Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Ranked 45th in Baseball America's Preseason Poll
1/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 9, 2004
Durham, N.C. - The Wake Forest baseball team is ranked 45th in the Baseball America Preseason Poll, published in the latest issue of the magazine. The Demon Deacons are one of six Atlantic Coast Conference teams listed in the preseason top 50.
The Deacons open the season at Davidson on February 17. In the season's first weekend, Wake Forest will travel to Houston to play in the Rice Coca-Cola Classic at Reckling Park. The Deacons will go toe-to-toe with defending national champion and preseason number one Rice on Friday, February 20. The next day, Wake Forest plays Lamar, which is listed at No. 49 in the Baseball America poll. The Deacons wrap up their weekend excursion with Cal State Northridge.
Wake Forest's home opener is scheduled for February 24 at 2:30 p.m. against Appalachian State at Hooks Stadium.
Wake Forest finished last season with a 29-24 record and was absent from the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. Head coach George Greer returns three starting position players and one weekend starting pitcher from that squad. With ten newcomers on the roster, Wake Forest will have almost an entirely new look on the diamond this spring.
Baseball America's Preseason Top 50Rank Team (2003 Record)**1. Rice (58-12)2. Louisiana State (45-22)3. Miami (45-17)4. Cal State Fullerton (50-16)**5. Georgia Tech (44-18)6. Stanford (51-18)7. South Carolina (45-22)8. Texas (50-20)9. Long Beach State (41-20)10. Tulane (44-19)**11. Clemson (39-22)12. Auburn (42-21)13. Baylor (45-23)14. Wichita State (49-27)**15. North Carolina (42-23)16. Arizona (35-23)17. Mississippi (35-27)18. Arizona State (54-14)19. Notre Dame (45-18)20. Florida (37-21)21. Texas A&M (45-19)**22. Florida State (54-13)23. Florida Atlantic (47-16)24. Nebraska (47-18)**25. North Carolina State (45-18)26. California (28-27)27. Houston (37-30)28. Southern California (28-28)29. Southern Mississippi (47-16)30. Minnesota (40-22)31. Mississippi State (42-20)32. Ohio State (44-21)33. Coastal Carolina (45-18)34. Pepperdine (36-25)35. Washington (42-18)36. Alabama (38-24)37. Oklahoma State (34-24)38. Boston College (33-21)39. UC Riverside (41-17)40. Vanderbilt (27-28)**41. UNC Greensboro (39-21)42. South Alabama (42-19)43. East Carolina (34-27)44. Richmond (48-15)45. Wake Forest (29-24)46. Tennessee (31-24)47. Florida International (36-23)48. Va. Commonwealth (46-13)**49. Lamar (40-18)50. Stetson (41-24)
