University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Baseball Picked Third By League Coaches
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Southern Miss Baseball Picked Third By League Coaches
CHICAGO, Ill. - After winning its third regular-season championship in four years and advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals last June, Houston has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2003 Conference USA poll, chosen by the league?s 12 head coaches. Tulane junior outfielder/pitcher Michael Aubrey, the 2002 Baseball America Summer Player of the Year, is the Preseason C-USA Player of the Year. Brad Sullivan of Houston, who was 13-1 with a 1.82 ERA and a nation-leading strikeout total of 157 was selected as the league?s preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Houston tied the school record for victories last season with 48 and advanced to the Super Regionals for the second time in three years. The Cougars also placed third baseman Hyung Cho on the preseason all-conference team. Junior outfielder Michael Bourn should continue his rise in the UH record books after swiping a Conference USA-leading 32 bases in 2002, while senior infielder Brett Cooley blasted a team-best 18 home runs, the second-highest single-season total in school history.
Tulane, chosen to finish second, returns a wealth of talent for the 2003 season after losing just four players off last year?s team that advanced to the NCAA Regionals for a school-record fifth consecutive season. Included in the list of returning veterans are a pair of former Freshmen All-Americans in Aubrey and IF Tony Giarratano, along with 2002 All-Conference USA honorees OF Jonny Kaplan, OF Aaron Feldman and Joey Charron, the 2003 preseason All-Conference USA relief pitcher.
Southern Miss, coming off a 36-22 season in 2002, was picked to finish third during the upcoming campaign. The Golden Eagles placed a pair of players on the preseason all-conference team: pitcher Bob McCrory and outfielder Jeff Cook. McCrory had a team-best 2.57 ERA and finished 7-3 with 63 strikeouts and a pair of complete games. Cook batted .335 with 11 doubles and topped the club in home runs (16) and RBI (63).
South Florida, coming off its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, was picked to finish fourth, while defending Conference USA Tournament champion East Carolina was tabbed fifth. The Bulls are represented on the all-league team by sophomore SS Myron Leslie (.310, team-leading 19 doubles and 50 RBI) and C Devin Ivany, a freshman All-American selection last spring after batting .322 with 10 homers and 56 RBI. ECU welcomes a new head coach in Randy Mazey and will be led by National Tri-Freshman of the Year Darryl Lawhorn (.416, 19 HR, 68 RBI).
Louisville was chosen sixth, TCU seventh and Cincinnati eighth in the poll. U of L is coming off its first-ever NCAA appearance and has a pair of preseason all-league picks in pitcher Zach Jackson (10-3, 4.77 ERA) and outfielder Mark Jurich (.365, 16 HR, 60 RBI). TCU welcomes back All-American outfielder Terry Trofholz, who set a Conference USA record with a .441 batting average last season, while IF Brad Schutz (.362, 17 doubles) leads Cincinnati.
Rounding out the preseason poll are Charlotte, Memphis, Saint Louis and UAB.
2003 PRESEASON BASEBALL COACHES POLL
(as selected by C-USA?s head coaches)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Houston (11)
2. Tulane
3. Southern Miss (1)
4. South Florida
5. East Carolina
6. Louisville
7. TCU
8. Cincinnati
9. Charlotte
10. Memphis
11. Saint Louis
12. UAB
(first place votes in parentheses)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael Aubrey, Tulane (Junior, Outfielder/Pitcher)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Brad Sullivan, Houston (Junior, Righthander)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P Zach Jackson So. Louisville
P Corey Lawson Sr. Saint Louis
P Bob McCrory Jr. Southern Miss
P Brad Sullivan Jr. Houston
RP Joey Charron Jr. Tulane
C Devin Ivany So. South Florida
IF Hyung Cho Jr. Houston
IF Tony Giarratano Jr. Tulane
IF Darryl Lawhorn So. East Carolina
IF Myron Leslie Jr. South Florida
OF Jeff Cook Sr. Southern Miss
OF Mark Jurich Jr. Louisville
OF Terry Trofholz Sr. TCU
UT Michael Aubrey Jr. Tulane
