The Virginia baseball team has earned a #17 national ranking in the preseason Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, as announced Monday (Dec. 20) by the publication. The Collegiate Baseball poll is the first of the major publications’ rankings to come out for the 2011 season.
Led by eighth-year head coach Brian O’Connor, Virginia returns 22 letterwinners this season from its 51-14 squad which won the ACC Coastal Division and a regional championship in 2010. Among the letterwinners are Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.), the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year and a 2011 preseason All-American, and Keith Werman (Jr., Vienna, Va.), a 2010 Second-Team All-ACC honoree.
Seven 2011 Virginia opponents line the Collegiate Baseball preseason rankings – Clemson (4), Florida State (13), Miami (18), Georgia Tech (19), Coastal Carolina (24), Auburn (25) and North Carolina (27). The ACC leads all conferences with five teams ranked among the top 20.
Virginia opens the 2011 campaign Feb. 18-20 at the Auburn Tournament in Auburn, Ala., where the Cavaliers will face UAB, Auburn and Arkansas State.
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Chris Graham
