Cal State Fullerton's baseball team is ranked 10th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN
Coaches preseason poll. It is the highest preseason ranking for the Titans,
who have also been tabbed 15th by Baseball America and 17th by
Collegiate Baseball.
The Titans, who finished with a 48-18 overall record last season and made
their 11th trip to the College World Series, finished as the consensus
No. 3 team in the nation. The Titans had the second-highest RPI in the
nation, based largely on their 27-11 record against the toughest nonconference
schedule in the country.
The scheduling this year isn't any lighter. Sixteen of the Titans' regular-season
contests will come against teams ranked in the publication's top-25, including
seven against teams in the top four. Fullerton opens the season on Feb.
1 at consensus No. 1 Stanford, which ended the Titans' season in Omaha
a year ago. Fullerton will also face No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Southern California,
No. 15 Wichita State, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 22 Fresno State.
Fullerton will be led by sophomore All-American pitchers Darric Merrell
and Chad Cordero and a small corps of veteran positions players such as
Chris Stringfellow, Jason Corapci and Mike Martinez.
2002 Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Preseason Poll Final 2001 record in parentheses
1. STANFORD (51-17) – Poll points: 1,011 (33 No. 1 votes) Final 2001
ranking: 2.
2. MIAMI (53-12) -- Poll points: 925 (6) Final 2001 ranking: 1.
3. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (45-19) -- Poll points: 885 (1) Final 2001 ranking:
4.
4. FLORIDA STATE (47-19) – Poll points: 856 (1) Final 2001 ranking:
10.
5. CLEMSON (41-22) -- Poll points: 834 Final 2001 ranking: 14.
6. LOUISIANA STATE (44-22-1) -- Poll points: 809 Final 2001 ranking: 9.
7. TULANE (56-13) -- Poll points: 794 Final 2001 ranking: 6.
8. NEBRASKA (50-16) -- Poll points: 671 Final 2001 ranking: 7.
9. SOUTH CAROLINA (49-20) -- Poll points: 617 Final 2001 ranking: 13.
10. CAL STATE FULLERTON (48-18) -- Poll points: 543 Final 2001 ranking:
3.
11. RICE (47-20)-- Poll points: 531 Final2001 ranking: 12.
12. TEXAS (36-26) -- Poll points: 481 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
13. NOTRE DAME (49-13-1) -- Poll points: 465 Final 2001 ranking: 15.
14. OKLAHOMA STATE (42-22) -- Poll points: 388 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
15. WICHITA STATE (42-24) -- Poll points: 363 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
16. BAYLOR (37-24) -- Poll points: 359 Final 2001 ranking: 25.
17. ARIZONA STATE (37-20-1) -- Poll points: 342 Final 2001 ranking: 22.
18. MISSISSIPPI (39-23-1) -- Poll points: 330 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
19. GEORGIA TECH (41-20) -- Poll points: 323 Final 2001 ranking: 21.
20. MISSISSIPPI STATE (39-24) -- Poll points: 271 Final 2001 ranking:
17.
21. WAKE FOREST (44-18) -- Poll points: 261 Final 2001 ranking: 19.
22. FRESNO STATE (41-25) -- Poll points: 258 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
23. FLORIDA (35-27) -- Poll points: 139 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
24. RUTGERS (42-17) -- Poll points: 121 Final 2001 ranking: NR.
25. TENNESSEE (48-20) -- Poll points: 105 Final 2001 ranking: 5.
Others receiving votes: North Carolina (77), Texas Tech (59), East
Carolina (54), Cal State Northridge (43), Ohio State (42), Georgia (38),
Texas A&M (31), Alabama (28), Nevada (27), UCLA (24), Ball State (20),
Stetson (19), Washington (18), California (18), Arizona (18), Long Beach
State (17), Winthrop (15), Houston (14), Purdue (11), Central Florida
(11), Oral Roberts (8), Pepperdine (7), San Diego (6), Virginia Tech(6),
South Alabama (5), Brigham Young (4), Georgia Southern (4), San DiegoState
(4), Florida International (3), South Florida (3), Campbell (3), New Orleans
(1), Southwest Missouri State (1), Illinois (1), Oklahoma (1), CoastalCarolina
(1), Louisiana-Lafayette (1).
