22

 

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama (31-26), Austin Peay (40-22), Bethune-Cookman (33-27), California (29-26), Charlotte (49-12), College of Charleston (39-19), Creighton (45-16), East Carolina (40-23), Georgia (23-33), Kent State (33-26), Louisiana Tech (35-24), Memphis (36-27), Minnesota (41-18), Nebraska (32-27), New Orleans (38-26), North Carolina State (38-23), Old Dominion (35-24), Oral Roberts (40-17), Penn State (31-26), Sam Houston State (40-24), South Florida (34-26), Southern California (27-29), Southern Illinois (34-22), St. John's (41-19), Stetson (42-21), TCU (48-14), Texas-San Antonio (36-22), Tulane (34-26), UC Riverside (38-21), UCF (27-32), VMI (34-21), Wake Forest (34-29), Western Carolina (42-20)