Jan. 27, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In a vote of the six Mountain West head coaches and a select media panel, the New Mexico baseball team was picked to finish second in the MWC behind San Diego State for the 2005 regular season championship. San Diego State, who was picked to win for the fifth time in six years, received eight of a possible 14 first-place votes and 78 points, while the Lobos 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.
The Lobos, who return 19 letterwinners from last year’s team that finished second in the league race with a 20-10 record (26-29-1 overall), landed three players on the preseason All-Mountain West team in junior catcher A.J. Spitaleri, sophomore first baseman Daniel Stovall and senior pitcher Jason Fernandez. Spitaleri is UNM’s leading returning hitter after batting .361 in 2004, while Stovall earned Freshman All-America honors last season after hitting .347 to go along with 12 homers, 14 doubles and 34 RBI. Fernandez was UNM’s No. 1 starter as a junior, collecting a 7-5 record with a 5.27 ERA. He led the MWC in conference games with 69.2 innings pitched while earning six victories in league play.
San Diego State returns five starters from last year’s regular season championship team, including preseason all-conference selections Brock Ungricht (So., UT/DH), James Guerrero (Jr., SS), Jake McLintock (Sr., OF), Lance Zawadzki (So., 2B) and Bruce Billings (So., P). Ungricht was a 2004 Freshman All-American. The Aztecs were 35-29 overall last season (19-9 in the MWC) and posted a runner-up finish in the MWC Tournament.
UNLV, which tied New Mexico for second place in last year’s MWC race at 20-10 (37-24 overall), will be led by preseason all-conference selections Matt Luca (Jr., RHP) and Zeke Parraz (Sr., SS). The Rebels return five starters from a year ago.
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). Utah returns four letterwinners, including 2004 All-MWC pick Jay Brossman (So., 3B), from last year’s squad that finished fifth in the MWC (11-19, 22-36 overall). Air Force has eight starters back, including last year’s team batting leader Karl Bolt (So., 1B).
The Lobos open the 2005 season Feb. 4-6 at No. 12 Arizona next weekend.
MWC Preseason Poll
(selected by MWC head coaches and select media)
Rk. Team (1st place votes) Points1. San Diego State (8) 782. New Mexico (4) 643. UNLV (2) 614. BYU 495. Utah 276. Air Force 15
MWC Preseason All-Conference Team
(selected by MWC head coaches and select media)
Pos., Name, Class,InstitutuionC, A.J. Spitaleri, Jr., New Mexico1B, Daniel Stovall, So., New Mexico2B, Lance Zawadzki, So., San Diego State3B, Brandon Taylor, Jr., BYUSS*, Zeke Parraz, Sr., UNLVSS*, James Guerrero, Jr., San Diego StateOF. Jake McLintock, Sr., San Diego StateOF, Ben Saylor, Jr., BYUOF, Kory Knell, Sr., BYURHP, Matt Luca, Jr., UNLVRHP*, Jason Fernandez, Sr., New MexicoRHP*, Bruce Billings, So., San Diego StateUT/DH, Brock Ungricht, So., San Diego State
* Denotes Tie