No. 7 Rice will face bevy of national competition

By Natalie Clericuzio     2/19/09 6:00pm

Any preseason poll, regardless of sport, should be taken with a grain of salt. While some swear by the them, others disregard the votes as nearly useless. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. While Baseball America ranks Rice seventh in the nation, the Owls have to be wary of several other schools across the country returning ready to challenge the Owls' in the fight to reach the 2009 College World Series. Rice's in-state neighbor, Texas A&M University, earned this season's top ranking from the staff of Baseball America. The Aggies sport three preseason All-Americans in senior first baseman Luke Anders, senior outfielder Kyle Colligan and junior reliever Travis Starling. Last season, Anders led the team with 16 home runs. Colligan, a Houston native, earned College Station NCAA Regional MVP honors after hitting four home runs over the three-game weekend.

However, Texas A&M's true depth lies in its pitching corps. The Aggies feature four top-of-the-line starters, any of whom have the potential to dominate a weekend series, and all of them are entering either their second or third season wearing a maroon uniform.

Second on Baseball America's list is Louisiana State University, the squad that knocked Rice out of last year's College World Series. LSU opens the season in a new stadium, and the Tigers are looking to avenge their CWS semifinal defeat at the hands of the University of North Carolina. The Tigers' biggest strength is their offense, with left fielder Blake Dean, who compiled a .432 on-base percentage last year, leading the way.

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Coming in at No. 3 is UNC, which bested Rice in the 2007 CWS semifinals before losing to eventual champion Oregon State University. Under coach Mike Fox, the Tar Heels have high hopes for their inaugural season at a new stadium. UNC boasts three All-American returners in first baseman/outfielder Dustin Ackley, infielder Kyle Seager and right-hander Alex White, who is predicted to be a top-five pick in the 2009 MLB draft. These three players, as well as right-handers Matt Harvey and Adam Warren and lefty Brian Moran, have all been selected as Preseason All-Americans this year.

The top-25 competitor Rice will play most often, the University of Texas, finds itself comfortably ranked fourth. While Rice defeated Texas last year in the finals of the Houston NCAA Regional, the Longhorns boast a strong team this season. On Fridays Texas will throw Chance Ruffin, a sophomore who led the Big 12 with a 1.96 ERA last year. The team's bats, which lost career home run leader Kyle Russell, will be paced by designated hitter/ left fielder Russ Moldenhauer and infielder Michael Torres.

Another of Rice's in-state opponents, Baylor University, earned a No. 8 ranking. With two All-Americans in pitcher Kendal Volz and left-hander/outfielder Aaron Miller, the Bears expect to improve on their disappointing 2008 season, when they finished 32-26. Baseball America expects Baylor to finish third in the Big 12, behind Texas A&M and Texas.

In Conference USA, the main threats to break the Owls' 13-year streak of conference championships are the University of Southern Mississippi and East Carolina University. Senior Ryan Dozier leads Southern Miss's efforts, entering the season leading the NCAA in career hits (253). Last year, Rice won the season series with the Golden Eagles, going 2-1. East Carolina was ranked second overall in C-USA by a poll of conference coaches. Sophomore pitcher Sean Maness, who earned C-USA Freshman of the Year honors in 2008, has received five preseason All-American honors and leads ECU. Last season, Rice took three out of four from the Pirates and hopes to do more of the same in 2009.

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