Missouri baseball can rise above preseason ranking
When the Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll was released last month, Missouri ranked eighth of the 10 teams.
Texas, Kansas and Texas A&M took the top three spots in the poll. The Longhorns earned No. 1 by a landslide as they defend two consecutive Big 12 Championships.
At the bottom of the list with the Tigers were Nebraska and Texas Tech at the nine and 10 spots.
To clear up any confusion, there are 10 teams in the Big “12” because Colorado plays in a different league and Iowa State dropped its baseball program.
The last two times Missouri was picked eighth the Tigers proved they were highly underestimated, as they went on to finish second and fourth in conference those years.
After seven straight years of first-round postseason exits, it’s no wonder Missouri wasn’t higher in the polls. But coming off back-to-back seasons of strong 16-11 conference records, the Tigers are on pace to shatter expectations once again in 2010.
An experienced pitching staff coupled with senior sluggers Micheal Liberto and Aaron Senne put the Tigers in position to turn some heads this season.
A few weekends into the year, Missouri is 5-5 with nine-straight home games up next. The seven teams ranked ahead of them in the preseason poll are each better than .500 so far.
Big 12 action starts March 26 for the Tigers, as they travel to Texas A&M for a three-game series.