PROVO, Utah – BYU baseball was picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference and outfielder Mitch McIntyre and pitcher Easton Walker were named Preseason All-WCC, the conference announced Wednesday.
Coming off three WCC titles in the last four seasons, the Cougars received five of a possible nine first-place votes from the league's head coaches, totaling 68 points. Gonzaga (two first-place votes) was picked first with 71 points while LMU (three first-place votes) came in third with 65.
Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Portland, Santa Clara and Pacific rounded out the poll, in that order.
BYU is coming off a 2019 campaign where the Cougars finished 36-17 overall and 19-8 in conference to win their first outright WCC title. BYU has also tied for the regular season championship in 2016 and 2017 and won the conference tournament in 2017.
McIntyre and Walker, both juniors this year, were named to the 15-man preseason team after each was named All-WCC last season. McIntyre is BYU's top returner in almost every offensive category and also threw 17 scoreless innings in 2018. Not allowing an earned run through his first 34 innings last year, Walker boasted a 7-2 record and 2.20 ERA, the lowest mark by a Cougar since Peter Kendrick in 1981.
BYU begins its season on Friday, Feb. 14, against Gonzaga at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, at the Sanderson Baseball Classic.
To view the complete poll and preseason team, click here.