Gonzaga selected fourth by coaches in West Coast Conference baseball poll
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – After a record-breaking season last year, 2017 West Coast Conference Tournament champion and regular season co-champion BYU was picked to win the 2018 WCC championship in Wednesday’s preseason poll of the conference’s 10 head coaches.
The Cougars earned five first-place votes and 74 points overall.
San Diego was a close second with 71 points and four first-place votes. Saint Mary’s grabbed the last first-place vote while earning 66 points for a preseason third-place finish.
Gonzaga, which shared one-third of the 2017 regular-season title, was picked fourth by the coaches with 57 points.
Fellow co-champion Loyola Marymount rounded out the top half with 53 points.
BYU leads the All-WCC preseason team position players with three appearances: 2017 WCC Defensive Player of the Year and runs leader Daniel Schneeman, 2017 WCC hits leader Brennon Anderson and Keaton Kringlen, who made the 2017 All-WCC preseason team.
Schneeman joins Kevin Milam of Saint Mary’s as All-WCC preseason members who earned All-WCC awards last season.
The All-WCC Preseason Team features two preseason All-Americans in Milam and San Diego pitcher Nick Sprengel.
Overall, BYU and San Diego lead the All-WCC preseason team with three players each. Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and Pacific have two representatives each followed by Loyola Marymount, San Francisco and Portland with one. LMU’s lone representatitive is 2017 WCC batting champion Jamey Smart.
The 2018 season begins on Feb. 16, with all 10 WCC teams in action.