Frog Baseball ranked No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball preseason poll
12/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 23, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - For the third straight season, the Horned Frog baseball team achieved its highest-ever preseason ranking, as Collegiate Baseball has ranked the Frogs No. 15 in the country. The ranking comes on the heels of a successful 2006 campaign that saw the Frogs claim both the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles, as well as make their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA playoffs. TCU won 39 games a year ago and finished with a 39-23 overall record.In 2007, the Frogs will have 22 returners from their championship club and welcome 13 talented newcomers. Included in the class are two four-year transfers, six junior college transfers and five freshmen. Highlighting the returners are All-America pitcher and Team USA gold-medalist, Jake Arrieta, as well as first-team all-MWC honorees, Andrew Walker, Austin Adams and Sam Demel. The newcomers feature Arkansas-transfer, junior outfielder Clint Arnold (.291-3-16) and Texas A&M-transfer, right-handed pitcher Chance Corgan (4-2, 3.83 ERA, 66 strikeouts). Former Arizona State reliever and Navarro Junior College transfer Seth Garrison, who comes to TCU after a successful stint in the Texas Collegiate League in which he was tabbed the fourth top league prospect by Baseball America.
The Frogs are the only Mountain West Conference team ranked in the top 40. The Frogs also have five other ranked teams on their schedule this season. They will face three of those teams -- Baylor (21) and Oral Roberts (29) and Oklahoma (34) -- at home this season. The other ranked teams that appear on the Frogs' schedule are Rice (1), a team the Frogs will face in Corpus Christi at the Whataburger Classic, and Notre Dame (39), whom they will face in Conway, S.C. in the Baseball at the Beach Tournament.
The Frogs open the season in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 9 with a 6:30 match-up against UCF.
Here is a look at the top 40 schools, as ranked by Collegiate Baseball. TCU opponents are in italics.
1. Rice
2. Clemson
3. South Carolina
4. Arkansas
5. North Carolina
6. Miami, Fla.
7. Texas
8. Vanderbilt
9. Nebraska
10. Virginia
11. Georgia Tech
12. Cal. St. Fullerton
13. Florida St.
14. Arizona St.
15. TCU
16. Tulane
17. Wichita St.
18. Tennessee
19. Pepperdine
20. Mississippi
21. Baylor
22. Georgia
23. Stanford
24. Oklahoma St.
25. USC
26. UCLA
27. Arizona
28. Evansville
29. Oral Roberts
30. Long Beach St.
31. LSU
32. Mississippi St.
33. Houston
34. Oklahoma
35. Troy
36. San Francisco
37. Winthrop
38. Michigan
39. Notre Dame
40. Ohio St.
