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2014 SEASON PREVIEW PRESEASON RANKINGS USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll 3. Oregon State 7. Oregon 10. UCLA 25. Stanford RV. Arizona Baseball America Preseason Top 25 2. Oregon State 11. Oregon 12. UCLA NCBWA Preseason Top 35 3. Oregon State 9. UCLA 11. Oregon 20. Arizona State 31. Stanford 33. Arizona RV. Washington State Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40 4. Oregon State 6. Oregon 15. UCLA 22. Arizona State 24. Arizona 26. Stanford RV. California RV. Washington RV. Washington State Despite winning four in a row to close out the 2013 regular season, 2012 national champion Arizona (34-21, 15-15) was unable to nab a spot in the postseason after tying for fifth in the Pac-12. The Wild- cats lost two-time All-Pac-12 performer Johnny Field to graduation, but will look to sophomore shorstop Kevin Newman to spark the offense. As a freshman in 2013, Newman was eighth in the Conference in batting average (.336), 10th in hits (73), and tied for 10th in RBIs (42), earning him All-Pac-12 honor- able mention honors in his first year of collegiate baseball. Another key piece on the field will be junior in- fielder Trent Gilbert, who has started 119 games in two years for the Wildcats. Gilbert was an All-Pac-12 honorable selection a year ago and will be looked on to be a leader both offensively and defensively in 2014. Arizona's pitching staff will look to senior right-hander James Farris to be their ace in 2014. Farris posted a 5-5 record with a 4.18 earned run average in 15 starts, striking out 73 and walking just 23 in 99.0 innings of work. Farris was drafted in the 15th round of the MLB draft, but did not sign and returns to headline the 2014 pitching staff. Arizona State (37-22, 16-14) finished the 2013 season in a tie for fourth-place in the Pac-12 and re- turned to the postseason after being ineligible for postseason play in 2012. The Sun Devils have been an NCAA Tournament staple in the last decade and a half, only missing out on postseason play twice since 1997 (1998 & 2012). Headlining the Sun Devils' pitching staff will be 2014 preseason All-American SO LHP Ryan Kellogg, an All-Pac-12 performer as a freshman in 2013 who tied for fourth in the Conference with 11 wins in his first year of collegiate baseball. Last season, Kellogg went 11-1 with a 3.15 ERA in 103.0 innings pitched. Also boosting the 2014 pitching staff will be another sophomore standout and preseason All-American in RHP Ryan Burr. The 2013 honorable mention selection went 4-2 in 31 ap- pearances with a 2.20 ERA. ASU returns six position starters from last year's squad and will look to All- Pac-12 honorable mention JR OF Trever Allen to pick up where he left off in 2013 and lead the offensive attack in 2014. Allen started 58 games in 2013 hitting .297 with 65 hits and a team-leading 49 RBIs. Three years removed from a remarkable College World Series run, California (23-31, 10-20) looks to bounce back after a 23-31 performance in 2013. With the loss of All-Pac-12 honoree Andrew Knapp to Major League Baseball, the Bears will rely on SR INF Devon Rodriguez and SO OF Devin Pearson to the key the offensive attack. Rodriguez led the team in hits (61) and was second in RBIs (40) while Pearson was second on the team in batting average (.302) and and third in hits (54) as a freshman in 2013. The Bear's pitching staff in 2014 will look to returning starter SO RHP Ryan Mason for production at the front end of the rotation. Mason went 5-3 in 14 appearances, including 11 starts, and was fourth on the team in ERA (7.76) while leading the squad in innings pitched (69.1). The bullpen will be lead by SR LHP Kyle Porter and SO RHP Collin Monsour, who went a combined 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in 32 appearances. Oregon (48-16, 22-8) finished a single game out of first place in the Pac-12 for the second-consecutive year and made its third NCAA regional appearance in the last four years. The Ducks will again challenge their in-state rivals for the Pac-12 title as they return six starting position players and all three weekend starters on the mound. JR LHP Tommy Thorpe was an All-Pac-12 honoree as the Duck's Friday starter in 2013, while SO RHP Cole Irvin earned freshman All-American honors as the Saturday starter after setting an Oregon record with 12 wins. Sunday starter JR RHP Jake Reed completes a returning trio that went a combined 25-14 with a 2.69 ERA. The bullpen will need to fill the hole left by All-American closer Jimmie Sherfy, but SO LHP Garrett Cleavinger is a more than solid replacement. The Ducks will look to SO Mitchell Tolman, JR Scott Heineman, SR Tyler Baumgartner and SR Aaron Payne for offensive production after losing All-Pac-12 performer Ryon Healy, a two-year starter who led the team in batting average (.333) and several other offensive categories. Tolman, a freshman All-American in 2013, was third on the team in batting (.315) and finished with 37 RBIs. Oregon State (52-13, 24-6) finished 2013 ranked No. 4 in the country after winning the Pac-12 regu- lar season championship and making its first appearance in the College World Series since winning consecutive titles in 2006 and 2007. The Beavers, who are ranked in the top 5 in numerous national preseason polls inlcluding their highest preseason ranking ever in Baseball America at No. 3, are among the preseason favorites to win the Pac-12 title in 2013. The defending Pac-12 champions welcome back reigning Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Year in JR INF Michael Conforto and SO RHP Andrew Moore. Conforto, a two-time All-Pac-12 performer and former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, tied for the lead in the Pac-12 in home runs (11) while batting .328 with 14 doubles, one triple and 47 RBIs. Moore, a first team All-American as a freshman in 2013, returns to lead the Beavers' pitching staff in 2014. Moore's 14 wins was tied for first in the Pac-12 and his 1.79 ERA was second while ranking in the top 5 in nearly every major pitching category. The Beavers will also have senior LHP Ben Wetzler back as another weekend starter, in addition to returning four position starters from a year ago. Stanford (32-22, 16-14) finished the 2013 campaign tied for fourth in the Pac-12 standings, just miss- ing out on the postseason. The 2014 Cardinal pitching staff will have a tough task ahead of them in replacing departed All-American Mark Appel, a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and the number one overal pick in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft. To fill the void they will look to SO RHP Bobby Zarubin and JR LHP John Hochstatter. The pair started a combined 23 games and went 6-6 last season. The Cardinal enters the season ranked No. 25 USA Today/ESPN preason coaches poll and will return five position starters from the 2013 squad. Leading the position returners will be SR infielder and 2013 Pac- 12 honorable mention selection Danny Diekroeger, who hit .300 with 65 hits and 28 RBIs while starting all 52 games a year ago. JR 3B Alex Blandino will also be a key player for the Cardinal in 2014. The Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America third-team selection collected 48 hits and 32 RBIs in 2013. UCLA is led by junior All-American pitcher David Berg, the reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year. //7 PREVIEW // 2014 PAC-12 BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE // 7