Bruins Collect Another Top-5 Preseason Ranking
January 14, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team received its third top-five preseason ranking of the offseason, as the Bruins were tabbed No. 5 in the country on Monday morning by respected national outlet D1Baseball.
Earlier this winter, UCLA was ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 4 by Perfect Game.
UCLA is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the D1 poll, ahead of No. 8 Oregon State and No. 12 Stanford.
The Bruins were 38-21 last season, advancing to the Minnesota Regional in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA returns a strong nucleus of position players including Preseason All-Americans in second baseman Chase Strumpf, first baseman Michael Toglia, and outfielder Jeremy Ydens. Ryan Garcia, whose 2.23 ERA was second-best in the Pac-12 last year, leads the pitching staff. UCLA also brought in the No. 6 recruiting class in the country, featuring first-round MLB draft pick Matt McLain.
Vanderbilt topped D1Baseball's rankings, followed by LSU, Texas Tech, and Louisville. Several of UCLA's scheduled non-conference opponents were ranked inside the top-25, including No. 11 East Carolina, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 25 Cal State Fullerton.
The complete D1Baseball Preseason Top-25 can be viewed here.
