Bruins Voted No. 3, Trio Tabbed All-America in Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll
December 18, 2018 | Baseball
The UCLA baseball team was ranked No. 3 in the country, while three players earned Preseason All-America honors as Collegiate Baseball released the results of its 2019 preseason poll on Tuesday.
Junior second baseman Chase Strumpf was named a First Team Preseason All-American, junior outfielder Jeremy Ydens earned Second Team status, and junior first baseman Michael Toglia was tabbed to the Third Team.
Nationwide, UCLA's three Preseason All-America picks trailed only Oregon State's four.
Meanwhile, the Bruins were behind only LSU and Vanderbilt in Collegiate Baseball's Preseason Poll. UCLA was the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the poll. There were three Pac-12 teams inside the top-10, including Stanford (No. 5) and Oregon State (No. 7), while three other league schools cracked the top-40: Arizona (No. 26), Oregon (No. 31), and Arizona State (No. 36). Washington, USC, and California received votes. ย
A number of UCLA's scheduled non-conference opponents were included in the Collegiate Baseball Top-40, including Georgia Tech (No. 17), Cal State Fullerton (No. 18), East Carolina (No. 35), and Michigan (No. 39).
Strumpf is coming off an All-American sophomore season, as he slashed .363/.475/.633 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs in 58 games in 2018. Not just an offensive threat, he committed just two errors in the field last year en route to a .992 fielding percentage. He was selected to play for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this past summer, but did not participate due to injury.
Ydens was top-10 in the league last year in batting average (.350), triples (five), and stolen bases (13), leading to All-Pac-12 honors at the end of the season. After being drafted in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft by Arizona, he continued his hot-hitting ways with Wareham of the Cape Cod League over the summer, leading the Gatemen to the league championship with a slash-line of .304/.347/.432.
Toglia slashed .336/.449/.588 in a team-high 59 games for the Bruins last year, leading the team in RBIs (58), doubles (24), and walks (48) while earning All-Pac-12 status. Over the summer, he was voted Team MVP of the Cape's Cotuit Kettleers and was named the No. 15 prospect league-wide.
UCLA opens the 2019 season at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Feb. 15 by hosting St. John's. Single-game and season tickets for the upcoming campaign are now available, and can be purchased by calling 310-UCLA-WIN or clicking here.
To view the entire list of Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-Americans, click here.
The complete Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll can be found here.
