Jan. 13, 2009 - Preseason Polls & Ping Pong

Thank you for taking the time to browse the baseball page. If you have a question or comment, please feel free to  e-mail me. The 2009 USA Baseball Season Outlook is now available online, as well as the latest edition of In the Dugout with ... featuring senior RHP Miles Ethridge. 

With less than six weeks until baseball season officially begins, it's time to take a look at some preseason polls. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its preseason poll Tuesday, and three of the Jags' 2009 opponents are ranked in the top 20. Additionally, five more opponents received votes in the NCBWA poll.

Ole Miss (14th), UC Irvine (15th) and Baylor (19th) each cracked the top 20, while Alabama, Auburn, New Orleans, Southern Miss and Vanderbilt each received votes. New Orleans was the only Sun Belt Conference team to receive votes, which might seem odd considering Western Kentucky is often listed as the favorite to win the conference.

Collegiate Baseball released its preseason poll Dec. 22.  According to its poll, five teams on USA's 2009 slate are among the top 40 in the nation. Ole Miss again led the way, this time at 11th, while Baylor (15th), UC Irvine (20th), Southern Miss (33rd) and Alabama (40th) all cracked the top 40.

Vanderbilt was listed first among teams receiving votes, so if the poll were extended they would be ranked 41st. Auburn (44th), Mississippi State (60th), Western Kentucky (64th), Louisiana-Monroe (81st) and New Orleans (82nd) also received votes. 

With five teams in the top 40 and six additional teams receiving votes, there's no doubting the Jags have one of their toughest schedules ever in 2009. Playing such a strong schedule can only help the Jags chances if they're looking for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.