University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Picked Third in C-USA Preseason Poll
1/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 18, 2007
IRVING, Texas - The University of Houston Baseball team was picked to finish third in the 2007 Conference USA Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Thursday by the league office.
Junior righthander Ricky Hargrove and sophomore catcher Luis Flores represented the Cougars on the Preseason All-Conference USA Team.
The Cougars, who are ranked No. 33 in Collegiate Baseball magazine's Top 35 preseason poll, return 15 letterwinners and eight starters from last season's squad that finished 39-22, advanced to the NCAA Regionals and finished among the Top 25 leaders in all four national polls.
A year ago, Hargrove emerged as the No. 2 starter in the Cougar pitching rotation. The Katy native finished with an 8-6 record, 3.31 ERA and 82 strikeouts. He continued his trade during the summer when he was named to the All-Star Game of the prestigious Cape Cod League.
Flores was one of the more versatile players for the Cougars a year ago, seeing time at catcher, first base, DH, pitcher, left field and right field. At the plate, the Del Rio native compiled a .288 batting average with eight home runs and 30 RBIs. However, he also added a 6-3 record with 67 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA on the mound.
With those impressive numbers, it was little wonder he was named a Freshman First-Team All-American by two national media organizations.
Rice was a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team, earning all nine first-place votes from the league's head coaches. Tulane was picked to finish second with Southern Miss and East Carolina rounding out the Top Five team leaders.
Rice's Joe Savery was recognized as the Preseason Player of the Year, while Owl southpaw Cole St. Clair was recognized as the league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
The Cougars open their 2007 season at 2 p.m., Feb. 6 when they play host to Stephen F. Austin in the friendly confines of Cougar Field. From there, the team will compete at Minute Maid Park for the seventh straight season during the Houston College Classic. The Cougars will square off against No. 21 Baylor (7 p.m., Feb. 9), No. 49 Texas A&M (3 p.m., Feb. 10) and No. 14 Arizona State (11 a.m., Feb. 11).
Conference USA's 12th baseball season gets underway on February 3. The conference tournament is scheduled for May 23-27 in New Orleans, with Tulane University serving as the host. C-USA's nine baseball schools have produced 50 NCAA appearances and seven College World Series teams over the past 11 seasons.
2007 PRESEASON BASEBALL COACHES POLL
(as selected by C-USA's head coaches)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Rice (9) 2. Tulane 3. Houston 4. Southern Miss 5. East Carolina
(first place votes in parentheses)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joe Savery, Rice (Junior, Pitcher/Infielder)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Cole St.Clair, Rice (Junior, Lefthander)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P Ricky Hargrove, Jr., Houston P Sean Morgan, Jr., Tulane P Joe Savery, Jr., Rice P Cole St.Clair, Jr., Rice RP Daniel Latham, Sr., Tulane C Luis Flores, So., Houston
IF Adam Amar, Sr., Memphis IF Brad Emaus, Jr., Tulane IF Brian Friday, Jr., Rice IF Trey Sutton, Jr., Southern Miss OF K.K. Chalmers, Jr., Memphis OF Tyler Henley, Jr., Rice OF Aaron Luna, So., Rice OF Warren McFadden, So., Tulane DH/UT Brendan Murphy, Sr., Marshall
