Feb. 10, 2012

CollegeBaseballInsider.com asked college coaches around the country to preview the 2012 college baseball season by sharing their insights on the teams and players to watch in their conferences. CBI compiled their answers to provide a sneak peek for the season ahead. click here for CBI Conference Previews

Today, we take a look at the Pac-12 (seven of 11 coaches responded).

The team to beat in your conference is: Stanford

Rank the top three starting pitchers: Mark Appel, Stanford; Brady Rodgers, Arizona State; Kurt Heyer, Arizona; Justin Jones, California; Adam Plutko, UCLA

The top closer is: Tony Bryant, Oregon State (right)

The pitcher you least want to face is: Brady Rodgers, Arizona State

The most underrated pitcher is: Adam Plutko, UCLA

The best defensive catcher is: Chadd Krist, California

The best catcher arm is: Chadd Krist, California

The best defensive infielder is: Deven Marrero, Arizona State

The best infield arm is: Deven Marrero, Arizona State

The best defensive outfielder is: Andrew Aplin, Arizona State

The best outfield arm is: Austin Wilson, Stanford

Rank the three best pure hitters: Tony Renda, California (right); Stephen Piscotty, Stanford; Joey DeMichele, Arizona State

Rank the three biggest power threats: Joey DeMichele, Arizona State; Taylor Ard, Washington State; Austin Wilson, Stanford

The hitter you least want to face is: Tony Renda, California

The toughest hitter to strike out is: Stephen Piscotty, Stanford

The most underrated hitter is: Joey Rickard, Arizona

The best base-runner is: Joey Rickard, Arizona

The best game coach is: (tie) George Horton, Oregon; and Andy Lopez, Arizona

The assistant coach most ready for a head-coaching job is: Marty Lees, Oregon State

(Bryant photo by Ethan Erickson, Renda photo by Jimmy Jones)