Louisville Baseball 20th in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll
December 20, 2010 | Baseball
Dec. 20, 2010
TUCSON, Ariz. - For the third straight year, the University of Louisville baseball team will open its season with a top 20 national ranking as the Cardinals debuted at No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper's preseason poll released on Monday.
Louisville was among four BIG EAST Conference teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper's Top 40, including Connecticut at No. 16, St. John's at No. 26 and Pittsburgh at No. 30. Future BIG EAST member TCU earned the No. 1 ranking, while two other Louisville opponents in 2011 - Vanderbilt (No. 5) and Kent State (No. 40) - also earned preseason rankings.
Last season, the Cardinals won their second straight BIG EAST regular season championship, finished with a school record 50 wins and earned the program's first ever selection as a national seed for the NCAA Championship. Louisville also hosted an NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium for the second straight season and closed last season ranked as high at No. 16 overall.
Despite the departure of six seniors to graduation and six juniors to the Major League Baseball Draft, expectations remain high for the Louisville baseball program in 2011. The Cardinals return All-American junior second baseman Ryan Wright, All-BIG EAST junior outfielder Stewart Ijames and experienced position players in senior catcher J.J. Ethel and senior outfielder Drew Haynes. On the mound, Louisville is led by preseason All-American righty Tony Zych. Other returnees for the Cardinals' pitching staff include senior righty Gabriel Shaw, junior righty Derek Self, sophomore righties Justin Amlung, Matt Koch, Mike Nastold, Andy Flett and Curtis McCombs and sophomore lefty Keith Landers. Louisville also welcomes a talented group of 14 newcomers, which includes a balanced mix of pitching, fielding and offense.
In his four seasons as the Cardinals' head coach, Dan McDonnell has led Louisville to impressive heights, including its first ever College World Series appearance in 2007, four consecutive 40-win seasons, 185 wins overall and a school record four straight NCAA Championship appearances. Louisville has also hosted NCAA post-season games in three of the last four seasons.
Louisville will open the 2011 season at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Feb. 18-20. The Cardinals' home schedule will begin with a three-game series against Toledo on Feb. 25-27 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'sNCAA Div. I Pre-Season Poll(As of Dec. 20, 2010)Rank School ('10 Final Record) Points1. Texas Christian (54-14) 4952. Florida (47-17) 4943. UCLA (51-17) 4934. Clemson (45-25) 4895. Vanderbilt (46-20) 4866. Oklahoma (50-18) 4837. Texas (50-13) 4818. Texas A&M (43-21-1) 4809. Oregon (40-24) 47910. Stanford (31-25) 474
11. Arizona St. (52-10) 47312. Cal. St. Fullerton (46-18) 47013. Florida St. (48-20) 46914. South Carolina (54-16) 46715. Louisiana St. (41-22) 46516. Connecticut (48-16) 46217. Virginia (51-14) 45718. Miami, Fla. (43-20) 45519. Georgia Tech. (47-15) 45420. Louisville (50-14) 451
21. Rice (40-23) 45022. Arizona (34-24) 44523. Wichita St. (41-19) 44324. Coastal Carolina (55-10) 44025. Auburn (43-21) 43726. St. John's (43-20) 43527. North Carolina (38-32) 43428. San Diego (37-22) 42729. Fresno St. (38-25) 42630. Pittsburgh (38-18) 425
31. Washington St. (37-22) 42232. Arkansas (43-21) 41833. California (29-25) 41734. U.C. Irvine (39-21) 41435. College of Charleston (44-19) 41236. Florida Atlantic (37-24) 40937. Kansas St. (37-22) 40738. Hawaii (35-28) 40239. Baylor (36-24) 40140. Kent St. (39-25) 398
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Florida International, U.C. Riverside, N.C.State, Oregon St., Mississippi, Kentucky, Southern California, Washington,Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi St., Oklahoma St., Missouri, SouthFlorida, Nebraska, Cal Poly, Long Beach St., U.C. Santa Barbara, FloridaGulf Coast, Liberty, Minnesota, Michigan, James Madison, SouthernMississippi, East Carolina, Central Florida, Central Michigan,Bethune-Cookman, Illinois St., San Diego St., Tennessee Tech., The Citadel,Texas St., Northwestern St., Oral Roberts, Louisiana Lafayette, WesternKentucky, Lamar, Portland, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Nevada, New Mexico St., SanJose St., Charlotte, Mercer, East Tennessee St., Jacksonville, Georgia St.,Tulane, Utah Valley St., New Mexico, Stony Brook, Iowa, Wisc.-Milwaukee,Canisius, Bryant, Jacksonville St., Dallas Baptist, Le Moyne. 
