Dec. 20, 2010
High praise continues to pile up for the Vanderbilt baseball team with the club’s newest honor coming in the form of a No. 5 pre-season ranking from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
The Commodores finished last season ranked 14th by Collegiate Baseball after being ranked 32nd in the pre-season poll. The Dores return 21 lettermen from a team that finished the 2010 season one win away from the school’s first-ever trip to the College World Series and posted the second-most victories (46) in school history. Last week juniors Sonny Gray and Jason Esposito were twice named All-American with honors coming from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Louisville Slugger.
Vanderbilt was one of six teams from the Southeastern Conference to be recognized in the poll. Florida led all SEC teams at No. 2 followed by defending national champion South Carolina (14), LSU (15), Auburn (25) and Arkansas (32). The Commodores will face eight teams that are ranked in the poll’s Top 40, including home series with No. 10 Stanford (February 25-27) and Florida (May 13-15).
The Dores begin the season on the road taking on No. 28 San Diego February 18 and begin the home schedule against Belmont on February 23. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or by calling 615.322.GOLD. The baseball team will host its annual banquet on February 12 at 7 p.m. inside the Student Life Center. Ticket prices have been cut in half for this year’s event with adult tickets at $30 and children tickets at $25. To reserve your seats for the banquet click here.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s
NCAA Division I Pre-Season Poll
(As of Dec. 20, 2010)
1. Texas Christian
2. Florida
3. UCLA
4. Clemson
5. Vanderbilt
6. Oklahoma
7. Texas
8. Texas A&M
9. Oregon
10. Stanford
11. Arizona State
12. California State-Fullerton
13. Florida State
14. South Carolina
15. LSU
16. Connecticut
17. Virginia
18. Miami (FL)
19. Georgia Tech
20. Louisville
21. Rice
22. Arizona
23. Wichita State
24. Coastal Carolina
25. Auburn
26. St. John’s
27. North Carolina
28. San Diego
29. Fresno State
30. Pittsburgh
31. Washington State
32. Arkansas
33. California
34. U.C. Irvine
35. College of Charleston
36. Florida Atlantic
37. Kansas State
38. Hawaii
39. Baylor
40. Kent State
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Florida International, U.C. Riverside, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Mississippi, Kentucky, Southern California, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Missouri, South Florida, Nebraska, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, U.C. Santa Barbara, Florida Gulf Coast, Liberty, Minnesota, Michigan, James Madison, Southern Mississippi, East Carolina, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Bethune-Cookman, Illinois State, San Diego State, Tennessee Tech, The Citadel, Texas State, Northwestern St., Oral Roberts, Louisiana Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Lamar, Portland, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Charlotte, Mercer, East Tennessee State, Jacksonville, Georgia State, Tulane, Utah Valley State, New Mexico, Stony Brook, Iowa, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Canisius, Bryant, Jacksonville State, Dallas Baptist, Le Moyne.
