Powered by one of the nation’s top pitching staffs, Cal State Fullerton received the overall No. 1 ranking in the USA Today Sports preseason Top 25 baseball coaches poll released today. This is the second national preseason poll to award Cal State Fullerton the top spot after Collegiate Baseball tabbed the Titans its preseason favorite back in December.
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara are among several teams in the ‘others receiving votes’ category.
Last season the Titans earned their 27th Big West Conference title with a 23-4 mark and finished second at the Fullerton Super Regional to eventual national champion UCLA after posting an overall 51-10 record.
One year ago, the Titans’s pitching staff ranked No. 1 nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (1.41), No. 1 in strikeout to walk ratio (4.94) and No. 1 in WHIP (1.0), while also ranking fourth with a 2.47 earned run average.
The Titans return Louisville Slugger Preseason First Team All-American pitchers in RHP Thomas Eshelman (12-3, 1.48 ERA, 83 K) and RHP Justin Garza (12-0, 2.03 ERA, 95 K, 17 BB in 115 IP). In 2013, Garza was named Big West Pitcher of the Year after posting a 12-0 record, while Eshelman received Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year accolades following a season where he paced the league with an impressive 1.48 ERA, good enough for 10th in the country.
Eshelman led the nation in walks allowed per nine innings (0.23) as he only surrendered 3 in 115 2/3 innings. That staggering number is the lowest in the history of NCAA Division I baseball, according to the NCAA Baseball Record Book. He also ranked first nationally in strikeout to walk ratio (27.67) and ranked No. 1 in WHIP (0.77). The Titans also return another quality starter in RHP Grahamm Wiest (9-3, 3.27 ERA, 76 K, 13 BB).
USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll
1. Cal State Fullerton - 729
2. LSU - 683
3. Oregon State - 648
4. Mississippi State - 632
5. Florida State - 595
6. Virginia - 560
7. Oregon - 541
8. Vanderbilt - 538
9. N.C. State - 533
10. UCLA - 490
11. Indiana - 484
12. North Carolina - 450
13. Louisville - 429
14. South Carolina - 416
15. Rice - 274
16. Clemson - 248
17. Miami - 240
18. Oklahoma State - 220
19. Arizona State - 198
20. Florida - 181
21. Kansas State - 118
22. Texas - 95
23. TCU - 93
24. La.-Lafayette - 88
25. Stanford - 84