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Big 12 baseball power rankings: It's TCU at the top, taking on all comers
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- Big 12 baseball power rankings: It's TCU at the top, taking on all comers
The college baseball season begins Friday with all 13 teams from the new-look Big 12 in action. Six Big 12 teams made the NCAA postseason last year, and three begin this year ranked in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 preseason coaches' poll with TCU at No. 5, Texas at No. 13 and Texas Tech at No. 22 .
Don't let only three teams being ranked mislead you. Perhaps two-thirds of the teams in the Big 12 have realistic hopes of making the NCAA tournament, and newcomers Houston and Central Florida are coming into the conference with some positive mojo.
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The place to be on opening weekend might be Globe Life Field in Arlington, where Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor get together with No. 8 Tennessee, Oregon and Nebraska at the three-day Shriners Children's College Showdown.
Brigham Young, one of the four new Big 12 members, opens in Mesa, Arizona, with games against Southern California, Ohio State and Grand Canyon.
Here's the first edition of the Big 12 preseason power rankings.
1. TCU
TCU has won or shared the Big 12 regular-season title four times since 2015 and received 11 of the 13 first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. The Horned Frogs lost first-round draft pick Brayden Taylor and more from a College World Series semifinalist. Pitchers Kole Klecker (10-4, 3.72 earned-run average) and West Virginia transfer Ben Hampton (5-3, 4.45) front the rotation, and sophomore shortstop Anthony Silva is MLB Pipeline's No. 38 prospect for this year's draft. Payton Tolle, a John Olerud Award finalist at Wichita State, and second baseman Peyton Chatagnier, a starter on Ole Miss's 2022 national champion, were big transfer portal pickups.
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Record last season: 44-24, 13-11 in Big 12
TCU starting pitcher Kole Klecker, left, celebrates the team's win over Indiana State in an NCAA college baseball tournament super regional game in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, June 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
2. Texas
Texas missed out on the College World Series last year after consecutive trips in 2021 and 2022, but Omaha might be in the cards again. Among four returning position-player starters are third baseman Peyton Powell (.339, 10 home runs, 46 runs batted in) and outfielder Porter Brown (.323-12-59). Much depends on the progress of pitcher Tanner Witt, who returned late in May from Tommy John surgery. Lebarron Johnson (8-4, 2.91 last season), a healthy Witt and Charlie Hurley (5-0, 4.42, three saves) would give the Longhorns a strong pitching foundation.
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Record last season: 42-22, 15-9 in Big 12
3. Texas Tech
After making the College World Series four times from 2014-19, the Red Raiders have come up short of Omaha the past three years, though they gave CWS finalist Florida a fight in last year's NCAA Gainesville Regional. Texas Tech returns five position-player starters, including Big 12 home runs and RBI leader Gavin Kash (.327-26-84) and Kevin Bazzell (.342-10-62). The Red Raiders need breakout seasons from talented starting pitchers Kyle Robinson (1-1, 5.36) and Zane Petty (3-2, 5.68).
Record last season: 41-23, 12-12 in Big 12
4. Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State finished in a three-way tie for the Big 12 championship last season with Texas and West Virginia, made a run to the finals of the conference tournament and then suffered an 0-2 flameout as a No. 1 regional seed. There are some potent bats returning, led by outfielder Nolan Schubart (.338, 17 home runs, 74 runs batted in last season), but veteran pitching coach Rob Walton has holes to patch on the staff.
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Record last season: 41-20, 15-9 in Big 12
5. Kansas State
Things have been trending up for K-State. The Wildcats' 35 victories last season were their most since 2013, and infielder Kaelen Culpepper and lights-out closer Tyson Neighbors (5-1, 1.85 ERA, 11 saves) are Nos. 28 and 69 on MLB Pipeline's list of 2024 draft prospects. K-State figures to celebrate Pete Hughes' 800th career coaching victory this season, and with a solid cast of returning position players and pitchers, the 'Cats could surprise.
Record last season: 35-24, 13-11 in Big 12
6. Oklahoma
After a surprising run to the CWS finals in 2022, Oklahoma barely broke .500 last season while still making an NCAA regional. A bounce-back seems in order, given the Sooners have one of the Big 12's most experienced lineups, returning seven position players who started more than 40 games each. Gone, though, is lefty Braden Carmichael (7-1, 3.39), who led the team in most pitching categories.
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Record last season: 32-28, 11-13 in Big 12
7. West Virginia
West Virginia enjoyed a banner year in 2023, going from sixth place in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll to 40 wins, a share of the conference title and an NCAA regional. The good news is the return of unanimous all-American J.J. Wetherholt (.449-16-60, 36 stolen bases), who won the NCAA Division I batting title. The Mountaineers' personnel losses, both in the lineup and on the mound, will make the magical season hard to repeat, though.
Record last season: 40-20, 15-9 in Big 12
8. Kansas
Kansas made noticeable improvement in new coach Dan Fitzgerald's first year, winning five more games than in 2022, including a four-win jump in the Big 12. Don't be surprised if KU trends up some more, given the Jayhawks return virtually their entire lineup, minus home runs and RBI leader Cole Elvis, whose eligibility ended. The Jayhawks need to keep working on a team ERA that improved to 6.21 last year, still next to last in the Big 12, from 7.96 in 2022.
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Record last season: 25-32, 8-16 in Big 12
9. Houston
The Cougars were runners-up in the American Athletic Conference last season, finishing one-half game behind perennial NCAA tournament team East Carolina. Two Cougars have gotten preseason all-America mention: First baseman/pitcher Justin Murray hit .379 with 11 homers and 58 RBI and shortstop Jake Rainess (.321-16-47, 38 stolen bases). Also back are left fielder Cameron Nickens (.310-5-38), catcher Anthony Tulimero (.267-10-43) and utilityman Alex Lopez (.272-6-34).
Record last season: 36-23, 17-6 in American Athletic Conference
10. Central Florida
UCF is going into a new conference under new leadership, first-year head coach Rich Wallace taking over after four seasons on staff under Link Jarrett at Notre Dame (2020-22) and Florida State (2023). UCF swept a three-game series last year at Clemson, which finished 44-19, and swept a two-game set from Florida State. Nevertheless, the Knights fired seventh-year coach Greg Lovelady, who won at least 31 games in all six of his full, non-Covid seasons, but had failed to reach the NCAA tournament since 2017.
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Record last season: 33-26, 12-12 in American Athletic Conference
11. Baylor
Baylor is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, its 20 victories last year being its fewest since 1972. The uphill climb is likely to continue, at least for a while, under second-year coach Mitch Thompson. However, Thompson should have a sense for how to go about turning it around here, given that he spent nine seasons as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco and 18 years before that as an assistant on Baylor teams that were NCAA tournament regulars.
Record last season: 20-35, 6-18 in Big 12
12. Brigham Young
Brigham Young finished seventh last season in a 10-team West Coast Conference and wound up with its third sub-.500 record in four years. Trent Pratt has been in charge of the Cougars since April 2022, when Mike Littlewood resigned unexpectedly in his 10th season. Looking for a best new Big 12 road trip? Miller Park, with mountains overlooking the outfield, is one of the most scenic venues in college baseball.
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Record last season: 24-28, 13-14 in the West Coast Conference
13. Cincinnati
New coach Jordan Bischel, hired in June, has a good track record. He won four conference championships each at Division II Northwood (Michigan) and at Central Michigan, where he spent the past five years. His CMU teams made an NCAA regional three times in four full seasons, not counting the Covid-shortened 2020, but he has a tall order at Cincinnati. The Bearcats are coming off back-to-back losing seasons, have reached 30 victories once in the past 11 full seasons and now comes a major step up in competition.
Record last season: 24-33, 10-14 in American Athletic Conference
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Don Williams covers Texas Tech athletics for The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Contact him at dwilliams@lubbockonline.com or on Twitter @AJ_DonWilliams
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Big 12 baseball power rankings: It's TCU at the top, taking on all comers
