Big West Coaches Poll Relelase
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton was selected as the favorite to win the 2015 Big West title as selected by the nine conference head coaches in the Big West Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference announced Thursday.
In addition, the Titans were also ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Preseason Baseball Coaches Top-25 poll, the publication released Thursday.
In the Big West poll, the Titans received five first-place votes and 74 points overall, edging 2014 Big West Conference champions Cal Poly, which received three first-place votes and 73 points overall. UC Santa Barbara claimed the third spot, receiving the final first-place vote and 62 points overall while UC Irvine (56 points) and Long Beach State (48 points) rounded out the top five spots.
Fullerton also received its fifth top-25 ranking of the preseason with the No. 19 selection in Thursday's USA Today Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll. The Titans received 211 points overall, one point back of No. 18 Mississippi and nine ahead of No. 20 Maryland.
Defending national champion Vanderbilt received its fifth No. 1 ranking of the preseason, grabbing 26 of 31 first-place votes and 768 points overall. Virginia, which fell to Vanderbilt in the championship series, was pegged as the No. 2 team in the nation with four first-place votes and 731 points overall. Texas Christian, Louisiana State and Florida rounded out the top five.
The Titans were one of two teams from the Big West ranked in the USA Today poll as Cal Poly came in at No. 24, receiving 118 points overall.
This season, the Titans will take on five teams ranked in the top-25 including two (Louisville, No. 7; UCLA, No. 9) in the top-10. The Titans will also take on No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 20 Maryland and No. 22 Stanford.
Fullerton will also face five other teams that received votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll including UC Irvine, Pepperdine, Nebraska, UC Santa Barbara and Indiana.
Overall, the Titans have claimed 27 conference championships dating back to 1975, including 11 in the last 16 seasons. Fullerton won four straight titles from 2010-13, including two straight in head coach Rick Vanderhook's first two seasons at the helm of the Titans.
The Titans have won three PCAA conference titles (1975-76, 87), eight straight SCBA championships (1977-84) and 16 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 19 total Big West championships and a 533-203 (.724; 32 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
In 40 seasons, the Titans have accumulated a 709-249-1 (.739) conference record and have made 23 straight NCAA postseason appearances.
The Titans begin the season on Feb. 13 when they travel to the Clearwater Tournament hosted by South Florida. Fullerton will take on the host Bulls followed by Alabama State on Feb. 14 and close out the tournament on Feb. 15 against Louisville.
In 2015, the Titans will host 26 home games and seven weekend series' at Goodwin Field, beginning Feb. 17 when Fullerton hosts USC for the home opener. Tickets for all home games are currently on sale.
2015 Big West Conference Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (5) - 74
2. Cal Poly (3) - 73
3. UC Santa Barbara (1) - 62
4. UC Irvine - 56
5. Long Beach State - 48
6. CSUN - 25
7. UC Riverside - 24
8. Hawai'i - 24
9. UC Davis - 19
