University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Ranked No. 11 in Sports Weekly/ESPN Poll
1/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 16, 2003
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team was ranked No. 11 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Preseason poll, released on Thursday.
The Cougars, who received 594 points in the poll, tied a school record with 48 wins and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional championship game for the second time in the last three seasons in 2002.
Sixteen letterwinners and eight starters return for the Cougars, who open the 2003 campaign on Feb. 7-9 at the Battle at the Beach, hosted by Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
Junior pitcher Brad Sullivan threw to a 13-1 record with a 1.82 ERA and a nation-leading 157 strikeouts and has been a consensus Preseason First-Team All-American in 2003.
Junior center fielder Michael Bourn also was named to a Preseason All-America squad by Baseball America magazine.
The Cougars were ranked No. 7 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 11 by Baseball America earlier this year.
Several Cougar opponents this season were ranked in Thursday's poll. Crosstown rival Rice was ranked at No. 5, while Baylor came in at No. 13.
Conference USA foe Tulane was the top team receiving votes, placing them at No. 26, while Louisville also received votes.
The poll is selected by a panel of 41 head coaches representing the American Baseball Coaches Association.
