Contributing: Jheremy Brown, Mike Rooney
2015 Final Top 25 | 2015 College Baseball Awards
2015 All-America Teams | 2015 Freshmen All-America Teams
With the end of the 2015 college baseball season we take a quick look ahead to the 2016 season while identifying some of the teams that appear to be in a good position to make a strong push to Omaha.
California Golden Bears
2015 Record: 36-21 (18-12 Pac-12)
2015 Finish: College Station Regional
Lucas Erceg (Photo: GoldenBearSports.com)
Cal proved to have a lot of fight in them this season with a talent roster filled with sophomores that enjoyed breakout seasons. They played a pair of memorable games against Texas A&M in Regional play, nearly forcing themselves through to the next round, and while they didn't spend much time on Perfect Game's Top 25 they were always in the mix with a strong season.
The only player from their team that was drafted was senior Chris Paul, who was one of their top hitters on a team that collectively hit .274. Returning however are sophomore outfielder and table-setter Aaron Knapp, third baseman Lucas Erceg and catcher Brett Cumberland. Devin Pearson, Brian Celsi and Mitchell Kranson should also be back in the fold.
Daulton Jefferies likely will front the starting rotation, along with freshmen Matt Ladrech and Jeff Bain as well as Junior Ryan Mason. Each one of those pitchers had an ERA below 3.00 and combined for 53 starts of the team's 57 games. Freshman Erik Martinez, who posted a staff-low 1.56 ERA in 22 relief appearances that spanned 34 2/3 innings, will also be back and could assume the closer's role.
Although Cal lost their top recruit when Canadian righthander Mike Soroka was selected and signed by the Braves as a first-round pick, the Bears do expect to get their next two best recruits, outfielder Lorenzo Hampton and righthander Tanner Dodson, on campus.
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