Mountain West Preseason Coaches Poll & Preseason All-Conference Team

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team was predicted to finish fifth overall in the 2016 Mountain West Preseason Poll, which was voted on by the Conference's seven head coaches. In addition, senior right-hander Kenny Oakley was tabbed to the MW's Preseason All-Conference Team.

Oakley, a local product from Coronado HS, made 12 starts and 14 total appearances on the mound one year ago. He threw a total of 68.0 innings and amassed a record of 4-5 and an ERA of 3.18. He tossed one complete game -- a 1-0 win over Nevada, Reno (March 7) -- where he allowed only four hits and struck out 11.

Overall, this year's Rebel roster will consist of 16 letterwinners and 17 newcomers in Stan Stolte's first year at the helm of the program. The Scarlet & Gray returns three starting position players (Austin Anderson, Nick Rodriguez and Payton Squier) and three starting pitchers (Blaze Bohall, D.J. Myers and Oakley) with five or more starts.

The San Diego State Aztecs and New Mexico Lobos finished deadlocked with 32 total points and three first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll. SDSU returns 21 letterwinners from a squad that went 41-23 and finished second in the MW with a mark of 19-10. The Aztecs earned an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament after it won the MW Championship. UNM, who brings back 18 letterwinners, went 32-27 a year ago and finished fourth in the league (17-13).

The Air Force Falcons and Fresno State Bulldogs share third place with 24 points, although the latter claimed the seventh and final first-place vote. Air Force, which went 23-29 overall and 11-17 MW, returns 20 letterwinners, including a league-best four representatives from this year's preseason all-conference team. FS finished three games over .500 (31-28) on the year with help from an 18-12 MW showing. The Bulldogs have 21 letterwinners back from the '15 squad.

After UNLV (25-31, 10-20 MW) and it's fifth-place finish, the Conference's coaches placed Nevada, Reno (41-15, 22-7 MW) in sixth (14 points) and San Jose State (13-44, 6-24) in seventh (six points). UNR, which claimed the MW's 2015 regular-season title, returns Trenton Brooks and Christian Stolo for the '16 campaign after being named the MW's Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, last season.

The Rebels begin the season this weekend with a three-game set against the No. 23 Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The series starts Friday night (6:00 pm CT/4:00 pm PT) and continues Saturday (2:00 pm CT/12:00 pm PT) and Sunday (1:00 pm CT/11:00 am PT).

The Scarlet & Gray returns to Las Vegas for a six-game homestand with three games apiece against the West Virginia Mountaineers (Feb. 26-28) and San Jose State Spartans (March 4-6).