IRVING, Texas -- The Old Dominion baseball team has been predicted to finish fourth in the Conference USA coaches' preseason poll, the league office announced on Wednesday.
The Monarchs were picked fourth behind Rice, 2016 C-USA regular season champion Florida Atlantic and tournament champ Southern Miss, respectively, in the poll chosen by the league's 12 head coaches.
Head coach Chris Finwood and Old Dominion are coming off of a 32-24 season in 2016. ODU compiled a 15-15 record during C-USA play, giving them a No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. The Monarchs concluded the season with an 0-2 performance at the C-USA Tournament, but return a total of eight starters from last season, including staff ace Sam Sinnen, catcher Kurt Sinnen, shortstop Zach Rutherford and 3B/OF Nick Walker, among others.
Last year, Conference USA sent four teams to the NCAA Baseball Championship and ranked No. 5 among all conferences. For more information on the preseason poll, click here.
Old Dominion opens the 2017 season on Feb. 17 with the first game of a three-game series against visiting LIU-Brooklyn. Baseball voucher books are now available for purchase for $50 and contain a total of 36 ticket vouchers.
2017 PRESEASON BASEBALL AWARDS
Predicted Order of Finish (1st-place votes)
1. Rice (5)
2. Florida Atlantic (4)
3. Southern Miss (3)
4. Old Dominion
5. Louisiana Tech
6t. Charlotte
6t. FIU
8. Marshall
9. UAB
10t. Middle Tennessee
10t. UTSA
12. WKU
Player of the Year
Ford Proctor, Rice (Sophomore, IF)
Pitcher of the Year
Glenn Otto, Rice (Junior, Right-hander)
All-Conference Team
P Kirk McCarty Jr. Southern Miss
P Ricardo Salinas Jr. Rice
P Casey Sutton Sr. Louisiana Tech
RP Glenn Otto Jr. Rice
C Brent Diaz Jr. Louisiana Tech
IF Taylor Braley Jr. Southern Miss
IF Dylan Burdeaux Sr. Southern Miss
IF Brett Netzer Jr. Charlotte
IF Ford Proctor So. Rice
IF Logan Sherer Sr. Charlotte
OF Jesse Baker Sr. UTSA
OF T.J. Nichting Sr. Charlotte
OF Charlie Warren Sr. Rice
DH/UT Sean Labsan Sr. Florida Atlantic
DH/UT Jonathan Washam Sr. Louisiana Tech