Pac-12 Conference

2016 Pac-12 Baseball Media Guide

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2016 SEASON PREVIEW 7 PREVIEW // 2016 PAC-12 BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE PRESEASON RANKINGS USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll 8. OREGON STATE 9. UCLA 12. CALIFORNIA 15. OREGON 20. USC NCBWA Preseason Top 35 5. OREGON STATE 9. UCLA 10. CALIFORNIA 17. OREGON 18. USC Baseball America Preseason Top 25 5. OREGON STATE 8. CALIFORNIA 10. UCLA 14. OREGON 16. USC Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40 8. OREGON STATE 10. UCLA 13. CALIFORNIA 14. OREGON • Arizona (31-24, 12-18) finished eighth in the Conference last season, but brings back third baseman/ pitcher Bobby Dalbec, a Baseball America second-team All-American and the Pac-12 home run leader in 2015. Andy Lopez, the UA head coach for the last 14 years, retired after the 2015 seasonand he was replaced by Jay Johnson. Johnson was named the 2015 Mountain West Coach of the Year while leading the Nevada Wolf Pack. • Arizona State's (35-23, 18-12) core is its infield, returning three starters and two other veterans, includ- ing preseason All-American Colby Woodmansee, and 2015 first team All-Pac-12 and Johnny Bench semifinalist Brian Serven. The team lost four pitchers that combined for 270 appearances, 109 starts, 834 innings pitched, 62 wins, and 40 saves since 2012. • California (36-21, 18-12) finished fourth in the Conference last season and earned a trip to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2011. The Golden Bears return all three weekend starters: junior RHP Daulton Jefferies (preseason All-American from multiple publications), senior RHP Ryan Mason and sophomore LHP Matt Ladrech, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. • Oregon (38-25, 16-14) took sixth place in the Pac-12 last year and competed in the NCAA Regional for the fifth time in the last six years. Head coach George Horton needs just 23 wins to reach 1,000 career wins and 39 wins for 300 at Oregon. Former first round supplemental draft pick Matt Krook and junior Cole Irvin, a 2014 Preseason All-American, return to Oregon's weekend rotation after dealing with previ- ous injuries. • Oregon State (39-18-1, 19-10-1) could not win its third-straight Pac-12 title in 2015 but did earn a runner-up finish. The Beavers competed at the NCAA Regional and welcomes back from that team the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year catcher K.J. Harrison and fellow first-team All-Conference honoree starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen. • Stanford (24-32, 9-21) finished in 10th place in the league last year but it returns nearly 80 percent of its starting lineup and rotation. Cal Quantrill, a preseason All-American, is back for 2016 after suffering an injury last season. Mark Marquess' 40th season as Stanford head coach will be a challenging one as more than half of Stanford's home games are against NCAA Tournament teams from last year (18-of-30 games), including national runner-up Vanderbilt. • 2015 Pac-12 Champion UCLA (45-16, 22-8) looks to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since 2011 and 2012. UCLA returns nine contributors from a school-record 2.17 staff ERA last season. Those contributors include Griffin Canning, a Baseball America Second-team All-American and now starting pitcher Grant Dyer, who was a first-team All-Pac-12 honoree in 2015 in the set-up role. • USC (39-21, 18-12) took third place in the Pac-12 last year and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 seasons, advancing to the Lake Elsinore Regional Final. The Trojans return their top RBI man from last season, senior OF Timmy Robinson, who tallied 53. USC also returns two-thirds of their weekend rotation, including senior ace Kyle Davis. • Utah (16-36-1, 7-22-1) is a squad that returns the primary starter at every field position from the 2015 squad. On the mound, the Utes return nearly 77 percent of last year's innings pitched, led by three-year starter Dalton Carroll and 2015 honorable mention All-Pac-12 honoree Jayson Rose. • Washington (29-25, 14-6) took seventh in the Pac-12 in 2015 and welcomes in a group of 17 newcom- ers that are ranked 15th nationally by Baseball America. Senior pitcher Troy Rallings ranks fifth all-time in UW history with 15 saves and eighth with 66 appearances. • Washington State (29-27, 11-19) finished ninth in the Pac-12 last year. It starts a new era under Marty Lees, the 15th head coach in program history. Two-time All-Pac-12 RHP Ian Hamilton returns for his junior season as a Collegiate Baseball preseason All-American. The Cougars also welcome back the left side of their infield in Jack Strunc at SS and Shane Matheny at 3B, both of whom have made over 53 starts, respectively. Oregon State is led by sophomore All-American first baseman KJ Harrison, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Baseball America Preseason All-Americans First Team KJ Harrison, OSU .................. 1B Bobby Dalbec, ARIZ ......3B/RHP Second Team Daulton Jefferies, CAL ........ RHP Third Team Tommy Edman, STAN ........... 2B Colby Woodmansee, ASU ...... SS Cal Quantrill, STAN ............ RHP NCBWA Preseason All-Americans First Team Bobby Dalbec, ARIZ .........3B/SP Second Team KJ Harrison, OSU .................. 1B Stephen Nogosek, ORE .........RP Third Team Daulton Jefferies, CAL ........... SP Griffin Canning, UCLA ........... SP Matt Krook, ORE ................... SP Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans Second Team Daulton Jefferies, CAL ........ RHP Ian Hamilton, WSU ............ RHP KJ Harrison, OSU .................. 1B Bobby Dalbec, ARIZ .............. 3B Colby Woodmansee, ASU ...... SS Third Team Matt Krook, ORE .................LHP Cal Quantrill, STAN ............ RHP NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List Tucker Forbes, UCLA Ian Hamilton, WSU Mitch Hickey, OSU Marc Huberman, USC Spencer Jones, WASH Erik Martinez, CAL Stephen Nogosek, ORE Troy Rallings, WASH USA Baseball Golden Spikes Watch List Bobby Dalbec, ARIZ KJ Harrison, OSU Daulton Jefferies, CAL Matt Krook, ORE Cal Quantrill, STAN Colby Woodmansee, ASU

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