Feb. 20, 2008
The Big 12 Conference baseball coaches have picked Mizzou to finish second in the league, according to the 2008 Big 12 Preseason Poll released by the conference office on Wednesday. The Tigers garnered 71 points, including one first-place vote, finishing behind only Texas.
The ranking is the highest for the Tigers since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Their previous best came in 2006, when the coaches voted Missouri third. Last season, MU was selected eighth in the preseason poll, but ended the year in second place.
For the seventh consecutive year, Texas has been selected the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 Conference baseball regular season title in a vote of the league's head coaches. The Longhorns (80 points) received eight of the possible 10 first-place votes to edge out Missouri. Baylor was ranked third followed by 2007 postseason champion Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. The Bears also claimed a first-place vote. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason poll were Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Tech.
Missouri compiled a 42-18 record a year ago, tying for the fifth-most victories in school history. The Tigers set a school record for conference wins with a 19-8 league mark and claimed their best ever finish in the 11 years of the Big 12 Conference with a second-place showing.
Junior right-handed pitcher Aaron Crow, an All-Big 12 First Team selection, has earned preseason All-America recognition from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Missouri head coach Tim Jamieson, who enters his 14th season at MU, was named the 2007 Big 12 Conference Co- Coach of the Year along with UT's Augie Garrido.
The Tigers enter the 2008 season ranked sixth in Baseball America's Top 25.
The Big 12 baseball season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 22 with nine of the 10 squads in action -- Texas Tech will play its season opener on Saturday. Mizzou will open the 2008 season at the Stetson University Tournament in DeLand, Fla. this weekend, with its season opener against Connecticut on Friday.
2008 BIG 12 CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL Rank Team (first-place votes) Points 1. Texas (8) 80 2. Missouri (1) 71 3. Baylor (1) 65 4. Texas A&M 60 5. Oklahoma State 46 6. Nebraska 36 T7. Kansas State 30 T7. Oklahoma 30 9. Kansas 17 10. Texas Tech 15--MIZZOU--