Texas Tech Baseball Ranked 39th in Preseason Poll

The Texas Tech baseball team has earned a No. 39 preseason national ranking by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Monday. This is the 2nd season in a row that the Red Raiders have been Nationally ranked and they spent the majority of the 2015 season ranked by several publications.

There are 4 Big 12 teams ranked in this poll. TCU at No. 15, No. 25 Oklahoma State and No. 40 Texas. In addition, 6 of Texas Tech’s non-conference opponents – No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 12 Cal State Fullerton, No. 13 California, No. 18 Houston, No. 24 Arkansas and No. 36 San Diego State – also appeared in the poll.

Texas Tech looks for a return trip to the College World Series after missing in 2015. After winning at least 30 games in each of the last 2 campaigns under skipper Tim Tadlock, Senior leaders Eric Gutierrez, Tyler Neslony and Cory Raley look to go out on top.

Gutierrez earned All-Big 12 honors in 2015 as he was named to the first team for the second-consecutive season after hitting .314 overall with three home runs, 42 RBI and a .447 on-base percentage. Gutierrez was also rewarded for his work defensively on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Rawlings Gold Glove Team.

Gutierrez was joined on the All-Big 12 teams by both Raley, a second-team selection, and Neslony, an honorable mention recipient, as well as Stephen Smith, who received second team accolades after hitting, .291 as a sophomore with 10 home runs and 32 RBI. Smith’s 10 home runs ranked second in the Big 12.

Texas Tech opens the 2016 season on Feb. 19 with the start of a four-game series against Wisconsin-Milwaukee inside Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

Source: Texastech.com