Baseball Ranked No. 18 in First Preseason Poll
12/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. -- After back-to-back 40+ win seasons and a 2015 American Athletic Conference regular-season crown, Houston Baseball has been ranked No. 18 in Collegiate Baseball's Top 40 preseason poll, announced by the organization on Monday.
According to the organization's poll, Florida holds the top spot on the preseason list, followed by Louisville and Vanderbilt rounding out the Top 3.
Among the Top 10 are Miami (FL), Texas A&M, Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Oregon State, Virginia and UCLA.
Houston and Tulane represent the American Athletic Conference with the Cougars at No. 18 and the Green Wave following at No. 19.
For full poll, CLICK HERE.
Of the Top 40 ranked, Houston will play 14 games against seven ranked opponents (5 Texas A&M, 15 TCU, 19 Tulane, 20 Rice, 24 Arkansas, 39 Texas Tech, 40 Texas), beginning with three in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 26-28. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
Houston will host No. 20 Rice on Tuesday, March 22, No. 5 Texas A&M on Tuesday, March 29 and No. 19 Tulane in a three-game series on May 19-21 at Cougar Field. The Cougars and Longhorns will meet at Constellation Field in Sugar Land on Tuesday, April 12.
Houston is coming off its second straight 40+ win season after it captured the American Athletic Conference regular-season title in 2015, its first league title since 2002 and eighth in program history.
The Cougars, led by sixth-year head coach Todd Whitting, who was named the 2015 ABCA South Central Regional Coach of the Year, finished with a 43-20 record and ranked No. 18 in the nation.
With its impressive regular-season play, Houston was awarded an NCAA Regional hosting bid and the No. 1 seed at Cougar Field - the first time hosting since 2000 and just the third time ever in program history.
Houston finished the year with a 26-8 mark at home, tallying the most home wins ever, while earning five weekend sweeps and eight shutouts on the season - a number that ranks among the nation's Top 10.
Also in 2015, the Cougars went on to capture their second straight Silver Glove series over Rice - the first time since the trophy was established in 1998.
Individual highlights were abundant as the Cougars were highlighted by Andrew Lantrip's Third Team All-America honor by Perfect Game, while Seth Romero, who led the league with a 1.94 ERA, was tabbed a Freshman All-American and the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
Three Cougars were named to the All-Region Team (Kyle Survance, Andrew Lantrip, Chris Iriart) and seven Cougars earned All-Conference honors with Kyle Survance leading the way as a First Team selection.
Houston took a hit from the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft as eight Cougars were selected and all signed with respective organizations (Jake Lemoine, Patrick Weigel, Survance, Iriart, Kyle Dowdy, Taylor Cobb, Ashford Fulmer, Ian Rice). The eight Cougars drafted were the most since 11 in 2000.
Despite losing a core group of student-athletes, Houston Baseball refueled with its new class, sparked by 10 freshmen and eight JUCO transfers. 10 of the 18 newcomers are pitchers, four of which are southpaws, which was a focus for the coaching staff during the recruiting process.
SAVE THE DATE
Houston Baseball will once host its annual Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game on Saturday, February 13 at Cougar Field. Time is TBA and more information will be released in early January. The event will once again feature the 2016 team vs. a crop of former greats, while providing a fun-filled day of activities for fans of all ages.
BUY SEASON TICKETS
Houston Baseball will play 32 home games at Cougar Field this upcoming 2016 season and fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $99 online by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m.
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season baseball home games with a valid student ID.
2016 SCHEDULE QUICK HITS
Highlighted by 32 home games, 38 in the city of Houston, a neutral site matchup against the University of Texas, home contests against Texas A&M and Baylor and three first-time opponents, Houston Baseball and head coach Todd Whitting have unveiled an exciting 2016 schedule.
For the 10th consecutive season, Houston will open its slate at Cougar Field. In the five seasons under Whitting, Houston has accumulated a winning record of 14-1 in those season-opening series, which includes four weekend sweeps.
"We are excited about the challenges that are ahead during the 2016 season. Not only will we compete in the American Athletic Conference, which is one of the toughest leagues in the nation (#3 RPI in 2015), but we will once again play an aggressive schedule against non-conference opponents," Whitting, who will begin his sixth season at the helm said. "With 20 games against 2015 NCAA Regional teams, we must diligently prepare for success during this offseason. We are excited to build off back-to-back 40+ win seasons against some of the best competition in the country."
Houston will open the season hosting the Big East's Villanova Feb. 19-21. The Cougars and Wildcats will meet for the first time in the program's history.
OUR CITY
• 32 home games; 38 in the city of Houston
• First 12 games of the season will be played in the city of Houston
• 21 of the first 25 games will be played in the city of Houston
• 18 of the first 25 games will be played at Cougar Field
OPENING WEEKEND
• Houston will host Opening Weekend for the 10th consecutive season
• Cougars are 14-1 all-time during Opening Weekend under Todd Whitting
• Cougars have swept four of the five Opening Weekend series under Whitting
COLLEGE CLASSIC
• Houston to make 16th straight appearance in Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park
• Cougars to face Texas Tech, Arkansas and TCU
• Cougars own a 20-25 all-time record in tournament; has earned seven wins over Top 30 teams
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS
• Houston has three first-time opponents on the schedule: Villanova, Grand Canyon, George Washington
RICE & TEXAS IN SUGAR LAND, TEXAS AT CONSTELLATION FIELD
• Houston will meet both Texas (April 12) and Rice (May 17) for non-conference, midweek games at Sugar Land's Constellation Field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT COMPETITION
• 20 games this season will be played against an NCAA-tournament team from 2015
• Arkansas, TCU, Texas Southern, Rice, Texas A&M, East Carolina, Texas, USF, Tulane
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
