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MAC Baseball 2010 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Sean Stires — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:30:14 +0000

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Ball State & Bowling Green Picked As Division Favorites

Cleveland, Ohio – Defending MAC Regular Season Champion Bowling Green and defending West Division Champion Ball State have been chosen by the league’s head coaches to win their respective divisions, released today by the league office. The Cardinals were also selected by six of the leagues head coaches to take home the 2010 MAC Tournament title.

The Falcons were followed by 2009 MAC Tournament Champion Kent State in the East, while Ohio was picked to finish third. Miami was selected to finish in fourth place, while Akron was tabbed to place fifth. Buffalo rounded out this year’s East Division predictions.

2009 MAC Tournament runner-up Toledo was picked to finish second in the West Division and was followed by Central Michigan in third place. Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan rounded out the remaining sports in the West.

Ball State returns 16 letterwinners, including six position starters and eight pitchers from its 2009 squad that went 26-26 (14-10 MAC). Among those returning are 2009 All-MAC first-team selections Zach Dygert and Kolbrin Vitek. Ian Nielsen will also return for the Cardinals after being named to the Freshman All-America team last season. Earlier this month Vitek was named to the 2010 Ping!Baseball Preseason All-America Third Team. Vitek finished second on the team and sixth in the MAC with a .389 batting average. He also led the MAC in doubles (25), was second in RBI (67), third in slugging percentage (.736), third in total bases (153) and was fourth on the mound in opponent batting average (.268).

The Falcons and 2009 MAC Coach of the Year Danny Schmitz welcome back 20 letterwinners, including 12 position starters and eight pitchers from last year’s MAC Regular Season Champion squad that finished with a 28-22 overall record (18-8 MAC). Among those returning are 2009 MAC Pitcher of the Year and All-MAC first-team selection Brennan Smith. Joining Smith are first-team selections Logan Meisler, Matt Malewitz and second-team honorees Tyler Elkins and Derek Spencer.

The MAC baseball season begins on February 19th, while conference play starts up March 26. The season will culminate with the MAC Baseball Tournament, which takes place May 26-29 at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

2010 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

East Division
1. Bowling Green – 64 points
2. Kent State – 61 points
3. Ohio – 49 points
4. Miami – 39 points
5. Akron – 25 points
6. Buffalo – 14 points

West Division
1. Ball State – 72 points
2. Toledo – 52 points
3. Central Michigan – 44 points
4. Eastern Michigan – 35 points
5. Northern Illinois – 29 points
6. Western Michigan – 21 points

Tournament Champion:
Ball State (5), Kent State (3), Bowling Green (2), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)

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ACC Baseball 2010 Preview – Coastal Division

Sean Stires — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:01:25 +0000

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Virginia Looks To Keep Rolling After CWS Season

2009 Division Winners: Florida State won the Atlantic & North Carolina won the Coastal.

2009 Champion: Virginia defeated Florida State 6-3 to capture their 3^rd ACC championship and first since 1996.

2009 Tough: Only two ACC teams finished with a below .500 record, with all ACC Coastal Division teams finishing at least 11 games over the mark. The league also saw a record-tying seven teams earn a trip to the NCAA tournament with four teams (Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina) hosting regionals.

2010 No Easier: The ACC has 3 teams in the top 10 and 6 in the top 16 in Collegiate Baseball’s “Fabulous 40” Preseason Poll, the most by any conference in the country. Virginia leads the way ranked 3^rd, followed by Georgia Tech at number 6, and Florida State 7^th. Miami starts the year ranked 12^th, while North Carolina checks in at number 13 and Clemson begins the year 16^th.

Premier Players: 11 ACC players find themselves on the Louisville Slugger pre-season All-America teams including a conference high four 1^st teamers. Those on the first team are RHP Deck McGuire from Georgia Tech, C Yasmani Grandal from Miami, OF Jarrett Parker of Virginia, and OF Tyler Holt from Florida State.

2010 ACC Coastal Division Preview

Yesterday we previewed the ACC’s Atlantic Division and today we look at the Coastal Division.

Duke

2009 Season: (35-24, 15-15)

Nickname: Blue Devils

Head Coach: Sean McNally

Location: Durham, NC

Vitals: .300 BA, 53 HR, .379 OBP, .979 Fld. %…4.83 ERA, 17 SVs, 427 K, 238 BB, .267 Opp. BA

Blue Devil Bats: Duke loses their top three hitters from a year ago including All-ACC 2^nd teamer Nate Frieman who led the team with a .340 BA, 20 HR, and 62 RBI. The Devils, however, do return All-ACC 2^nd team performer Sr. OF Jeremy Gould (.340, 20 doubles, 7 HR) and Ping! All-Freshman So. OF Will Piwnica-Worms (.317, 37 R, 30 RBI).

Challenging Schedule: Duke plays nine NCAA tournament teams from last year this season. 25 of their 56 games are against teams that qualified for regionals, including non-conference foes Baylor and Georgia.

Two Home Parks: The Blue Devils will call two facilities home beginning this year. Duke will still play at Jack Coombs Field, their home since 1931, but will also play 18 home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the minor league team.

Georgia Tech

Deck McGuire (GT photo)

2009 Season: (38-19-1, 17-10-1)

Nickname: Yellow Jackets

Head Coach: Danny Hall

Location: Atlanta, GA

Vitals: .315 BA, 111 HR, .411 OBP, .965 Fld. %…4.65 ERA, 12 SVs, 523 K, 234 BB, .267 Opp. BA

Wrapping Up the Decade: Georgia Tech played in the NCAA tournament for the 23^rd time in the last 25 years and hosted a regional for the 7^th time in the decade. They advanced to the regional championship before falling to eventual College World Series participant Southern Mississippi.

Deep Staff: The Jackets return one of the top pitching staffs in the country led by 2009 Collegiate Baseball 1^st team All-American and ACC Pitcher of the Year Deck McGuire (11-2, 3.50 ERA, 118 K) and So. RHP Mark Pope (5-1, 6.00 ERA, 8 SVs).

Big Offense: In addition to the great pitching, Georgia Tech brings back plenty of offense from a team that hit a league high 111 homeruns from a year ago. Four players hit double digit homeruns, and three of them are back this season: All-ACC 2^nd teamer Tony Plagman (.354, 18 HR, 73 RBI), Jr. SS Derek Dietrich (.311, 10 HR, 54 RBI), and 1^st Freshman All-American Matt Skole (.302, 17 HR, 58 RBI).

Miami

2009 Season: (38-22, 18-12)

Nickname: Hurricanes

Head Coach: Jim Morris

Location: Coral Gables, FL

Vitals: .294 BA, 68 HR, .394 OBP, .965 Fld. %…4.71 ERA, 19 SVs, 479 K, 206 BB, .259 Opp. BA

Yasmani Grandal (Miami photo)

Eye of the Storm: Miami loses OF Chris Herrmann (.341, 9 HR, 44 RBI), a 10^th round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, but do welcome back several big bats with the return of preseason 1^st team All-American C Yasmani Grandal (.299, 16 HR, 45 RBI), and Sr. 2B Scott Lawson (.333, 75 H, 21 doubles).

Pitching Strength: The Hurricanes will have to find a new closer since Kyle Bellamy (3-1, 0.97 ERA, 16 SVs) turned pro, but they do return Jr. LHP Chris Hernandez (7-5, 4.76 ERA, 93 K), and Sr. RHP David Gutierrez (4-6, 4.38 ERA, 1 CG). They also get back Jr. LHP Eric Erikson who was a 2^nd team All-ACC selection in 2008, but missed 2009 after having Tommy John surgery.

Miami Bound : Miami looks to make the NCAA tournament for the 37^th consecutive year, and has a schedule that could lead to success. The Canes play all but 19 games at home, including a season-ending series against Virginia. They do have to travel to Florida State and Georgia Tech, plus play an exhibition game against the Florida Marlins March 3^rd in Jupiter, FL.

North Carolina

2009 Season: (48-18, 19-10)

Nickname: Tar Heels

Head Coach: Mike Fox

Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Vitals: .313 BA, 69 HR, .403 OBP, .970 Fld. %…3.73 ERA, 17 SVs, 661 K, 264 BB, .244 Opp. BA

Big Losses: The Tar Heels must deal with the loss of 1B Dustin Ackley, Rivals.com Player of the Year and 2^nd overall pick in the MLB draft by the Seattle Mariners. Ackley led the ACC with a .417 BA, 111 H, and 22 HR and was named the Hitter of the Decade by Rivals.com. Also gone is top pitcher Adam Warren who finished with a 10-2 record, 3.31 ERA, and 103 K.

Carolina History: UNC earned a 4^th straight trip to the College World Series last season becoming the first ACC team to accomplish that feat. Carolina also became the first ACC school to send a team to the CWS, a bowl game, and the men’s Final Four in the same season.

Key Returners: UNC goes for 5 straight CWS appearances with a few key parts returning. Jr. OF Ben Bunting (.336, 92 H, 63 R) leads the offense, while Jr. RHP Colin Bates (4-4, 3.15 ERA, 6 SVs) a 3^rd team preseason All-American, heads up the pitching staff.

Danny Hultzen (UVA photo)

Virginia

2009 Season: (49-15-1, 16-11-1)

Nickname: Cavaliers

Head Coach: Brian O’Connor

Location: Charlottesville, VA

Vitals: .327 BA, 59 HR, .401 OBP, .972 Fld. %…3.23 ERA, 18 SVs, 593 K, 190 BB, .239 Opp. BA

Let the Good Times Keep Rolling: Virginia, fresh off their first ever trip to the College World Series, returns 23 of 29 letterman and begin the season ranked

Jarrett Parker (UVA photo)

2^nd by Baseball America, their highest ranking ever in school history.

Stop Them If You Can: The entire starting lineup returns in 2009, including All-American Jr. OF Jarrett Parker (.355, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 20 SB), Jr. OF Dan Grovatt (.356, 51 RBI, 14 SB) and ACC Freshman of the Year LHP/1B Danny Hultzen (.327, 37 RBI, .993 Fld. %).

Dominant Pitching: The Cavaliers led the ACC with a 3.23 team ERA, a .239 Opp. BA, and 593 K and they return several key pitchers for 2010. Among those back are Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.17, 107 K), Jr. RHP Tyler Wilson (9-3, 2.97, 1 SV), and Jr. RHP Kevin Arico (2-3, 2.70, 11 SVs).

Virginia Tech

2009 Season: (32-21, 12-17)

Nickname: Hokies

Head Coach: Pete Hughes

Location: Blacksburg, VA

Vitals: .319 BA, 52 HR, .405 OBP, .960 Fld. %…5.18 ERA, 10 SVs, 428 K, 191 BB, .287 Opp. BA

Good Season, Tough League: Virginia Tech finished last in the ACC Coastal division last year, but still finished 11 games above .500 overall. Jr. C/OF Steve Domecus was named to the All-ACC 2^nd team becoming the first Hokie player named to an All-ACC team in Tech’ five seasons in the league.

Top Offense Back: The Hokies return 3 of their top 4 hitters from 2009 with Steve Domecus (.406, 4 HR, 42 RBI), Jr. Austin Wates (.397, 5 HR, 16 SB), and Sr. OF Mike Kaminski (.340, 6 HR, 38 RBI) all back to lead the offense.

Hokie Arms: Tech Jr. Jesse Hahn (1-2, 1 SV, 23 K in 24 IP) was named a preseason All-American by PGCrosschecker.com, a team that is made up of players who rank among the best pro prospects. Tech also welcomes back Jr. LHP Justin Wright (7-2, 3.95, CG, 59 K).

2010 ACC Coastal Predictions

ACC Coastal Winner: Virginia just beats out Georgia Tech

Top ACC Coastal Player: Jarrett Parker—Virginia

Top ACC Coastal Pitcher: Deck McGuire—Georgia Tech

2010 ACC Predictions:

ACC Winner: Florida State does it again

Top ACC Player: Tyler Holt—Florida State

Top ACC Pitcher: Deck McGuire—Georgia Tech

By Collegebaseball360.com contributor Shawn Lewallen

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ACC Baseball 2010 Preseason Poll

Sean Stires — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:31:45 +0000

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League Coaches Pick Virginia To Repeat As Champion

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Virginia, which made its first ever College World Series appearance last June, has been picked as the 2010 preseason favorite in a vote of the league’s 12 head baseball coaches.

The Cavaliers, who return a strong cast that includes All-America outfielder Jarrett Parker, 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year Danny Hultzen and 2009 ACC Championship MVP Dan Grovatt, were projected as the ACC’s 2010 champion on eight head coaches’ ballots. Three coaches chose Florida State, and North Carolina received one vote.

Eleven of the league’s head coaches picked Virginia as the favorite to win the Coastal Division, with defending division champion North Carolina receiving one vote. Florida State was a favored to claim a fourth straight Atlantic Division championship on 10 ballots, while two coaches favored Clemson.

Georgia Tech placed second in the overall Coastal Division preseason coaches’ voting, followed by North Carolina, Miami, Virginia Tech and Duke.

Clemson was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Division, followed by Boston College, NC State, Wake Forest and Maryland.

Teams were awarded six points for each first-place vote, five points for each second-place vote, etc.

Virginia, which won a school-record 49 games in 2009, was joined in the College World Series by North Carolina, which made its ACC-record fourth straight trip to Omaha. Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami also made the 2009 NCAA field, with Clemson and Florida State joining North Carolina and Virginia in the final 16.

ACC teams open their 2010 seasons Feb. 19 and conclude regular-season play May 22. The 2010 ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 26-30 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

Complete results of the 2010 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll are listed below. First-place votes are in parenthesis:

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Team Points 2009 Record

Florida State (10) 70 45-18. 19-9 ACC

Clemson (2) 62 44-22, 19-11 ACC

Boston College 42 34-26, 13-15 ACC

NC State 38 25-31, 10-20 ACC

Wake Forest 21 22-30, 6-24 ACC

Maryland 19 27-27, 10-20 ACC

COASTAL DIVISION

Team Points 2009 Record

Virginia (11) 71 49-15-1, 16-11-1 ACC

Georgia Tech 57 38-19-1. 17-10-1 ACC

North Carolina (1) 44 48-18, 19-10 ACC

Miami 42 38-22, 18-12 ACC

Virginia Tech 20 32-21, 12-17 ACC

Duke 18 35-24, 15-15 ACC

Overall champion: Virginia (8)

Others receiving votes: Florida State (3), North Carolina (1)