Irvine, Calif. — With the 2020 baseball season just a few weeks away, the Big West Conference coaches have tabbed Cal State Fullerton as the preseason favorite to claim the league title. The Titans earned three of the nine first place votes on their way to 68 points. Cal Poly and Long Beach State find themselves knotted in second place with 61 points and two first-place votes each. Defending champion UC Santa Barbara, who received one first-place vote, was selected fourth with a 55 point total. Nabbing the final first-place vote, UC Irvine sits fifth with 47 points and is followed by Hawai’i (46) and CSUN (32). Rounding out the nine-team field are UC Riverside and UC Davis, who collected 18 and 17 points.
Below are team capsules of the top half of the poll.
CAL STATE FULLERTON
• 2019 Record: 27-26 (13-11 Big West – 4th)
• Head Coach: Rick Vanderhook (9th season: 298-178)
• Returning all-conference players: Isaiah Garcia (HM – OF)
• Won seven of the last 10 conference titles.
• Stumbled last year and posted its first sub-30 win record in its 45-year history.
• Nine NCAA appearances in the last decade.
• Ranked 26th in Collegiate Baseball’s Preseason Top 30
• Tanner Bibee (95.2 IP, 4.33 ERA, 80 K, 29 BB, 1 CG) returns to lead the Titans pitching staff.
CAL POLY
• 2019 Record: 28-28 (17-7 Big West – T2nd)
• Head Coach: Larry Lee (18th season: 541-419-2)
• Coach Lee took over the top spot in the Big West in conference wins (229) and at 541 victories in the Big West, he is seven away from claiming the top spot in overall wins.
• Returning all-conference players: Taylor Dollard (1st – RHP), Tate Samuelson (HM – 1st), Myles Emmerson (HM, C), Bradlee Beesley (HM, OF)
• Finished second in the Big West Conference three straight years.
• Mustangs welcome back 10 of the 11 position players who started at least 20 games in 2019 and eight of last year’s 13 pitchers.
• Beesley (.283 BA, 62 H, 32 R, 35 RBI) is two doubles and 11 at-bats shy of Cal Poly’s career top 10 and his 163 career starts is No. 7.
LONG BEACH STATE
• 2019 Record: 14-41 (8-16 Big West – T7th)
• Head Coach: Eric Valenzuela (1st season: 0-0)
• Valenzuela was named the eighth head coach of the Long Beach State baseball program in June of 2019.
• Returning all-conference players: Jacob Hughey (2nd – 1B), Chris Jimenez (HM – C), Adam Seminaris (HM – LHP)
• Three NCAA appearances in the last six years.
• Top returnee Jacob Hughey hit .324 with 61 H, 26 R and 26 RBI in 2019. He ranked ninth in the conference in batting average.
UC SANTA BARBARA
• 2019 Record: 45-11 (19-5 Big West – 1st)
• Head Coach: Andrew Checketts (9th season: 276-178-4)
• Defending conference champion after claiming its first time since 1986.
• Coming off a historic season that witnessed the Gauchos tally 45 wins to set a program record. UCSB has also set school records for the longest winning streak (13, twice), most triples (29) and saves (19).
• Returning all-conference players: Michael McGreevy (1st – RHP), Rodney Boone (2nd – LHP; BWC Freshman Pitcher of the Year), McClain O’Connor (HM – SS), Jason Willow (HM – 3B)
• Boone (8-0, 81.0 IP, 2.78 ERA, 80K) and McGreevy (5-1, 60.1 IP, 1.94 ERA, 53K) return after being catalysts to one of the nation’s Top 10 pitching staffs last year.
• Top offensive returnee Andrew Martinez hit .285 with 57 H, 47 R and 47 RBI in 2019. Ranked in the league’s Top 10 in several categories.
UC IRVINE
• 2019 Record: 37-17 (17-7 Big West – T2nd)
• Head Coach: Ben Orloff (2nd season: 37-17)
• After winning the conference crown in 2009, UCI went on to finished top three in the conference six times in the past 10 years.
• Returning all-conference players: Adrian Damla (1st – 1B), Trenton Denholm (1st – RHP), Mike Peabody (2nd – OF), Jake Palmer (2nd – OF)
• Denholm (9-4, 99.2 IP, 1.18 ERA, 93 K, 4CG) enters 2020 as a Preseason All-America. Last year he ranked in the nation’s Top 25 in multiple categories, he paced the country in WHIP (.81).
• Top offensive returnee Mike Peabody hit .312 with 54 H, 35 R and 28 RBI with a .434 on-base percentage in 2019.
2020 Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (3) 68
T2. Cal Poly (2) 61
T2. Long Beach State (2) 61
4. UC Santa Barbara (1) 55
5. UC Irvine (1) 47
6. Hawai’i 46
7. CSUN 32
8. UC Riverside 18
9. UC Davis 17
() First place votes
