FRESNO, Calif. ?“ Just days after receiving a top 40 ranking from Collegiate Baseball, the Fresno State baseball team received more accolades, garnering a No. 21 ranking from Baseball America, the other major poll in collegiate baseball, and a standard for the beginning of the season and NCAA selection.
The No. 21 ranking is the first for the Bulldogs in the Baseball America preseason poll since 1998, when the Bulldogs were the No. 20 team in the country, and led by returning All-American Jeff Weaver. Prior to that the Bulldogs were also ranked in 1993, 1990 and 1989.
Collegiate Baseball newspaper announced its preseason top 40 teams in December and Fresno State slipped into the poll at number 40.
The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Beau Mills who was last year's WAC Freshman of the Year. Starting every game except one last season, Mills collected a slew of postseason honors after batting .319 and hitting 22 home runs, the third-highest total in Fresno State history. He was selected first-team All-WAC at third base, was a consensus Freshman All-American, and was invited to the national Team USA tryouts this past summer in North Carolina.
The WAC enters a new era in baseball in 2006 with seven teams. Fresno State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and affiliate member Sacramento State will compete for spots in the reinstated WAC tournament to be held in Fresno in late May.
Click here for Baseball America's complete poll and release.
Click here for Collegiate Baseball's complete poll and release.