For the fifth time in the last six years, San Diego State has been picked to win the regular season Mountain West Conference baseball championship. In a vote of the six MWC head coaches and a select media panel, the Aztecs received eight of a possible 14 first-place votes and 78 points, while New Mexico received four first-place nods and 64 points to finish second in the poll.
Two-time defending MWC Tournament champion UNLV garnered two first-place votes and 61 points for a third-place standing in the poll, while BYU (49 points) was fourth, Utah (27 points) fifth and Air Force (15 points) sixth. SDSU placed five players on the preseason all-MWC team, followed by BYU with three and New Mexico and UNLV with two each.
BYU returns five starters from last year's fourth-place MWC squad that finished 18-12 (28-30 overall), including preseason all-conference selections Brandon Taylor (Jr., 3B), Ben Saylor (Jr., OF) and Kory Knell (Sr., OF).
The regular season opens Feb. 4 with five of six teams in action. The conference season begins March 17-18 with the MWC Championship scheduled for May 25-28 at Franklin-Covey Field in Salt Lake City, Utah.
BYU opens its season on Feb. 17 in a three-game series at UC Irvine. The home season starts on March 8 against UVSC. The MWC season begins for the Cougars on March 17 at UNM.
MWC Preseason Poll
(selected by MWC head coaches and select media)
Rk. Team (1st place votes) Points
1. San Diego State (8).......78
2. New Mexico (4)............64
3. UNLV (2)..................61
4. BYU.......................49
5. Utah......................27
6. Air Force.................15