CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston baseball team was picked 35th in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I Pre-Season poll, it was released today.
The Cougars were ranked 29th in the final Collegiate Baseball poll of the 2010 season.
Monte Lee, in his third year with the Cougars, is coming off a 2010 season that saw the team post a 44-19 record and a loss to No. 11 Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional. It was the fourth time in program history that the Cougars tallied at least 40 wins in a single season.
Returning this season is Southern Conference Player of the Year Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.), who had 21 home runs and 88 RBI in 2010 and was recently named to the Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American. Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) also returns. He topped several offensive categories for the Cougars including batting average (.378), hits (102), runs (76), doubles (27) and stolen bases (20). Also returning is David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif.), who led the team in strikeouts last season with 68.
The Cougars open the 2011 season against Kentucky Feb. 18 as part of the CofC Invitational. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. For season ticket and single-game ticket information visit www.CofCSports.com or call the ticket office at 843.953.CofC (2632).
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
NCAA Div. I Pre-Season Poll
(As of Dec. 20, 2010)
Rank School ('10 Final Record) Points
1. Texas Christian (54-14) 495
2. Florida (47-17) 494
3. UCLA (51-17) 493
4. Clemson (45-25) 489
5. Vanderbilt (46-20) 486
6. Oklahoma (50-18) 483
7. Texas (50-13) 481
8. Texas A&M (43-21-1) 480
9. Oregon (40-24) 479
10. Stanford (31-25) 474
11. Arizona St. (52-10) 473
12. Cal. St. Fullerton (46-18) 470
13. Florida St. (48-20) 469
14. South Carolina (54-16) 467
15. Louisiana St. (41-22) 465
16. Connecticut (48-16) 462
17. Virginia (51-14) 457
18. Miami, Fla. (43-20) 455
19. Georgia Tech. (47-15) 454
20. Louisville (50-14) 451
21. Rice (40-23) 450
22. Arizona (34-24) 445
23. Wichita St. (41-19) 443
24. Coastal Carolina (55-10) 440
25. Auburn (43-21) 437
26. St. John's (43-20) 435
27. North Carolina (38-32) 434
28. San Diego (37-22) 427
29. Fresno St. (38-25) 426
30. Pittsburgh (38-18) 425
31. Washington St. (37-22) 422
32. Arkansas (43-21) 418
33. California (29-25) 417
34. U.C. Irvine (39-21) 414
35. College of Charleston (44-19) 412
36. Florida Atlantic (37-24) 409
37. Kansas St. (37-22) 407
38. Hawaii (35-28) 402
39. Baylor (36-24) 401
40. Kent St. (39-25) 398