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Collegiate Baseball Writers Rank Louisville 22nd in Preseason Poll
Jan. 31, 2011
DALLAS - The University of Louisville baseball team earned its third preseason top 25 ranking on Monday as the Cardinals opened at No. 22 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 35 preseason poll. Louisville was No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper's preseason poll released last month and No. 21 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' preseason poll released last week. The Cardinals were not ranked in the Baseball America preseason poll also released last week. The Cardinals were among three BIG EAST Conference teams ranked in the NCBWA preseason poll, including Connecticut at No. 17 and St. John's at No. 31. Future BIG EAST member TCU earned the No. 1 ranking, while Vanderbilt, which will visit Louisville and Jim Patterson Stadium on May 10, was No. 4 in the poll. Last season, the Cardinals won their second straight BIG EAST regular season championship, finished with a school record 50 wins and earned the program's first ever selection as a national seed for the NCAA Championship. Louisville also hosted an NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium for the second straight season and closed last season ranked as high at No. 16 overall. In his four seasons as the Cardinals' head coach, Dan McDonnell has led Louisville to impressive heights, including its first ever College World Series appearance in 2007, four consecutive 40-win seasons, 185 wins overall and a school record four straight NCAA Championship appearances. Louisville has also hosted NCAA post-season games in three of the last four seasons. Louisville will open the 2011 season at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Feb. 18-20. The Cardinals' home schedule will begin with a three-game series against Toledo on Feb. 25-27 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
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