Horned Frogs Picked To Finish Second In C-USA
1/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 19, 2005
IRVING, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs have been selected by the Conference USA coaches to finish second in the upcoming baseball season. Sophomores Shelby Ford and Chad Huffman were named as preseason all-conference players in the infield and outfield respectively. The Horned Frogs are coming off a successful campaign in 2004 that saw them record a school-record 39 wins, their first-ever Conference USA championship and a berth in the NCAA Regionals. TCU returns six of its starters in the field and will be playing with a revamped starting rotation. The Frogs are ranked No. 21 by Baseball America in preseason polls and boast the nations third-best recruiting class.
Tulane received all 12 first place votes en route to being picked to finish first in the league. The Green Wave posted a 21-9 record in C-USA in 2004, finishing with an overall mark of 41-21, the eighth season with 40 or more wins in the last 11 years. The Green Wave, who are ranked No. 1 in the nation in Baseball America's preseason poll, are represented by a league-high four players on the preseason all-conference team. Bogusevic, a two-way star, batted .339 with four triples, 10 home runs and a team-high 68 RBI, while going 9-5 with a 4.19 ERA and a team-best 84 strikeouts. Outfielder Matt Barket, a third team All-American last year, was also named to the team, along with first team All-C-USA pitcher J.R. Crowel and catcher Greg Dini.
Defending tournament champion TCU was chosen to finish second. The Horned Frogs welcome back 21 letterwinners this spring, two of those returnees earned a place on the preseason All-C-USA squad. Ford received Freshman All-American honors after hitting a team-high 16 home runs with 56 RBI and a .301 batting average, while scoring a run in all but one game. Huffman was honored as Conference USA's Freshman of the Year in 2004 and earned a place on the preseason 2005 squad. He hit .383, best among all C-USA freshmen, smacked 20 doubles, nine home runs and had a school-record 97 hits.
Defending regular season champion East Carolina, which set a school record with 51 victories in 2004, was picked to finish third during the upcoming campaign. The Pirates are represented on the preseason team by infielder Mark Minicozzi, the team's leading returning hitter (.353), who also had 10 home runs and 50 RBI.
Southern Miss was picked to finish fourth, while Houston was tabbed fifth. The Golden Eagles are represented on the all-league team by Ezell and junior 1B Marc Maddox. Ezell finished with a 6-2 record and a team-low 3.57 ERA among USM starting pitchers. He pitched in a team-high 90.2 innings, struck out a team-high 73 batters and walked a team-low 14 batters among starting pitchers. Maddox batted .317 last spring while hitting 15 homers and driving in 50 runs.
The top eight finishers in the regular season earn a spot in the Conference USA Tournament, May 25-29 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
2005 C-USA Preseason Awards
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brian Bogusevic, Tulane (Junior, Utility)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Patrick Ezell, Southern Miss (Sophomore, Righthander)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P J.R. Crowel Jr. Tulane
P Patrick Ezell So. Southern Miss
P Casey Hudspeth So. USF
RP Brian Halford Jr. Louisville
C Greg Dini Sr. Tulane
IF Shelby Ford So. TCU
IF Marc Maddox Jr. Southern Miss
IF Tommy Manzella Sr. Tulane
IF Mark Minicozzi Jr. East Carolina
OF Matt Barket Sr. Tulane
OF Chad Huffman So. TCU
OF Travis Tully Jr. Houston
DH/UT Brian Bogusevic Jr. Tulane
2005 Predicted Finish
1. Tulane (12)
2. TCU
3. East Carolina
4. Southern Miss
5. Houston
6. USF
7. Louisville
8. UAB
9. Charlotte
10. Cincinnati
11. Memphis
12. Saint Louis
(first place votes in parentheses)
