BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference has announced its official 2012 SEC Baseball television schedule, the third under the league’s 15-year agreement with ESPN. The entire package will include 66 broadcasts in 2012. In addition, all games from the 2012 SEC Tournament will continue to be televised, with the championship game airing again nationally on ESPN2.

“The success and popularity of baseball in our conference is at an all-time high,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are proud to be able to offer this amount of television coverage to both our teams and our fans.”

The television package is derived from broadcasts on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FSN, SportSouth and CSS. In addition, ESPN3 will also stream most broadcasts live online.

“This package continues to move our baseball exposure to new levels,” SEC Consultant for Television Larry Templeton stated. “Fans of SEC Baseball will be able to follow the season like never before.”

SEC schools maintain the rights to air additional games not included in the official SEC package with various television outlets, including official SEC television partners. More than 50-60 additional games are set to be broadcast, bringing the total number of SEC baseball games broadcast in 2012 to 120 games or more.

ESPNU’s previously announced Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week will begin Thursday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET and run eight weeks through May 17. The first Thursday night game will feature No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 South Carolina in a rematch of last season’s College World Series Finals. The weekly game will feature a live 30-minute pregame show from ESPNU studios at 7 p.m. ET each week, focusing on baseball news and updates from around the league.  ESPN networks will air 18 SEC baseball broadcasts this season.

All games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will be broadcast in high definition.

The 2012 SEC regular season begins Friday, February 17, with conference play set to begin Friday, March 16. The SEC Tournament will be played at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., May 22-27.

2012 SEC Baseball TV Schedule

All Times Eastern

FSSO – Includes FOX Sports South, Sun Sports, FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston

SPSO – Includes SportSouth, Sun Sports, FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Houston and FOX Sports South in Kentucky

CSS – Includes Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, CST (Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida), Brighthouse Sports Network (Florida), Time Warner Cable (Carolinas), Insight Cable (Kentucky)

Wildcard games to be selected in the weeks prior to event.

Regular season games on ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU, as well as all games from the SEC Tournament, available in high definition.

Most games will be streamed live on ESPN3

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference baseball coaches have selected College of Charleston as the preseason favorite to win the league championship in 2012 while the media representatives who cover the league have chosen Georgia Southern as the conference favorite.

The Cougars received six of the 11 possible first-place votes and 93 points in the coaches’ balloting, narrowly edging Georgia Southern by a single point. Charleston, which finished 39-22 last year and tied for third in the conference at 18-12, returns its entire starting pitching rotation along with all-conference outfielders Daniel Aldrich and Marty Gantt.

Georgia Southern was the clear preseason favorite of the league’s media, earning 20 of 25 first-place votes and 269 points overall. The 2011 SoCon Tournament champion Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons. All-America slugger Victor Roache leads the Eagles’ hitters while right-hander Chris Beck, last year’s tournament Most Outstanding Player, anchors the rotation.

The Cougars and Eagles swapped positions in the respective polls, with the coaches voting GSU second and the media tabbing CofC as league runners-up.

In the coaches’ poll, GSU grabbed 92 points and four first-place votes while Samford placed third with 83 points and the remaining first-place nod. Elon (76 points), the 2011 regular season champion, was selected to finish fourth, followed by Appalachian State (62), Western Carolina (51) and UNCG (50) in the fifth through seventh spots, respectively. The Citadel (33) edged Furman (32) for eighth spot while Wofford (18) and Davidson (15) concluded the rankings.

With 246 points and three first-place tallies, Charleston placed second in the media balloting, directly ahead of Elon (220) which recorded the final two first-place votes. Samford (198), UNCG (150), Appalachian State (149), Western Carolina (130), The Citadel (112), Furman (86), Wofford (55) and Davidson (35) rounded out the poll.

The 2012 Southern Conference baseball season begins on Friday, February 17 with all 11 league teams in action. The 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Championship will be held from May 23-27 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.

2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

Place    School (First)                      Points

1.         College of Charleston (6)           93

2.         Georgia Southern (4)                 92

3.         Samford (1)                              83

4.         Elon                                         76

5.         Appalachian State                     62

6.         Western Carolina                       51

7.         UNCG                                      50

8.         The Citadel                               33

9.         Furman                                     32

10.        Wofford                                   18

11.        Davidson                                 15

2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Media Poll

Place    School (First)                      Points

1.         Georgia Southern (20)             269

2.         College of Charleston (3)         246

3.         Elon (2)                                  220

4.         Samford                                 198

5.         UNCG                                     150

6.         Appalachian State                   149

7.         Western Carolina                     130

8.         The Citadel                             112

9.         Furman                                     86

10.        Wofford                                   55

11.        Davidson                                 35

(Release)

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — After winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships a year ago, Austin Peay has been tabbed the 2012 preseason favorite for the 10-team league in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches. In additional voting Southeast Missouri State All-American senior third baseman Trenton Moses was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year while Jacksonville State senior closer Todd Hornsby was tabbed OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

The overall voting in the preseason poll was close as three different teams received first-place votes and just six points separated first and second place. Austin Peay claimed seven of the 10 first-place votes and garnered 79 total points to be picked as the favorites. Jacksonville State was second with one first-place vote and 73 points while Tennessee Tech picked up the other two first-place votes and 63 total points to be picked third. Southeast Missouri was picked fourth (52) and was followed by SIUE (48), Eastern Kentucky (45), Eastern Illinois (34), UT Martin (25), Murray State (21) and Morehead State (10).

In all, 13 players were selected to the Preseason All-OVC team. The 13 players represented six of the 10 teams who will compete for the OVC championship this season. Jacksonville State led the way with five selections while Austin Peay had four picks. Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Southeast Missouri and UT Martin had one selection apiece. Returning players who were first-team selections at the end of last season were automatic picks for this year’s team.

After not making the OVC Tournament field in either 2009 or 2010 and being picked seventh in last year’s preseason poll, Austin Peay proved everyone wrong by compiling a 17-6 OVC record on its way to its sixth OVC regular season crown since divisional play ended. The Governors then captured the OVC Tournament Championship on its way to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. APSU would top host Georgia Tech in the first game of the Regional, before losing its next two games. Despite losing OVC Pitcher of the Year Jeremy Dobbs to the MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Govs return eight positional starters and three starting pitchers from last year’s team. The only positional player not returning is John Hogan, last year’s All-OVC first-team first baseman, who will redshirt this year with an injury. Among the returning players are four preseason All-OVC selections in sophomore second baseman Jordan Hankins (.351, 15 doubles), junior shortstop Reed Harper (.329, 17 doubles, 43 RBI and named to the Atlanta All-Region Team), senior outfielder Michael Blanchard (.333, 4 runs, 29 stolen bases) and senior starting pitcher Zach Toney (19 games, 6-3 record, 2 saves, 73 strikeouts). Austin Peay head coach Gary McClure returns for his 25th season as head coach at his alma mater; McClure is only 64 victories away from becoming the OVC’s all-time leader in wins.

Jacksonville State advanced to the championship round of the OVC Tournament a year ago but could not get past Austin Peay, finishing as the event’s runner-up. The Gamecocks did finish the 2011 season with 36 victories, reaching the 30-win plateau for the ninth-straight season, tied for the longest stretch in school history. This year 11th year head coach Jim Case returns 25 of 30 letterwinners from a year ago including eight positional starters and five pitchers. Five of the Gamecocks returning players were named to the Preseason All-OVC team including senior closer Todd Hornsby who was named Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year. A season ago Hornsby saved 15 games, establishing a new OVC single-season record (breaking the old mark of 12). In just two seasons as the Jax State closer, Hornsby has saved 20 games, 11 off the OVC career record. Overall he appeared in 30 games a season ago, winning five games and compiling a 2.16 E.R.A. Joining Hornsby on the preseason All-OVC team are senior catcher Sam Eberle (.356, 88 hits, 54 RBI), senior first baseman Ben Waldrip (.344, 66 hits, 10 home runs, 46 RBI), senior outfielder Kyle Bluestein (.346, 55 hits, 7 home runs, 38 RBI) and senior starting pitcher Aaron Elias (15 games, 7-3, 3.78 E.R.A., 71 strikeouts).

After winning 25 games overall and finishing fourth in the OVC standings, Tennessee Tech returns 16 letterwinners and eight positional starters for the 2012 season. This year the Golden Eagles will look at sophomore first baseman Zach Stephens to once again provide offensive pop with his bat. In his rookie season Stephens hit .310 with 65 hits, 10 home runs and 49 RBI; the 10 home runs and 49 RBI each led the TTU team. Following the year Stephens was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. On the mound junior Tristan Archer returns after winning seven games a season ago and striking out 67 batters in 88.2 innings of work. Head coach Matt Bragga, now in his ninth year with the team, is looking to lead the team to another championship season after winning the 2009 OVC Tournament championship and the 2010 OVC regular season crown.

A year ago Southeast Missouri finished second in the Conference (14-8), appeared in its 17th-straight OVC Tournament and won 34 games overall, the third-most in program history. It marked the ninth time in 17 seasons under head coach Mark Hogan that the team had reached the 30-win plateau. The team’s potent offense ranked 10th nationally in batting (.316) and eighth in home runs (1.02/game). The Redhawks are led by third baseman Trenton Moses, who was named OVC Player of the Year at the end of the season and named Preseason OVC Player of the Year this season. Moses was named an All-American by each Louisville Slugger and College Baseball Lineup following his outstanding junior season. Moses hit .395 with 70 hits, 44 runs, 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 53 RBI. He hit .405 during the regular season, becoming the first Southeast Missouri player to do that since 2003. Including Moses the Redhawks return just 10 total players this season, after having a senior-laden team in 2011. Hogan needs just 12 victories during the season to reach 900 for his career (which includes 30 years overall, the past 17 at SEMO).

SIUE is the newcomer to the OVC schedule this year, playing its first full Conference slate of games since officially joining the Conference on July 1, 2008. The Cougars are in the final year of reclassification from Division II to Division I and are ineligible for OVC or NCAA postseason play, but the team can win the OVC regular season crown this season. They will be fully eligible for postseason play in 2013, when Belmont also joins the league to give the OVC 11 baseball-playing members. Last year SIUE played 19 games against OVC teams, compiling a 15-4 record, which would have placed them first in the OVC had they been eligible for the crown. Head coach Gary Collins enters his 34th season as head coach at his alma meter in 2012; he won his 1,000th career game last season. Among his 20 returning players this year is senior third baseman Zach Hawkins who led the team in hitting last year (.345), sophomore outfielder Devin Caldwell who was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after hitting .314 with 16 doubles and 53 RBI and sophomore pitcher Travis Felax who won five games and compiled a 2.62 E.R.A. in 13 appearances last season.

Eastern Kentucky has qualified for back-to-back OVC Tournaments under head coach Jason Stein, who is entering the fourth season at his alma mater in 2012; the Colonels appeared in its record 27th Championship a season ago. The team did lose its top pitcher from last season, first-team All-OVC pick Stephen Hefler, but the squad does return eight other pitchers and all nine positional starters this season. Among the returners is senior outfielder and preseason All-OVC selection Jacob Daniel (.330, 66 hits, 9 home runs, 44 RBI), senior shortstop Richie Rodriguez (.357, 82 hits, 44 runs, 14 doubles, 26 RBI, 19 stolen bases), who was a second-team All-OVC pick last year and has been a mainstay in the Colonel lineup the past three years, and sophomore third baseman Bryan Soloman (.310, 66 hits, 17 doubles, 9 home runs, 40 RBI) who was named the OVC Rookie of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American last season. The pitching staff will be bolstered by senior Matt Harris, who was 2-0 with one save and a 0.59 E.R.A. against OVC competition last season.

A season ago Eastern Illinois finished seventh in the league and missed out on the six-team OVC Tournament field by .007 percentage points. This season head coach Jim Schmitz, now in his 18th year with the program, has six positional starters and four starting pitchers returning to his program. Among the returning pitchers is senior Mike Hoekstra who won five games and struck out 50 in 82.2 innings of work a season ago. As a sophomore Hoekstra walked just five batters in 67 innings of work, setting a new OVC record for fewest walks in a season. Senior outfielder Ben Thoma is back for his final season in a Panther uniform; last season he had 11 home runs and 37 RBI, both of which were tops on the Eastern Illinois squad.

On the final day of last season UT Martin overcame a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to beat league champion Austin Peay and earn a spot in the six-team OVC Tournament field. It marked only the second OVC Tournament berth for the Skyhawks since joining the league in 1993 and first since the 1996 season. Among the team’s returning players this year is sophomore designated hitter Phil Sorensen, a preseason All-OVC selection this year after being a first-team All-OVC pick last year.  Sorensen hit .340 with 50 hits, 15 doubles and 33 RBI in his rookie season with the Skyhawks. Also returning is senior catcher Chase Okey (.307, 58 hits, 32 RBI) and senior outfielder Jordan Owen (26 career home runs, including 18 in 2010). The UT Martin pitching staff will include Dan Tobik (a team-high 91.0 innings last year), Alex Boshers (4 wins, 2 saves in 24 appearances) and Alec Mills (7 wins, 3 saves in 30 appearances). Head coach Bubba Cates enters his 14th season at UTM and 23rd year overall as a head coach in 2012.

Murray State finished with nine Conference victories last year, just missing the OVC Tournament field. This season head coach Rob McDonald, who in the ninth year at his alma mater, will look to get the Thoroughbreds back into title contention. The team returns its top two hitters from a season ago, junior infielder Brandon Elliott and junior outfielder Paul Ritzheimer. Elliott finished third in the OVC in batting (.384) last season, compiling 61 hits, 40 runs, 11 doubles and 22 RBI in 45 games. Ritzheimer, who won the prestigious OVC Scholar-Athlete Award last year, hit .336 with 27 runs and 27 RBI as a sophomore.

Jay Sorg’s Morehead State team will look to replace the offensive firepower of catcher Taylor Davis, who ranked eighth nationally in batting (.414) and sixth in slugging (.736) before being signed by the Chicago Cubs in the offseason. The Eagles do return Preseason All-OVC pick Andrew Deeds to bolster the attack. The senior Deeds, who sees action as both a third baseman and outfielder, was 40th nationally in batting average (.380) last season and ranked eighth nationally in triples/game (0.14). Overall Deeds had 70 hits, 44 runs, 17 doubles, 5 home runs and 49 RBI in 49 games in 2011.  Also returning are the brother tandem of Eric and Luke Bainer who combined for 95 hits, 52 runs, 20 doubles, seven home runs and 50 RBI a season ago.

The 64th season of OVC baseball will get underway on Friday, Feb. 17 with the first weekend of league play being held March 23-25. This year marks the first of the OVC playing three-game Conference series over three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) as opposed to playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The season will culminate with the 2012 OVC Championship which will be held for the third year in a row at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn. Pringles Park is the home of the Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The tournament runs May 23-27.

2012 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Austin Peay (7 first-place votes) – 79
2. Jacksonville State (1) – 73
3. Tennessee Tech (2) – 63
4. Southeast Missouri – 52
5. SIUE – 48
6. Eastern Kentucky – 45
7. Eastern Illinois – 34
8. UT Martin – 25
9. Murray State – 21
10. Morehead State – 10

2012 Preseason All-OVC Baseball Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Trenton Moses (3B), Southeast Missouri
Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year: Todd Hornsby (RHP), Jacksonville State

C – Sam Eberle, Jacksonville State
1B – Ben Waldrip, Jacksonville State
2B – Jordan Hankins, Austin Peay
SS – Reed Harper, Austin Peay
3B – Trenton Moses, Southeast Missouri
OF – Jacob Daniel, Eastern Kentucky
OF – Kyle Bluestein, Jacksonville State
OF – Michael Blanchard, Austin Peay
DH – Phil Sorensen, UT Martin
UT – Andrew Deeds, Morehead State
SP – Zach Toney, Austin Peay
SP – Aaron Elias, Jacksonville State
RP – Todd Hornsby, Jacksonville State

(Release)

In his 35 years as a head baseball coach. Stanford’s Mark Marquess has seen and done a lot. Marquess enters his 36th season as head coach as his alma mater as the seventh-winningest coach in college baseball history with 1,422 wins and a .647 winning percentage.

Marquess has led the Cardinal to 27 NCAA Tournaments and 14 College World Series, with national championships in 1987 and 1988.

In this exclusive interview with College Baseball 360 editor Sean Stires, Marquess reveals how he has changed the most as a head coach since his first game in 1977, how the game of college baseball has changed in that time, what he would change about college baseball, marquee series with Texas, Vanderbilt and Rice this year, and more!

Click the “Play” button below to listen to the interview.

Marquess.mp3

Stanford Head Coach Mark Marquess -  Career record: 1422-741-7

Milestone Wins
1st Career Win (February 4, 1977 vs. USF, 6-1)
1000th Career Win (February 9, 2001 vs. Florida State, 6-2)
1100th Career Win (February 17, 2003 vs. Nevada 5-4)
1200th Career Win (March 5, 2005 vs. Cal 10-3)
1300th Career Win (April 6, 2008 vs. Arizona State 10-2)
100th Career Postseason Win (June 7, 2003 vs. Long Beach State 4-2)

• 2 NCAA Titles
• 14 CWS Appearances
• 7 Super Regional Appearances (6 Titles)
• 27 Regional Appearances (14 Titles)
• 12 Conference Titles

FRISCO, Texas – Texas State is favored to win its fourth consecutive Southland Conference regular-season baseball championship by a vote of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, the conference announced Thursday.

The Bobcats were the overwhelming favorites in both polls, receiving the maximum 11 first-place votes and 121 points in the coaches’ and SID polls. Texas State returns 20 letterwinners, six starters and 10 pitchers from a Bobcat squad that won its third consecutive regular-season title and first conference tournament title since 2000. Among the returning players are senior All-Americans Casey Kalenkosky and Tyler Sibley, senior all-conference selection Jeff McVaney and senior starting pitcher Mitchell Pitts. Texas State, which finished the 2011 season with a 41-23 overall record, went 24-9 in conference play, recording its fifth 20-win season in conference play in the last six years.

The second-, third- and fourth-place teams in both polls are separated by less than 10 points.

Stephen F. Austin was selected second in the SID poll, gathering the final first-place from the SIDs and 92 total points. The Lumberjacks, who fell to Texas State in the conference championship a year ago, finished third in the coaches’ poll with a total of 84 points.

Southeastern Louisiana was picked second in the coaches’ polls and third by the SIDs. The Lions received a total of 88 points in both polls. UTSA was tabbed fourth by both the coaches and SIDs. The Roadrunners received 82 points from the coaches and 83 points from the SIDs.

Sam Houston State grabbed the final first-place vote from the coaches to land in the fifth spot with 77 total points. The Bearkats were selected sixth in the SID poll with 74 points.

Lamar, which has won conference-best 10 regular season titles, was picked sixth by the coaches with 67 points and fifth by the SIDs with 79 points.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was tabbed seventh by both coaches and SIDs a year after finishing third in the regular season. The Islanders received 51 points in the coaches’ poll and 66 points from the SIDs.

UT Arlington was picked eighth in both the polls with 49 points from the coaches and 52 from the SIDs.

In the coaches’ poll, McNeese State was selected ninth followed by Northwestern State, Nicholls State and Central Arkansas to round out the poll. McNeese State and Nicholls State each collected 39 points to tie for ninth in the SID poll. Northwestern State and Central Arkansas were tabbed 11th and 12th, respectively, to fill out the SID poll.

Opening day of the Southland season is Feb. 17 with conference play beginning March 9. The Southland Conference tournament will be played May 23-26 at the Bobcat Baseball Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.

2012 Preseason All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams

*Returning all-conference selection;

¹Preseason third-team All-America selection by Louisville Slugger

MACON, Ga. – Stetson and Jacksonville sit atop the 2012 Atlantic Sun Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll after landing a combined six student-athletes on the all-conference team. The Hatters’ Kurt Schluter earned the Preseason Pitcher of the Year honor, while the Dolphins’ Adam Brett Walker received Player of the Year recognition for the upcoming season.

A junior starting pitcher, Schluter netted eight wins against no losses in 10 starts last season with a 1.40 ERA. In league contests, he posted a 5-0 record with a 0.97 ERA and 37 strikeouts. Walker finished 2011 as the conference leader in batting average (.409), hits (99), total bases (165) and doubles (23), while ending second in slugging percentage (.682) and runs batted in (74). He added 13 home runs and 14 stolen bases.

Preseason Player of the Year: Adam Brett Walker, Jacksonville
Fan Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Dylan Craig, Belmont
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Kurt Schluter, Stetson
Fan Voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Derek Bushey, ETSU

Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team
Pos. Name School Cl. Hometown Academic Major
C Ronnie Freeman Kennesaw State Jr. Snellville, Ga. Exercise & Health Science
1B* Adam Brett Walker Jacksonville Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. Sports Administration
2B Robert Crews Stetson Sr. Port Charlotte, Fla. Accounting
3B Ben Carhart Stetson Sr. Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Integrative Health Science
SS Mark Jones Stetson Sr. Brunnell, Fla. Elementary Education
OF* Dylan Craig Belmont Jr. Signal Mountain, Tenn. Chemistry
OF* Dan Gulbransen Jacksonville Jr. Appleton, Wis. Exercise Science
OF Aaron Dobbs Kennesaw State Sr. Warner Robins, Ga. Communications
DH* Dylan Pratt ETSU Sr. Johnson City, Tenn. Management
SP Kurt Schluter Stetson Jr. Jupiter, Fla. Finance
SP Matt Hamann Belmont Sr. Northbrook, Ill. Sport Administration
SP Brandon Love Mercer Sr. Augusta, Ga. Marketing
RP David Teasley Mercer Jr. Elberton, Ga. Criminal Justice
*- Unanimous Choice
Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Pl. Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Stetson (9) 99
2. Jacksonville 89
3. Kennesaw State 67
4. Belmont 64
5. Mercer 58
6. FGCU (1) 57
7. North Florida 42
8. ETSU 41
9. Lipscomb 18
10. USC Upstate 15

Three members of Schluter’s infield picked up preseason honors as Robert Crews, Mark Jones and Ben Carhart joined their starting pitcher. Jones and Crews both earned First Team All-Conference honors in 2011 after posting nearly identical batting averages, .333 and .332, respectively. The middle infielders contributed to Stetson’s .965 fielding percentage, which ranked third in the conference. A third baseman, Carhart ranked in the top four on Stetson for batting average (.323), slugging percentage (.462), hits (81), RBI (63), home runs (7) and total bases (116).

Outfielders Dan Gulbransen and Dylan Craig joined Walker and ETSU’s Dylan Pratt as the four unanimous choices to the preseason list. Kennesaw State’s Aaron Dobbs completed the Atlantic Sun outfield after finishing last season with seven triples and 21 stolen bases.

Mercer’s pitching duo of Brandon Love and David Teasley captured preseason nods. Love, a starting pitcher, capped 2011 with an 8-1 record and 66 strikeouts to go along with his 3.26 ERA. The Bears’ relief pitcher, Teasley made 32 appearances last season and struck out 42 batters in 45.1 innings of work.

Belmont’s Matt Hamann concluded the A-Sun pitching staff. He compiled a 9-2 record last season with a 2.81 ERA and posted two complete games. Kennesaw State’s Ronnie Freeman claimed the final spot on the all-conference team as the catcher. Freeman ranked third in the conference in batting average (.392), hits (85), on-base percentage (.487) and fourth in slugging (.622).

The Hatters earned nine of ten first-place votes from the coaches in the preseason poll after capturing last year’s regular-season crown with a 23-7 conference record. Stetson and Jacksonville earned at-large bids to the NCAA Baseball Tournament last season and joined Belmont to make the A-Sun a multiple-bid conference for first time since 2007. The trio of teams combined for five wins in regional play – the most victories by the conference since 2002.

Kennesaw State earned the third spot in the coaches poll just ahead of the Bruins. Mercer and FGCU took the next two spots with the Eagles earning the remaining first-place vote in the poll. ETSU’s Derek Bushey was voted the Preseason Pitcher of the Year on Facebook by Atlantic Sun fans, while Belmont was predicted to win the regular season and championship titles via the social media site.

The Hatters were picked by the league coaches to win the 2012 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship on May 23-26 at Melching Field in DeLand, Fla.

(Release)

ST. LOUIS – Missouri State, which returns a dominating young pitching staff and a wealth of depth from last year’s squad, has been tabbed as the league favorite in the annual coaches’ preseason poll, receiving five of eight first-place votes. Creighton is picked to finish second, followed by Wichita State, Indiana State, and Illinois State in the top five.

The entire poll is listed below, as is the Preseason All-MVC Team.

2012 MVC Baseball Preseason Poll

1.       Missouri State (5)               60

2.       Creighton (3)                        53

3.       Wichita State                        47

4.       Indiana State                        37

5.       Illinois State                          34

6.       Southern Illinois                   31

7.       Bradley                                  15

8.       Evansville                              11

The Valley demonstrates a depth of talent and experience returning to the league this season.  The coaches have voted 15 players representing all eight teams to the 2012 preseason all-MVC baseball squad.

2012 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team

Chris Serritella, 1B, Jr., Southern Illinois

Kevin Medrano, 2B, Sr., Missouri State

Koby Kraemer, 3B, Jr., Indiana State

Eric Stamets, SS, Jr., Evansville

Jeremy Lucas, C, Jr., Indiana State

Mike Hollenbeck, DH, So., Illinois State

Anthony Bemboom, UT, Sr., Creighton

Mike Gerber, OF, So., Creighton

Robby Ort, OF, Jr., Indiana State

Jordan Sivertsen, OF, Sr., Southern Illinois

Mike Tauchman, OF, Jr., Bradley

Ty Blach, SP, Jr., Creighton

Nick Petree, SP, So., Missouri State

Kenny Long, RP, Sr., Illinois State

Kurt Spomer, RP, Sr., Creighton

All eight Missouri Valley Conference baseball teams begin action the third week of February, with tournament play and non-conference games, while league battles will heat up starting Friday, March 2.

(Release)

Wichita, Kan. (NCBWA) — Forty-five players have been named to the initial watch list for the eighth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball, as announced by the association Wednesday.

Texas’ Corey Knebel, the 2011 winner of the Stopper of the Year Award, headlines the list of preseason nominees for the 2012 award.  Last season as a freshman, Knebel collected 19 saves and went 3-2 with a 1.13 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched as he helped the Longhorns to the College World Series.

Knebel, a first team preseason All-American by the NCBWA, is joined on the watch list by fellow first teamers Tony Bryant from Oregon State and Caleb Reed from Mississippi State.  Bryant had 12 saves and a 1.57 ERA a year ago, while Reed had 12 saves and a 1.55 ERA.

Among the other most notable nominees are the three members of the NCBWA preseason All-American second team (John Neely of Texas Tech, Austin Maddox of Florida and Tyler Smith of Rider), along with all three members of the third team (Jake Dyer of Georgia State, Nick Wittgren of Purdue and Chris Overman of North Carolina State).

The SEC led the way with six players on this year’s watch list, while the WAC had four pitchers on the list.

Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The initial list will be updated with a mid-season release the week of April 16, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 6, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional tournament competition.

The NCBWA’s All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year’s recipient to be announced during the 2012 College World Series.

Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006, Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007, Georgia’s Joshua Fields topping the field in 2008, San Diego State’s Addison Reed grabbing the honor in 2009, Texas’ Chance Ruffin earning the honor in 2010 and Texas freshman Corey Knebel winning it last season.

The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation’s top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.

2012 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List

Pitcher                                                  School                                  YR

Hugh Adams                                        Florida Atlantic                     Sr.

Chris Anderson                                    Jacksonville                          So.

Luke Bard                                             Georgia Tech                       Jr.

Jake Boyd                                             Stetson                                  Sr.

Tony Bryant                                          Oregon State                        Jr.

Matt Carasiti                                         St. John’s                              Jr.

Pat Christensen                                   La Salle                                 Jr.

Alex Cillo                                               Bucknell                                Sr.

Scott Coffman                                       New Mexico State               Sr.

Caleb Dudley                                       Louisiana Tech                    Jr.

Matt Duncan                                         Morehead State                   Jr.

Jake Dyer                                              Georgia State                       Sr.

Cale Elam                                             Wichita State                        So.

Matt Gardner                                        Nevada                                  Sr.

Kyle Glancy                                          Northern Illinois                   Sr.

Ryan Harvey                                        Seton Hall                             So.

Ryan Hawthorne                                 LMU                                       Sr.

Todd Hornsby                                      Jacksonville State               Sr.

Zack Jones                                           San Jose State                     Jr.

Corey Knebel                                       Texas                                     So.

Forrest Koumas                                   South Carolina                     So.

Kenny Long                                          Illinois State                          Sr.

Stefan Lopez                                        Southeastern Louisiana     Jr.

Austin Maddox                                     Florida                                   Jr.

Eddie Magallon                                   Long Beach State                Jr.

Tyler Maloof                                         Georgia                                 Jr.

Kevin McKague                                   Army                                       Sr.

Jeff McVaney                                        Texas State                          Sr.

Michael Morin                                      North Carolina                     Jr.

John Neely                                           Texas Tech                          Sr.

Chris Overman                                    North Carolina State           Jr.

Robbie Powell                                     Stetson                                  Sr.

Caleb Reed                                          Mississippi State                  Sr.

Joel Rinehart                                        Navy                                       Jr.

Steven Rodriguez                               Florida                                   Jr.

Joe Rogers                                           UCF                                       Jr.

Nolan Sanburn                                    Arkansas                               So.

Michael Schum                                    Wright State                          Sr.

Tyler Smith                                           Rider                                      Jr.

Kurt Spomer                                         Creighton                              Sr.

Tyler Wagner                                       Utah                                       Jr.

Tony Wieber                                        Michigan State                     Jr.

Abram Williams                                   Radford                                 Sr.

Nick Wittgren                                        Purdue                                   Jr.

Evan Zerff                                             Long Island                           Jr.

The Big 12 Conference has announced its 2012 FSN baseball and softball schedule. Eight games, including the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, will be broadcast.

For baseball, eight different schools will be featured during the regular season, highlighted by a matchup of last year’s regular season co-champions, Texas and Texas A&M, and the opening game of the Bedlam series. The Longhorns and Aggies appear on Saturday, April 28, while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State’s contest in Tulsa on Friday, May 4, will also be aired.

Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Texas Tech will also make appearances. Coverage begins on Saturday, April 7, when the Jayhawks travel to Stillwater.

The FSN softball schedule features two of the league’s Women’s College World Series participants from 2011 as Baylor visits Missouri on Saturday, March 31. Also on the lineup is Texas A&M at Texas on Saturday, April 28. All four squads are ranked heading into the 2012 season.

The eight combined contests will be available to FSN’s regional affiliates, reaching more than 82 million cable and satellite television homes nationwide.

Additional television appearances are possible through other Big 12 broadcast partners and institutional contacts and will be announced at a later time.

The Big 12 softball season opens the weekend of Feb. 9-12, with seven Big 12 squads beginning non-conference action. Big 12 baseball begins on Friday, Feb. 17 with conference play kicking off the weekend of March 16.

2012 FSN BIG 12 CONFERENCE BASEBALL TELECAST SCHEDULE

2012 FSN BIG 12 CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TELECAST SCHEDULE

DALLAS – Florida is pre-competition No. 1 nationally for the first time
in school history in the 2012 National Collegiate Baseball Writers 15th
annual Division I preseason poll.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s crew was runnerup to fellow Southeastern
Conference powerhouse South Carolina in the 2011 NCAA World Series and
has a very solid nucleus returning. All-America catcher and 2011 SEC
Player of the Year Mike Zunino (.371 average-19 homers-67 RBI) is one of
the top returnees along with dual threat Brian Johnson (8-3 pitching
record, .307-5-29) and All-America DH Preston Tucker for the Gators.

Two-time defending NCAA champ South Carolina is No. 2 in the opening
survey while 2011 NCAA Division I World Series participants North
Carolina (No. 3 this year), Texas A&M (No. 5), Texas (No. 7), Vanderbilt
(No. 11), Virginia (No. 23), and California (No, 26) return after being
ranked among the Top Eight in the final NCBWA poll last June. Last
year’s preseason No. 1 TCU is No. 13 in the 2012 lidlifter.

The NCBWA continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 15th
year with its 2012 preseason predictions and weekly surveys. Weekly
polls will resume from Feb. 21-June 28 with the finale following the
66th annual 2012 NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., at two-year-old TD
Ameritrade Park.
The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. After a preseason Top 35 listing,
the remainder of the polls will feature a national Top 30 beginning with
the Feb. 21 NCBWA survey.

LSU held down the No. 1 slot in the 1998, 2001 and 2009 polls. Other
NCBWA preseason No. 1 placers have been Southern California (1999),
Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Texas (2003, 06, 10), Rice (2004,
07), Cal State Fullerton (2005), Arizona State (2008), North Carolina
(2009), and TCU (2011). South Carolina never had won a DI baseball crown
before capturing the trophy in both 2010 and ’11.

Last season, five different teams were rated No, 1 – TCU, UCLA, Florida,
Vanderbilt, Virginia, and the champion Gamecocks.

This preseason poll has representation by 10 different conferences and
independent Dallas Baptist among the 291 baseball-playing schools in the
2012 NCAA Division I ranks. The polls of 2011 had teams from 16
different DI conferences rated at least one week. For more information
or to join the NCBWA, please go to www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-2011 Record-Final ’11 Ranking
1 Florida Southeastern 53-19 2
2 South Carolina SEC 55-14 1
3 North Carolina Atlantic Coast 51-16 5
4 Stanford Pacific-12 35-22 13
5 Texas A&M Big 12 47-22 8
6 Arkansas SEC 40-22 20
7 Texas Big 12 49-19 7
8 Rice Conference USA 42-21 18
9 Georgia Tech ACC 42-21 23
10 Florida State ACC 46-19 10
11 Vanderbilt SEC 54-12 4
12 LSU SEC 36-20 NR
13 TCU Mountain West 43-19 16
14 Oklahoma Big 12 41-19 24
15 Arizona State Pac-12 43-18 9
16 Miami (Fla.) ACC 38-23 26
17 Clemson ACC 43-20 15
18 Arizona Pac-12 39-21 25
19 Cal State Fullerton Big West 41-17 17
20 UCLA Pac-12 35-24 22
21 Georgia SEC 33-32 NR
22 Oregon State Pac-12 41-19 12
23 Virginia ACC 56-12 3
24 UC Irvine Big West 43-18 11
25 Louisville Big East 32-29 NR
26 California Pac-12 38-23 6
27 St. John’s Big East 36-22 NR
28 UCF Conference USA 39-23 NR
29 Southern Miss Conference USA 39-19 30
30 Ole Miss SEC 30-25 NR
31 Stetson Atlantic Sun 43-20 NR
32 Baylor Big 12 31-28 NR
33 Dallas Baptist Independent 42-20 21
34 Mississippi State SEC 38-25 19
35 Coastal Carolina Big South 42-20 NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama (35-28), Auburn
(29-29), Belmont (38-26), Bethune-Cookman (36-25), Cal State Bakersfield
(33-22), Charlotte (43-16), College of Charleston (39-22), Connecticut
(45-20-1), Creighton (45-16), East Carolina (41-21), Florida
International (40-20-1), Fresno State (40-16), Georgia Southern (36-26),
Georgia State (37-21), Gonzaga (32-19-1), Illinois (30-27), Jacksonville
(37-24), James Madison (42-19), Kansas State (36-25), Kent State
(45-17), Kentucky (25-30), Long Beach State (29-27), Maine (33-24),
Michigan State (36-21), Missouri State (33-23), NC State (35-27),
Nebraska (30-25), Oklahoma State (35-25), Old Dominion (30-26), Oral
Roberts (39-22), Oregon (33-26-1), Sam Houston State (35-24), San Diego
State (22-36), Seton Hall (34-25), Southern California (25-31), Stony
Brook (42-12), Tennessee (25-29), Texas State (41-23), Texas Tech
(33-25), Troy (43-19), Tulane (31-26), UNC Wilmington (31-28), West
Virginia (28-27), Wichita State (39-26).

By conference: SEC 8, Pacific-12 6, ACC 6, Big 12 4, C-USA 3, Big East
2, Big West 2, Atlantic Sun 1, Big South 1, Independents 1, MWC 1.