University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Enters 2004 Season Among Nation's Best
1/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 9, 2004
HOUSTON - When the 2004 baseball begins in mid-February, the University of Houston baseball team will find itself in a familiar place - ranked among the nation's best.
After competing in their third NCAA Super Regional during the last four years, the Cougars enter the 2004 season ranked No. 27 in the Baseball America Top 50 Preseason Poll, which was recently released.
Under the leadership of 10th-year head coach Rayner Noble, the Cougars return 18 letterwinners and six starters in 2004. In 2003, UH won an NCAA Regional championship in thrilling fashion at College Station, Texas, and forced a championship game at the NCAA Super Regional for the third time in the last four seasons.
In addition, the Cougars, who ranked 16th nationally in the final 2003 Collegiate Baseball poll, bowed out to the eventual national champion in the NCAA Super Regional title game for the second consecutive season.
Leading the way offensively for the Cougars are sophomore outfielder Travis Tully and senior infielder Brett Cooley.
A year ago, Tully batted .350 with 28 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. His batting average was the highest by a Cougar freshmen in the last 10 years and helped the Richmond, Texas, native earn a place on the Conference USA All-Freshmen Team.
Cooley returns to the Cougar lineup after sitting out most of the year with a hamstring injury. In 2002, the Round Rock, Texas, native blasted 18 home runs, the second-highest total in UH single-season history. The senior righthander also is expected to make contributions on the mound out of the bullpen this season.
On the mound, junior righthander Garrett Mock is expected to lead a Cougar pitching staff, which saw five players taken in the 2003 amateur draft. A year ago, Mock threw to a 5-4 record with a 4.50 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 86.0 innings of work.
The Cougars open the 2004 season on Feb. 13-15 at the Minute Maid Park College Classic. At that round-robin tournament, UH will meet Kansas State at 11 a.m., Feb. 13 and Texas Tech at 3 p.m., Feb. 14. The Cougars then close out the three-day event with a 6 p.m., showdown on Feb. 15 against No. 5 Texas.
Fans will become accustomed to the Cougars meeting the nation's top teams in 2004. Of the Cougars' 56 scheduled regular-season games, 25 will come against teams that are ranked in at least one national preseason poll.
At one point early in the season, UH will meet 13 consecutive ranked opponents. Of the Cougars first 22 games, all but four come against nationally-ranked rivals.
Baseball America Preseason Top 50
Rank Team (2003 Record)
1. Rice (58-12)
2. Louisiana State (45-22)
3. Miami (45-17)
4. Cal State Fullerton (50-16)
5. Georgia Tech (44-18)
6. Stanford (51-18)
7. South Carolina (45-22)
8. Texas (50-20)
9. Long Beach State (41-20)
10. Tulane (44-19)
11. Clemson (39-22)
12. Auburn (42-21)
13. Baylor (45-23)
14. Wichita State (49-27)
15. North Carolina (42-23)
16. Arizona (35-23)
17. Mississippi (35-27)
18. Arizona State (54-14)
19. Notre Dame (45-18)
20. Florida (37-21)
21. Texas A&M (45-19)
22. Florida State (54-13)
23. Florida Atlantic (47-16)
24. Nebraska (47-18)
25. North Carolina State (45-18)
26. California (28-27)
27. Houston (37-30)
28. Southern California (28-28)
29. Southern Mississippi (47-16)
30. Minnesota (40-22)
31. Mississippi State (42-20)
32. Ohio State (44-21)
33. Coastal Carolina (45-18)
34. Pepperdine (36-25)
35. Washington (42-18)
36. Alabama (38-24)
37. Oklahoma State (34-24)
38. Boston College (33-21)
39. UC Riverside (41-17)
40. Vanderbilt (27-28)
41. UNC Greensboro (39-21)
42. South Alabama (42-19)
43. East Carolina (34-27)
44. Richmond (48-15)
45. Wake Forest (29-24)
46. Tennessee (31-24)
47. Florida International (36-23)
48. Va. Commonwealth (46-13)
49. Lamar (40-18)
50. Stetson (41-24)
2004 Cougar opponents listed in Bold.
