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HOW THEY STACK UP
1. Cal State Fullerton
2. UC Irvine
3. UC Riverside
4. Cal Poly
5. UC Santa Barbara
6. Long Beach State
7. Cal State Northridge
8. Pacific
9. UC Davis
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
C Ronnie Shaeffer, UC Irvine
1B Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
2B Matt Jensen, Cal Poly
SS Richy Pedroza, Cal State Fullerton
3B Joe Terry, Cal State Fullerton
OF Bobby Crocker, Cal Poly
OF Tony Nix, UC Riverside
OF Mitch Haniger, Cal Poly
DH Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton
SP Drew Gagnon, Long Beach State
SP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
SP Tyler Pill, Cal State Fullerton
RP Dylan Floro, Cal State Fullerton
RISING STOCK
Cal State Fullerton: The Titans have continued to experience a wealth of success since coach Dave Serrano took over, but were unable to reach the College World Series last season. Fortunately, the Titans welcome back enough key cogs, especially on the mound, to make a huge statement. Fullerton has an excellent pitching staff with Noe Ramirez, Nick Ramirez, Dylan Floro and Tyler Pill leading the way.
UC Riverside: We’ve said for years coach Doug Smith is one of the more underrated skippers on the West Coast. He has a chance to shine again this season as the Highlanders welcome back a very solid pitching staff with weekend starters Matt Andriese, Dustin Emmons and Matt Larkins leading the way. They also welcome back solid reliever Mitch Patito. UCR expects to be in the NCAA postseason.
Cal Poly: After finishing last season with a losing record, the Mustangs expect to be vastly improved this spring. The pitching staff is a huge question mark with Jeff Johnson and others hoping to rise to the occasion. But again, the Mustangs will have a solid offense with Matt Jensen, Bobby Crocker and Mitch Haniger leading the way. Don’t be too surprise if the Mustangs reach the NCAA postseason.
Cal State Fullerton shortstop Richy Pedroza: The Titans had the nation’s best shortstop last season with first-rounder and All-American Christian Colon leading the way. Most would assume the Titans have a huge hole at shortstop, but that isn’t the case with the talented sophomore taking over. Pedroza has work to do to equal Colon at the plate, but dazzled the Fullerton coaching staff in the fall with his electric defense.
FALLING STOCK
Long Beach State New LBSU coach Troy Buckley has his work cut out this spring. It’s a new era for the Dirtbags and they have something to prove. LBSU finished last season last in conference. They have a solid one-two punch on the weekend with pitchers Drew Gagnon and Branden Pinder leading the way, but the offense is a huge question mark with the departures of their five-best hitters. Can LBSU surprise?
UC Davis: It wasn’t too long ago the Aggies competed in the Stanford Regional, but that now seems like ancient history. The Aggies finished last season with a 26-29 record and were near the bottom of conference. Things aren’t expected to improve this season as they’re picked last. The Aggies need productive campaigns from David Popkins and Scott Lyman to make a move.
Pacific: The Tigers took a step forward last season with a fourth-place finish, but will find emulating that success a tough chore this spring. The Tigers have several key players to replace and must get highly productive campaigns from returning hitters such as Brian Martin, John Haberman and Brett Christopher. Robbie Richardson and Marcus Pointer give them a solid nucleus on the mound.
UC Irvine The Anteaters will have the offense to make some noise this spring, but will they have enough pitching to reach an NCAA Super Regional or even more? That’s the big question. The ‘Eaters have the tough chore of replacing weekend starters Daniel Bibona, Christian Bergman and Eric Pettis. The trio finished last season with ERAs of 2.48, 3.72 and 3.62. Should be an interesting campaign for UCI.
BEST PITCHER
RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton: Ramirez already has given the Titans two solid seasons, but he hopes to have his best campaign as a junior this spring. Ramirez is coming off a fantastic 2010 campaign, where he went 12-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 106 1/3 innings. He also struck out 119 and walked 19. The Titans expect another dominant campaign from the righty.
BEST HITTER
1B Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton: Ramirez is a key cog for the Titans both on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, he’s one of the Big West’s top relievers. At the plate, he’s one of the league’s most feared sluggers. Ramirez is coming off a great year, where he batted .346 with 28 doubles, 16 homers and 75 RBIs. Fullerton needs a strong campaign from Nick to compete for a national title.
POSTSEASON CONTENDERS
Omaha caliber: Cal State Fullerton
Super regional caliber: None
Regional caliber: UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Cal Poly
TOP PROSPECTS (2011 MLB DRAFT)
Prospect lists compiled by Allan Simpson
1. RHP Drew Gagnon, Long Beach State
2. RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
3. 2B/RHP Matt Jensen, Cal Poly
4. RHP/OF Tyler Pill, Cal State Fullerton
5. RHP Matt Andriese, UC Riverside
6. LHP/1B Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
7. RHP/OF Matt Summers, UC Irvine
8. OF Bobby Crocker, Cal Poly
9. LHP Kevin Gelinas, UC Santa Barbara
10. RHP/OF Scott Lyman, UC Davis
11. RHP Jake Floethe, Cal State Fullerton
12. 2B/3B Joe Terry, Cal State Fullerton
13. SS Kirk Singer, Long Beach State
14. 1B Jordan Leyland, UC Irvine
15. RHP Colin O’Connell, Cal State Fullerton
16. RHP Jesse Meaux, UC Santa Barbara
17. 3B Daniel Johnston, Pacific
18. OF Austin Kingsolver, Cal State Fullerton
19. RHP Jeff Johnson, Cal Poly
20. OF/RHP Drew Muren, Cal State Northridge
21. RHP/SS Chris Devenski, Cal State Fullerton
22. LHP Zach Edgington, UC Santa Barbara
23. LHP David Hurlbut, Cal State Fullerton
24. RHP Carlos Gonzalez, Cal State Northridge
25. OF Joe Wallace, UC Santa Barbara
26. SS/3B D.J. Crumlich, UC Irvine
27. RHP Nathan Gonzales, Cal Poly
28. RHP Nick Hoover, UC Irvine
29. C Ronnie Shaeffer, UC Irvine
30. RHP Matt Vedo, UC Santa Barbara
TOP PROSPECTS (2012 MLB DRAFT)
Prospect lists compiled by Allan Simpson
1. RHP Dylan Floro, Cal State Fullerton
2. OF/RHP Mitch Haniger, Cal Poly
3. RHP Mitch Patito, UC Riverside
4. RHP Kyle Hooper, UC Irvine
5. LHP/OF Jacob Petersen, Cal State Northridge
6. RHP Evan Brock, UC Irvine
7. SS Dillon Moyer, UC Irvine
8. OF/RHP Alex Muren, Cal State Northridge
9. OF Anthony Hutting, Cal State Fullerton
10. SS Steve Moon, UC Santa Barbara
11. RHP Trevor Frank, UC Riverside
12. RHP Donovan Gonzales, UC Riverside
13. 2B Matt Duffy, Long Beach State
14. OF Juan Avila, Long Beach State
15 1B Christian Allen, Cal State Northridge
AROUND THE DIAMOND
• Cal State Fullerton has high hopes for several newcomers. The Titans welcome right-handed pitcher Jake Floethe to the mix. Floethe transferred to Fullerton from Fresno State before last season, but had to sit out because of the transfer rule. The Titans are confident Floethe makes a huge impact this spring. Offensively, keep an eye on third baseman Joe Terry and outfielder Michael Lorenzen. Both players turned down significant money to go to college and have high expectations. Though not a newcomer, the Titans love the athleticism of outfielder Austin Kingsolver.
• Cal State Northridge couldn’t be more excited about its future. The Matadors parted ways with long-time coach Steve Rousey in the offseason, and hired Matt Curtis away from Fresno State. Curtis served as an assistant for the Bulldogs for several seasons, and helped the program win its first national title in 2008. In addition to his skills as a coach, Curtis brings the mentality of a strong recruiter to Northridge. The Matadors need pitcher Ryan Juarez and others to step up to do well this season, but the future appears to be brighter.
• UC Santa Barbara hopes to take a step forward this season, and it will start each series with a very experienced pitcher in senior right-hander pitcher Jesse Meaux. Meaux is coming off a solid campaign for the Gauchos, where he went 8-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 98 innings. He also struck out 39 and walked 18. Many believe this is a very important year for coach Bob Brontsema and his Gauchos.
• UC Irvine could have some issues establishing consistency with the weekend rotation early in the season, but its offense should be improved with the return of several hitters, including Brian Hernandez, Drew Hillman, Sean Madigan, Ronnie Shaeffer, Jordan Leyland and D.J. Crumlich. All are solid hitters, but most important, they have a plethora of experience.
• He didn’t quite make the cut for our all-conference team, but Pacific right-handed pitcher Marcus Pointer is worth watching this spring. The talented righty started 15 games last season and had a 4.58 ERA in 106 innings. He also struck out 65 and walked 45 and limited teams to a .265 average. Pacific surprised some with a high conference finish last season. Can it accomplish the same goal this season?
• Cal Poly has been one of those teams the past few seasons with solid prospects on the mound. However, actual production has been an issue. Right-hander Jeff Johnson is the next Mustangs pitcher to watch. The hard-throwing reliever only finished last season with a 6.90 ERA in 44 1/3 innings, but has much potential. The Mustangs need him and other arms to step up.
Kendall Rogers is the managing editor of college baseball for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org