Collegiate Baseball ranks Arizona No. 18 in preseason poll
Arizona Baseball was featured in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason NCAA Division I poll released today, checking in at No. 18. It marks the fourth straight year that the Cats were ranked in Collegiate Baseball's Preseason poll, and the highest placement for Arizona since the Wildcats were ranked No. 7 heading into the 2017 season.
Arizona finished the 2019 season with 10 consecutive wins, bringing their overall record to 32-24 with a 15-14 mark in Pac-12 Conference play in head coach Jay Johnson's fourth season at the helm in Tucson. Johnson and the Wildcats have amassed 153 wins since 2016, the third-best mark in the conference over that span.
The Wildcats are one of five Pac-12 programs selected to the Top 40, along with Arizona State (No. 5), UCLA (No. 12), Stanford (No. 25), and Oregon State (No. 32).
Among the key returning position players for Johnson and the Wildcats in 2020 are sophomore catcher Austin Wells, junior catcher/utility Matthew Dyer, sophomore infielder Dayton Dooney, and junior outfielder Donta Williams. After hitting .353 with 60 RBI and setting a freshman school record with 73 runs scored last season, Wells was tabbed as Arizona's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a consensus Freshman All-American by all five major national outlets. Dyer played in 42 games and hit .393 with 18 extra-base hits for the Cats in 2019 on the way to earning a Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention nod. Dooney was also honored as a consensus Freshman All-American for his efforts last year after posting a .323 batting average with 10 home runs and 53 RBI in his inaugural campaign. Williams' spectacular play in center field last year earned him a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.
On the mound, the Cats return a trio of important pieces in right-handed pitchers Quinn Flanagan and Vince Vannelle and left-handed pitcher Gil Luna. Flanagan's eight wins last year were the most posted by an Arizona freshman since 2001, while his work in the classroom earned him Pac-12 All-Academic First-Team honors. Vannelle logged a pair of wins and saves to go along with a 3.47 ERA for the Wildcats in 2019, while Luna picked up a pair of wins and limited opposing hitters to a .239 batting average.
To go along with Arizona's wealth of returning talent, Johnson and staff added the No. 11 ranked recruiting class in the country to the 2020 squad. The class is headlined by four players taken in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft that chose to forego professional opportunities to join the Wildcats: right-handed pitcher Davis Vainer, right-handed pitcher Chandler Murphy, outfielder Mac Bingham, and left-handed pitcher Garrett Irvin.
Arizona opens the 2020 season at home with a three-game series against Albany that kicks off on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m. The Cats will play a total of 32 games at Hi Corbett Field next spring and play host to five teams who qualified for the 2019 NCAA Tournament.