Jan. 18, 2007
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference during the 2007 season as the league released its preseason poll on Thursday.
TCU has been picked to repeat as the regular season MWC champion. In a vote of the seven MWC head coaches and a select media panel, the Horned Frogs received nine of a possible 10 first-place votes and 69 points, while San Diego State (one first-place nod) received 52 points to finish second in the poll.
BYU tallied 47 points for a third-place standing in the poll, while the Rebels (43 points) were fourth. New Mexico (34 points) was fifth, Utah (22 points) sixth and Air Force (11 points) seventh. TCU placed four players on the preseason All-MWC team, followed by New Mexico with three, and BYU, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah with one apiece.
UNLV returns six starters from last year's fourth-place MWC squad that finished 12-10 in conference play (29-30 overall), including 2006 all-conference member and 2007 preseason all-conference selection Keith Smith (Sr., OF) and Chris Bonnell (Sr., 1B). Smith paced the team last year with 14 home runs, 71 RBI and 18 doubles, while hitting a robust .359.
The Rebels welcome back 21 players from last year's roster, including 17 letterwinners. UNLV also will have 14 newcomers, many of whom will compete for playing time right away.
TCU, ranked as high as No. 15 in national preseason polls, returns six starters from last year's NCAA Tournament squad, including preseason All-American Jake Arrieta (Jr., RHP) and 2006 All-MWC selections Andrew Walker (Jr., C), Austin Adams (Sr., OF), Sam Demel (Jr., RHP), Bryan Kervin (Jr., SS) and Matt Carpenter (Jr., 3B). The Horned Frogs were 39-23 overall last season (17-5 MWC) and captured the MWC postseason tournament title.
San Diego State returns one starter, sophomore Nick Romero (2B, second-team All-MWC last season), as well as first-team all-conference right-handed pitcher Bruce Billings. The Aztecs were 23-26 last season (14-8 MWC) finishing tied for second in the regular season standings. BYU will be led by freshman All-American Jordan Muir (So., RHP), 2006 all-league pick Jesse Craig (Jr., RHP) and preseason all-conference selection Apana Nakayama (Sr., DH). Nakayama returns to the Cougar lineup after redshirting the 2006 season due to a knee injury. BYU returns three starters from last year.
New Mexico returns seven starters (10 letterwinners overall), including preseason All-Americans Ian Hollick (Jr., 3B) Daniel Stovall (Sr., 1B) and Jordan Pacheco (Jr., 2B). Utah has 10 letterwinners back, including 2006 All-MWC pick John Welsh (Sr., OF) and Jay Brossman (Sr., IF), from last year's squad that finished sixth in the MWC (9-13, 28-28 overall). Air Force has six starters back, including returning team batting leader Karl Bolt (Sr., 1B).
The regular season opens Jan. 26, with UNLV playing the first of a three-game series at Cal State Northridge. The Rebels' home opener is against Pepperdine on Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
The conference season begins March 15 with BYU taking on UNLV. The MWC Championship is scheduled for May 23-26 at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
2007 MWC PRESEASON POLL (selected by MWC head coaches and select media)Rk. Team (1st place votes), Points1. TCU (9), 692. San Diego State (1), 523. BYU, 474. UNLV, 435. New Mexico, 346. Utah, 227. Air Force, 11
2007 MWC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM (selected by MWC head coaches and select media)Pos. Name, Class, InstitutionC Andrew Walker, Jr., TCU1B Daniel Stovall, Sr., New Mexico2B Jordan Pacheco, Jr., New Mexico3B Ian Hollick, Jr., New MexicoSS Bryan Kervin, Jr., TCUOF Keith Smith, Sr., UNLVOF Austin Adams, Sr., TCUOF John Welsh, Sr., UtahP Bruce Billings, Sr., San Diego StateP Jake Arrieta, Jr., TCUUT/DH Apana Nakayama, Sr., BYU
