MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University baseball team is the unanimous pick to repeat as Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, according the league's preseason coaches poll.
The Wolves received all five first-place votes to finish six points ahead of Central Washington in the poll (25-19).
Western Oregon returns a league-best 19 lettermen, including 10 that have previously won all-league honors, as it seeks its ninth consecutive GNAC crown. WOU finished the 2009 season with a 34-14 overall record and a 24-4 mark in conference.
Head coach Jeremiah Robbins also has the Wolves ranked in all three preseason polls. They will begin the year at No. 18 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and at No. 22 according to Ping!Baseball. WOU is also ranked at No. 24 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association poll.
The 2010 season will get underway Friday, Feb. 5th against No. 1 UC San Diego at 2:00 p.m.
Great Northwest Coaches Poll 2009 Records Pts
1. Western Oregon (5) 34-14, 24-4 25
2. Central Washington 18-18, 12-16 19
3. Montana State Billings 24-28, 16-16 12
4. Saint Martin’s 22-30, 15-16 10
5. Northwest Nazarene 15-31, 8-23 9
(Note: First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.)