Titans Tabbed 13th in Baseball America Poll Jan. 2, 2003– Fullerton, Calif.
The Cal State Fullerton baseball team is ranked 13th in the Baseball
America preseason poll, which was released today by the North Carolina-based
publication. Additionally, the publication named Chad Cordero, Wes Littleton
and Shane Costa as second-team preseason All-Americans.
The Titans, who had a 37-22 overall record last year, were unranked in
the final 2002 Baseball America poll, marking the first time since
March 9, 1998, that they were unranked in what most consider as the "official"
college baseball poll. Fullerton was ranked seventh in the Collegiate
Baseball preseason poll, which was released in December.
Only Georgia Tech, which is ranked first in the poll, has more preseason
All-Americans (4) than the Titans. Florida State, San Diego State, Stanford,
Rice, Wake Forest, Houston and Cal each had two selections.
Cordero (Chino, Calif./Don Lugo H.S.), one of the dominant closers in
the country, leads all active pitchers in career saves with 26. He racked
up 12 last year to go along with a 2.91 ERA and 81 strikeouts in just
55.2 innings. Cordero has earned first-team All-Big West honors in each
of his two seasons in a Titan uniform and was named a Baseball America
summer All-American after going 17.1 innings in 13 appearances without
allowing an earned run for Team USA last summer.
Littleton (Oceanside, Calif./Vista H.S.) turned in a fantastic sophomore
campaign, posting a 9-4 record with a Big West Conference-best 2.40 ERA.
Opponents batted just .237 against the right-hander, who was named a third-team
All-American by Baseball America for his efforts.
Costa (Visalia, Calif./Golden West H.S.) batted .365 with four homers,
23 doubles, 40 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 2002 and had a 22-game hitting
streak during the season. He was a first-team all-conference pick, was
named to the All-Regional team at Stanford and was selected the best left
fielder in the FISU World University Baseball Championship tournament
as a member of the USA National Team.
Cordero, Littleton and Costa will anchor a team that also includes a fleet
of newcomers who were collectively tabbed as the second-best recruiting
class in the country.
The Titans will again open the season against rival Stanford when they
host the third-ranked Cardinal at Goodwin Field from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.
In all, the Titans are scheduled to play 13 games against ranked teams,
with contests against three top-10 teams (No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Texas,
No. 6 USC).
For the complete poll and list of preseason All-Americans, visit the Baseball
America web site at http://www.baseballamerica.com/.
