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Virginia Baseball Ranked No. 25 in Preseason Coaches Poll ...

  • Virginia Baseball Ranked No. 25 in Preseason Coaches Poll
    Cavaliers tied with Louisville for No. 25 in USA Today Coaches Poll

    CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia baseball team is ranked No. 25 in the preseason edition of the USA Today Coaches Poll, which was release Thursday. The Cavaliers were tied for No. 25 with Louisville in the poll.

    Virginia returns 19 letterwinners from its 2012 squad which finished 39-19-1 (18-12 ACC) and played host to an NCAA Regional, the program's ninth-consecutive NCAA tournament bid. The Cavaliers return six position starters, including 2012 Freshman All-America outfielder Derek Fisher (So., Rexmont, Pa.) and two-year starting first baseman Jared King (R-Sr., Radford, Va.).

    Virginia also welcomes in 14 newcomers in a talented freshman class. The Cavaliers feature 25 freshmen and sophomores on the 34-man roster this season.

    UVa's season opens Feb. 15 with a three-game weekend series at East Carolina. The Cavaliers' home opener is Feb. 19 against William and Mary.

    Season tickets and 10-game mini packages are currently on sale through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office. Fans may purchase tickets online at VirginiaSports.com or through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. for in-person or telephone purchases. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).

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    Jamie Oakes

  • 22 more days...

    I'm really looking forward to watching this year's team play and take shape as the powerhouse it's destined to be.

    wahooze.blogspot.com / @wahooze

    Kendall

  • I think 25th is underrated for this team. It's nice to have high expectations for for a sport.

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    blacksburghoo

  • blacksburghoo said...

    I think 25th is underrated for this team. It's nice to have high expectations for for a sport.

    I agree. I was surprised to see Baseball America left us out of the top 25 the writers over there usually praise the program every chance they get.

    RMCHoo

  • I agree. 25 seems a bit low, however, I'm just a casual fan. Follow fairly close during the season, more so during the ACC and NCAA tourney. I know a lot of position players return, but how's the pitching. Gotta have a couple of studs at the top of the rotation and a couple of shutdown kids on in the bullpen. Not sure how that's looking this season.....anyone with more insight please feel free to enlighten me!!!!

    HburgCavsFan

  • HburgCavsFan said...

    I agree. 25 seems a bit low, however, I'm just a casual fan. Follow fairly by Text-Enhance" href="#" in_rurl="http://i.trkjmp.com/click?v=VVM6MzEwMDI6NDpjbG9zZTpjNzUzYTg0Njg1MjIzZmRiN2NkNWZkZWE0NjUzNWE2Mzp6LTEwNDEtMTA3NTUzOnZpcmdpbmlhLjI0N3Nwb3J0cy5jb206MjgyMzc6ZTJjN2M4YjYwMWI5MzE2YWJkZGEzN2ZlZjlmNWZlOGE">close during the season, more so during the ACC and NCAA tourney. I know a lot of position players return, but how's the pitching. Gotta have a couple of studs at the top of the rotation and a couple of shutdown kids on in the bullpen. Not sure how that's looking this season.....anyone with more insight please feel free to enlighten me!!!!

    Wahoowa. Huge baseball fan here. I think the ranking is about right. We are young and a bit thin at the most important position on the field. Pitcher

    Cavfanb

  • RMCHoo said...

    I agree. I was surprised to see Baseball America left us out of the top 25 the writers over there usually praise the program every chance they get.

    The writers at BA cling on to teams that have returning starters on the mound on the weekend. Aaron Fitt is a big fan of Coach Oak - I have heard it directly (and it is because the Wahoos' coach will always make a writer feel comfortable).
    But when picking a preseason poll the regional writers lean on what is left in the fold (the poll is almost complete the day after Omaha). Several times Kendall Rogers picked Virginia to make to Omaha like 3 years before the Wahoos did make it and it was based on what was returning on the mound (he was mad when they didnt make it).
    College writers have not seen many prep players in action and make a few phone calls and nothing more. Preseason baseball polls are used to create hype for the service issuing the poll and for the team trying to sell tickets to games. Give it a month and see where things are at for every ACC school. At that point a weekend rotation will become closer to a reality (except maybe at UVA when the potential to add Mayberry and then Lewicki to the mix could create a host of viable arms).
    Just smile when ranked in the preseason and know that is a sign of respect for the program, coach and the often the league involved. Having studied the ACC more than I should admit, the Wahoos should be pegged around 4th-6th among league teams based on the new arms needed to show up ready on Opening Day.
    It will be a fun ride for sure.

    Jay_Jenkins

  • Unsurprisingly, Jay is spot on. This is definitely a "borderline" team as far as preseason rankings/projections go. But I really think this team is gonna make noise. BA likes us because of BOC but the past two years they've definitely hesitated, and not without reason. I think we're better this year. I think we'll be a top 15 team bound for Omaha. We shall see...

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    madbowler

  • As BOC would say, "Omaha is 1,086 miles away." Few sports at the college level force so many new faces to be ready so fast. The talent is there, but this is not a unit that appears destined to blow a ton of teams away - and that will be great for the unit when the league games matter.
    I watched two UNC fall games on tape and the program has talent, but I can't seem to peg that unit as the top team in the land. Georgia Tech might have the most on paper in the Coastal Division thanks to the luck of the draft process leaving them stocked (man I would have loved Bruno back for a year).

    Jay_Jenkins

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    John Montague

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    Hooman