SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- Portland's middle infield tandem of junior 2B Riley Henricks and sophomore SS Kris Kauppila was selected to the 2010 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team and San Diego was picked as the favorite to win this year's WCC regular season title in the preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Pilots were selected to finish eighth.
The Toreros received six first place votes for a total of 48 points and are ranked 24th in Collegiate Baseball's preseason poll. Pepperdine was picked second with 38 points and is also receiving national recognition, ranked 34th in the Collegiate Baseball's preseason poll. San Francisco totaled 33 points for third, while 2009 WCC Champion Gonzaga got one first place vote for 29 points to finish fourth, just edging out 2009 runner-up Loyola Marymount, which received 28 points for fifth. Rounding out this year's preseason poll are Santa Clara, which received the last first place vote with 20 points, Saint Mary's with 17 points, and Portland with 11 points.
Henricks and Kauppila headline a group of 22 returning letterwinners and eight starters for Portland. Last season, the Pilots went 25-26, posting the most wins in a single season during head coach Chris Sperry's 12-year tenure. Henricks and Kauppila both earned All-WCC Honorable Mention last season, after batting .344 and .336, respectively. Henricks had four homers and 31 RBI's in 2009, while Kauppila belted four home runs, knocked in 21 runs, had 20 doubles and scored 46 runs.
The Pilots should be solid on the mound this year, with right-handers Zach Varce and Kyle Kraus and left-hander Scott Burris all returning. Last season, Varce, a junior, led the WCC with a 2.69 ERA and nine saves, while striking out a staff-best 62 in 60.1 innings pitched. He went 3-5 overall and held opposing hitters to a .249 average. Burris, also a junior, was 5-4 in 2009, while the sophomore Kraus won four games and posted an ERA of 4.00 during his first season on The Bluff.
San Diego is coming off a fifth-place finish last year and return a number of key players, including 2009 WCC Player of the Year James Meador (SR, OF), and 2009 All-WCC first team members Zach Walters (JR, 3B) and AJ Griffin (SR, RHP), who also made the preseason all-conference team.
Pepperdine, under Head Coach Steve Rodriguez, finished tied for third last year and led the league in strikeouts (477), opposing batting average (.240), and were tied for the lead in saves (12) and earned runs allowed (237). San Francisco tied for third last year and will be led by 12th year Head Coach Nino Giarratano, who was named an assistant coach for the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Gonzaga, fresh off its first ever regular season and WCC Championship Series title, is led by 2009 WCC Coach of the Year, Mark Machtolf. The Zags will field a young team as they return three position starters and three pitchers. Loyola Marymount, which finished second last year under first-year Head Coach Jason Gill, returns four position starters and three pitchers. Santa Clara, under Head Coach Mark O'Brien, returns five starting position players and eight pitchers. Saint Mary's, led by Head Coach Jedd Soto, will be led by the 2009 WCC Freshman of the Year, Troy Channing, who became just the third player in WCC history to win the Triple Crown and was a second-team All-American.
2010 WCC Baseball Preseason Poll
1. San Diego - 48 (6)Â Â Â
2. Pepperdine - 38
3. San Francisco - 33
4. Gonzaga - 29 (1)
5. Loyola Marymount - 28
6. Santa Clara - 20 (1)
7. Saint Mary's - 17
8. Portland - 11
(First place votes)
Preseason All-Conference Teams
Position Players               Â
Troy Channing, SMCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Drew Heid, GONÂ
Riley Henricks, PORÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Brian Humphries, PEPÂ Â Â Â Â Â
Kris Kauppila, PORÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Geoff Klein, SCU
James Meador, USD
Tommy Medica, SCU
Kevin Muno, USD
Zach Walters, USD
Stephen Yarrow, USF
Pitchers
Kyle Blair, USD
Matt Bywater, PEP
Cole Cook, PEP
AJ Griffin, USD
Doug Murray, USF
