Feb. 5, 2009

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In extremely tight voting, Arizona State edged UCLA for the top spot in the Pac-10 Preseason Poll, in voting by the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office.

Five teams received first-place votes. The Sun Devils and the Bruins each had three first-place votes. ASU had 69 points, two ahead of UCLA’s 67. Stanford got one first-place vote and 64 points for third place. Oregon State earned two first-place votes and 58 points for fourth. Arizona received the final first-place vote and had 56 points for fifth, followed by California, USC, Washington State, Washington and Oregon.

Arizona State boasts a pair of All-Americans in junior pitcher and utility man Mike Leake and junior outfielder Jason Kipnis. The Sun Devils won the Pac-10 title a season ago with a 16-8 conference mark to go with a 49-13 overall record.

Pac-10 Preseason Poll

1. Arizona State (3) 69

2. UCLA (3) 67

3. Stanford (1) 64

4. Oregon State (2) 58

5. Arizona (1) 56

6. California 42

7. USC 38

8. Washington State 24

9. Washington 23

10. Oregon 9