Under first-year head coach Troy Buckley, the Long Beach State baseball team is expected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big West Conference.
The Dirtbags, who finished 23-32 overall and 7-17 in conference play last season, were picked to finish fifth by the league’s nine head coaches in the preseason poll released Tuesday. LBSU finished last in the Big West a season ago.
Cal State Fullerton, ranked 12th in the nation in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll, was a unanimous first-place selection.
LBSU is expected to return just 13 players as part of a roster overhaul that occurred during the offseason. Among those expected back, starting pitcher and second-team All-Big West selection Andrew Gagnon will reprise his role as the staff’s ace.
UC Irvine and UC Riverside tied for second-place votes, while Cal Poly was projected fourth — just three points ahead of the Dirtbags.
UC Santa Barbara, the University of the Pacific, UC Davis and Cal State Northridge, in order, rounded out the poll.
The Beach will open the season with a three-game nonconference series with CSUF starting Feb. 18. Two games will be played at Blair Field while the middle game will be hosted by the Titans in Fullerton.
2011 Big West Coaches’ Preseason Poll
1. Cal State Fulllerton (9) — 81 pts
T2. UC Irvine — 65 pts
T2. UC Riverside — 65 pts
4. Cal Poly — 50 pts
5. Long Beach State — 47 pts
6. UC Santa Barbara — 36 pts
7. Pacific — 26 pts
8. UC Davis — 22 pts
9. Cal State Northridge — 13 pts
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