Houston Baseball Begins Fall Practice
9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HOUSTON - Houston Baseball will officially begin fall practice on Monday, September 21 at 2:45 p.m. at Cougar Field, announced by head coach Todd Whitting, who is set to begin his sixth season at the helm of the Cougars. All fall practices and scrimmages are open to the public.
Houston will take the field every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday until Friday, Oct. 31. Exception: Houston Baseball will practice this Saturday (September 26) instead of Sunday, September 27.
All practices will begin at around 2:45 p.m. each day. Houston Baseball will not practice on Saturdays the remainder of the fall.
The annual Red-White World Series, which features the entire 2016 team, is scheduled for Thursday, October 29 - Saturday, October 31 at Cougar Field. Times will be announced at a later date.
"Our players and coaches are extremely excited to begin fall practice on Monday," Whitting said. "We have tremendous momentum in our program after coming off back of back-to-back 40+ win seasons and hosting an NCAA Regional at Cougar Field. Our offseason work has been outstanding and the team has an edge in their preparations that is exciting. The veteran players have shown great leadership and continue to push our team towards our goal of playing in Omaha."
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.
TICKETS
Houston Baseball season ticket renewals and online purchases will be available soon. Check back at UHCougars.com and/or call the Houston Athletics Ticket Office at (713) GO-COOGS.
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.
