University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Picked No. 1 in Conference Preseason Poll
12/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. â€" Fresh off an American Athletic Conference regular-season crown, Houston Baseball has been tabbed Preseason No. 1 in the league, voted on by the eight head coaches. Along with being voted No. 1, the Cougars landed three on the Preseason All-Conference Team, including a Pitcher of the Year nod for Seth Romero.
Houston, led by sixth-year head coach Todd Whitting, finished ranked No. 18 in the nation after capturing The American regular-season title and hosting an NCAA Regional at Cougar Field. The Cougars tallied their second straight 40+ win season with a 43-20 record last season and a 16-8 mark in league play.
Houston received six of the eight first-place votes, while Tulane followed with one. East Carolina rounded out the top three, while UConn, who received one first-place vote, USF, UCF were picked to finish fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Rounding out the conference poll was Memphis in seventh and Cincinnati in eighth.
This marked Houston's second straight season being ranked preseason No. 1 in the conference.
The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held for the third straight season in Clearwater, Fla. at Brighthouse Field from May 24-29.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
1. HOUSTON (6), 48
2. Tulane (1), 41
3. East Carolina, 38
4. UConn (1), 32
5. USF, 26
6. Tulane, 22
7. Memphis, 14
8. Cincinnati, 8
Named to the Preseason All-Conference Team as pitchers were sophomore Seth Romero and junior Andrew Lantrip, while senior second baseman Josh Vidales rounded out the Cougars on the 15-player team.
Romero and Lantrip, Houston's 1-2 punch in the starting rotation were two of the five starting pitchers named to the Preseason Team. Romero was also tabbed as the league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year with UConn's Anthony Kay.
Both Romero and Lantrip were unanimous selections among the voting process.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PRESEASON TEAM
P â€" Cre Finfrock, UCF
P â€" Anthony Kay, UConn
P â€" Andrew Lantrip, Houston
P â€" Seth Romero, Houston
P â€" Corey Merrill, Tulane
RP â€" Nolan Blackwood, Memphis
C â€" Levi Borders, USF
1B â€" Bobby Melley, UConn
2B â€" Josh Vidales, Houston
3B â€" Willy Yahn, UConn
SS â€" Stephen Alemais, Tulane
OF â€" Jack Sunberg, UConn
OF â€" Darien Tubbs, Memphis
OF â€" Luke Maglich, USF
DH â€" Joe DeRoche-Duffin, UConn
Preseason Player of the Year
Darien Tubbs, Memphis
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Seth Romero, Houston
Anthony Kay, UConn
Seth Romero (IN 2015)
Named a DIBaseball.com, Baseball America and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American...Tabbed American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-Conference selection as a true freshman...Led the conference with a 1.94 ERA...Became sixth Cougar ever to lead the league in ERA...Finished year with a 7-4 record and seven saves to rank in the league's Top 5...Appeared in 22 games with eight starts...Threw one complete game in a 7.0-inning run-rule of East Carolina (May 10)...Struck out 94 in 83.1 innings...Broke Houston freshman record with 9.94 strikeouts per nine innings...Held opposing hitters to a .201 average... Lasted at least 6.0 innings and struck out at least six in seven of his eight starts...Fanned a career-high nine, twice, vs. Rice (March 17) and at USF (April 26)...For his nine-strikeout performance and win in his first career start vs. Rice, he was tabbed the Silver Glove Series MVP....Earned his first career win in a 5.1-inning relief performance vs. Hawaii on March 8 at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park...Tallied first career save in the second game of the season, after tossing 4.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen vs. Minnesota on Feb. 14...Notched a win and save in a road series victory at USF en route to being named the league's Pitcher of the Week...Finished the season with one of the most dominating NCAA postseason performances in program history, tossing a no-hitter into the eighth inning vs. Louisiana-Lafayette...Tossed 1-hitter in 8.0 innings, while fanning eight vs. Ragin' Cajuns...For that, was named to the NCAA Houston Regional All-Tournament Team...Helped Cougars to an American Athletic Conference title, their second consecutive 40-win season and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament... Was part of a pitching staff that ranked first in the conference with a 2.89 ERA.
Andrew Lantrip (IN 2015)
Named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region and American Athletic Conference Second Team...Led conference in innings pitched at 113.1 and in strikeouts with 115...115 strikeouts ranks seventh all-time in a single-season at UH...Went 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA in 16 starts...Tossed three complete games and one combined shutout...Had six games with at least 10 strikeouts...Fanned a career-high 13 in 8.1 inning gem at USF (April 24)...Lasted at least 5.0 innings in 15 of his 16 starts...Allowed just one run through his first 19.2 innings pitched on the year...Won his first and last three starts...Fanned 12 in 7.2 innings vs. Buffalo (March 13)...Allowed a combined two runs in back-to-back starts vs. Cincinnati (April 18) and at USF (April 24), while striking out 23...Finished the year with double-digit strikeouts in five of his last seven starts...Threw complete games vs. HBU in the NCAA Regional (May 29), at Memphis (April 2) and vs. LSU (March 6)...Is now 15-3 in his two-year career... Helped Cougars to an American Athletic Conference title, their second consecutive 40-win season and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament... Was part of a pitching staff that ranked first in the conference with a 2.89 ERA.
Josh Vidales (IN 2015)
Named to the American Athletic Conference Second Team...Opened the season by reaching base in the first 29 games and totaled 33 straight, dating back to 2014...Became the first Cougar since 2005 to reach base in at least 10 straight plate appearances after reaching in 11 straight from March 10-14...Hit .300...Tallied a team-leading 73 hits...Scored 49 runs and drove in 39 RBI...Slugged .387 with nine doubles, three triples and two homeruns...Hit first career homerun in a 4-for-4 game, a double shy of the cycle in a win over Buffalo (March 14)...Led team with 13 multi-RBI games and tallied 17 multi-hit games...Had three games with three RBI (vs. Alabama, at Sam Houston State, Columbia)...Had second career homerun and drove in two in a win over Rice (March 17)...Scored four runs in win over Buffalo to tie career-high...Had three hits in win at UCF (March 28)...Had a four-hit game in win over Cincinnati (April 19)...Finished year with a hit in 13 of the final 17 games...Drove in two RBI on three hits, while scoring three runs in 17-3 win over Memphis in American Championship (May 23)...Had a hit in each of the three NCAA Houston Regional games at Cougar Field...Committed just four total errors for a .987 fielding percentage at second base...Combined to turn 42 double plays... Helped Cougars to an American Athletic Conference title, their second consecutive 40-win season and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
SAVE THE DATE
Houston Baseball will once host its annual Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game on Saturday, February 13 at Cougar Field. Time is TBA and more information will be released in early January. The event will once again feature the 2016 team vs. a crop of former greats, while providing a fun-filled day of activities for fans of all ages.
BUY SEASON TICKETS
Houston Baseball will play 32 home games at Cougar Field this upcoming 2016 season and fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $99 online by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m.
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season baseball home games with a valid student ID.
2016 SCHEDULE QUICK HITS
Highlighted by 32 home games, 38 in the city of Houston, a neutral site matchup against the University of Texas, home contests against Texas A&M and Baylor and three first-time opponents, Houston Baseball and head coach Todd Whitting have unveiled an exciting 2016 schedule.
For the 10th consecutive season, Houston will open its slate at Cougar Field. In the five seasons under Whitting, Houston has accumulated a winning record of 14-1 in those season-opening series, which includes four weekend sweeps.
"We are excited about the challenges that are ahead during the 2016 season. Not only will we compete in the American Athletic Conference, which is one of the toughest leagues in the nation (#3 RPI in 2015), but we will once again play an aggressive schedule against non-conference opponents," Whitting, who will begin his sixth season at the helm said. "With 20 games against 2015 NCAA Regional teams, we must diligently prepare for success during this offseason. We are excited to build off back-to-back 40+ win seasons against some of the best competition in the country."
Houston will open the season hosting the Big East's Villanova Feb. 19-21. The Cougars and Wildcats will meet for the first time in the program's history.
OUR CITY
• 32 home games; 38 in the city of Houston
• First 12 games of the season will be played in the city of Houston
• 21 of the first 25 games will be played in the city of Houston
• 18 of the first 25 games will be played at Cougar Field
OPENING WEEKEND
• Houston will host Opening Weekend for the 10th consecutive season
• Cougars are 14-1 all-time during Opening Weekend under Todd Whitting
• Cougars have swept four of the five Opening Weekend series under Whitting
COLLEGE CLASSIC
• Houston to make 16th straight appearance in Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park
• Cougars to face Texas Tech, Arkansas and TCU
• Cougars own a 20-25 all-time record in tournament; has earned seven wins over Top 30 teams
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS
• Houston has three first-time opponents on the schedule: Villanova, Grand Canyon, George Washington
RICE & TEXAS IN SUGAR LAND, TEXAS AT CONSTELLATION FIELD
• Houston will meet both Texas (April 12) and Rice (May 17) for non-conference, midweek games at Sugar Land's Constellation Field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT COMPETITION
• 20 games this season will be played against an NCAA-tournament team from 2015
• Arkansas, TCU, Texas Southern, Rice, Texas A&M, East Carolina, Texas, USF, Tulane
A LOOK AT 2015
Houston is coming off its second straight 40-win season in 2015 as it captured its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title, first league title since 2002 and eighth in program history after recording a 16-8 mark among the toughest conference in the nation.
The Cougars, led by head coach Todd Whitting, who was named the ABCA South Central Regional Coach of the Year, notched its second straight 40-win season, finishing with a 43-20 record and ranked No. 18 in the nation.
With its impressive regular-season play, Houston was awarded an NCAA Regional hosting bid and the No. 1 seed at Cougar Field - the first time hosting since 2000 and just the third time ever in program history.
Houston finished the year with a 26-8 mark at home, tallying the most home wins ever, while earning five weekend sweeps and eight shutouts on the season - a number that ranks among the nation's Top 10. Houston went on to capture its second straight Silver Glove series - the first time since trophy was established in 1998.
Cougar Field saw a program-record 1,832 fans on average in 2015.
The Cougars were highlighted by sophomore Andrew Lantrip's Third Team All-America honor by Perfect Game and freshman Seth Romero, who led the league with a 1.94 ERA and was tabbed a Freshman All-American and the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
Three Cougars were named to the All-Region Team (Survance, Lantrip, Iriart) and seven Cougars earned All-Conference honors with Kyle Survance leading the way as a First Team selection.
Eight Cougars were selected in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Lemoine, Weigel, Survance, Iriart, Dowdy, Cobb, Fulmer, Rice) - the most since 11 in 2000.
Houston Baseball, once again, excelled in the classroom - posting a program-record 3.09 cumulative GPA and the fourth-highest spring GPA at 2.97 as 24 student-athletes posted a 3.0 GPA or better.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
