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A month before the season started the Conference USA coaches got together and predicted the order which they believe the conference will finish (listed below).
The purpose of this opinion post is to see what you guys think of my prediction and to make your own. So…listed below is my prediction of the finishing order (italics advance to post-season); not a big difference but few small modifications. What is yours??Coaches Prediction:
1. Rice
2. Tulane
3. Southern Miss
4. Houston
5. UCF
6. East Carolina
7. UAB
8. Memphis
9. Marshall
1. Rice2. Tulane3. Southern Miss4. Houston5. UCF6. East Carolina7. UAB8. Memphis9. MarshallMy Prediction:
1. Rice
2. Southern Miss
3. Tulane
4. Houston
5. East Carolina
6. UCF
7. Memphis
8. UAB
9. Marshall
Players of the Week (ending Feb. 12th): Conference USA released their players of the week, first of the 2006 season. Freshman Aaron Luna from Rice was named Hitter of the week, while Brad Lincoln of Houston and Billy Mohl from Tulane were selected as co-pitchers of the week.
Aaron Luna of Rice was also awarded as Hitter of the Week by PRO-LineCap National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Players of the Week (ending Feb. 19th): The Hitter of the week was Tulane 3rd Baseman Brad Emaus and the Pitcher of the week honor went to RHP Eddie Degerman from Rice University.
The University of Central Florida enters the 2006 season hoping to make an immediate impact on Conference USA. The Golden Knights, under Jay Bergman (24th Season), finished 2005 with a 42-18 record and tied for second in the Atlantic Sun Conference. In 2006 the Golden Knights return 19 letterwinners including Preseason All-American Tim Bascom. The team was picked to finish fifth in their first season in Conference USA.
2005 Roster:
Player, Number, Position, Year
Tyson Auer, 3, Infielder/Outfielder, Sophomore
Bryan Bennett, 11, Catcher, Freshman
Ryan Bono, 21, Catcher/Infielder, Senior
John Cooper, 1, Infielder, RS Junior
Vinny Cucci, 35, Infielder, Freshman
Dave DiNatale, 7, Outfielder, Freshman
Chad Hartman, 20, Outfielder, Freshman
Matt Horwath, 34, Infielder, RS Junior
Eric Kallstrom, 5, Infielder, Freshman
Danny Kash, 14, Infielder, Sophomore
Dave Lambert, 28, Infielder, Senior
Matt Lambert, 12, Outfielder, Sophomore
Matt Ray, 8, Infielder, Junior
Steve Stropp, 4, Catcher, Freshman
Eddie Suarez, 42, Catcher, Freshman
Kiko Vazquez, 33, Infielder, Freshman
Drake Wade, 27, Outfielder, RS Senior
Ryan Williams, 13, Infielder, Freshman
Shane, Ynclan, 25, Outfielder, Freshman
Derek Abriola, 17, RHP, Junior
Tim Bascom, 37, RHP, Junior
Kyler Bender, 29, RHP, Sophomore
Brian Brooks, 19, LHP, Junior
Brett Bordwine, 22, RHP, RS Sophomore
Tyler Bunnell, 40, LHP, Freshman
Taylor Cobb, 24, RHP, RS Senior
Matt Gilson, 30, LHP, Freshman
Jaager Good, 36, RHP, Sophomore
Mitch Herold, 32, LHP, Freshman
Mitch Houck, 15, LHP/Infielder, Freshman
Matt McClung, 10, RHP, RS Sophomore
Taylor Meier, 26, RHP, RS Sophomore
Dominic Petracca, 16, RHP, Senior
Kyle Sweat, 23, RHP, Freshman
Jeremy Thorne, 41, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Weiss, 31, RHP, Freshman
Expectations:
The 2006 Golden Knights are a young team comprised of mostly sophomore and freshman players, but don’t let that fool you as to their talent level. Look for immediate impact from players such as Kiko Vazquez, Dave DiNatale and Kyle Sweat. At the plate the team should depend on Ryan Bono, Matt Ray and Matt Horwath in producing runs. Off the mound UCF should see plenty of innings out of Tim Bascom and Taylor Meier, plus relief action from Brian Brooks and Dominic Petracca. This season may not be a break-out year for the UCF squad in Conference USA but I do expect them to gain the respect of many of the teams, plus the future looks bright for the team given the amount of young talent on the roster. Look for the Knights to become strong contenders for the Conference USA title within the next few seasons.
The 2006 Conference USA baseball season officially got underway this week with Rice, Houston and UCF playing non-conference games.
Rice started the season 2-0 with wins over Central Missouri State (9-0) and McNeese State (6-2). Rice banged out 14 hits for 9 runs including three home runs, two doubles and a triple. While the pitching struck out 12 and limited Central Missouri to only three hits, Joe Savery (1-0) picked up the victory. Against McNeese St. the pitching staff kept it going striking out 17 batters and allowing only 4 hits, Bobby Bell (1-0) earned the win. The offense came off the bat of freshman Aaron Luna, who hit his third homerun of the season. Next up for Rice will be the Houston College Classic where they will play Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU over the weekend.
Houston won their season opener in thrilling fashion over Texas-San Antonio 11-10. After being behind numerous times in the game the Cougars found themselves behind once again, in the bottom of the tenth, until junior Brad Lincoln blasted a three run homerun to lift the Cougars to the victory. Clint Corrigan (1-0) picked up the win for the cougars who will also play in the Houston College Classic this weekend. They are scheduled to play Texas, TCU, and then Texas Tech to finish up the weekend.
The University of Central Florida had a rocky start to their 2006 season, losing a pair of games to Florida International this past Sunday, 4-3 and 13-3. UCF earned their first victory Tuesday with a 8-4 win over Bethune-Cookman, junior Brian Brooks (1-0) picked up the victory in one inning of relief. Next for Central Florida will be North Florida on February 17th at Jay Bergman Field.
The Blazers head into the 2006 season hoping to improve on a 31-27 record from 2005. Larry Giangrosso (seventh season) looks to lead the Blazers to their fourth consecutive winning season, third consecutive Conference USA Tournament and maybe even further, the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers were picked to finish Seventh in the Conference USA Preseason Pole as picked by the C-USA Coaches.
2006 Roster:
Player: Number: Position: Year:
Phillip Bell, 4, Infielder, Sophomore
J.R. Bond, 9, Outfielder, Junior
Robert Brewster, 17, Infielder, Freshman
Kevin Cope, 3, Catcher, Freshman
Torrey Croft, 26, Catcher, TR Junior
John Wayne Donahue, 21, Outfielder, TR Junior
Jorge Gutierrez, 1, Infielder, TR Junior
Brett Hall, 2, Infielder, Sophomore
Ryan Keedy, 25, Infielder, TR Junior
Billy Lichtner, 33, Infielder, Sophomore
Ryne Lovdahl, 23, Infielder, TR Junior
Ryan Metcalf, 7, Infielder, Senior
Donny Muth, 11, Catcher, RS Sophomore
Levi Patmon, 6, Outfielder, Junior
Danny Sawyer, 42, Catcher, TR Junior
Steven Turner, 16, Outfielder, TR Senior
Zac Ward, 15, Infielder, Junior
Grant Addison, 31, RHP, Junior
Jim Crew, 37, RHP, Sophomore
Kasey Croft, 28, RHP, TR Junior
Brandon Flaherty, 20, RHP, Sophomore
Derek Hanks, 34, RHP, Freshman
Mitch Kloslowski, 38, RHP, Freshman
Jacob Legg, 10, Outfielder/LHP, Senior
Chandler Miller, 30, RHP, Senior
Randy Mills, 35, RHP, Senior
Drew Murray, 39, RHP, Freshman
Lyle Northington, 14, LHP, Senior
Kyle Roberson, 40, RHP, Freshman
Mikael Saway, 36, RHP/Outfielder, Freshman
Ben Styes, 27, RHP, TR Sophomore
Heath Tapscott, 24, RHP, Sophomore
Mitch Thorn, 19, RHP, TR Junior
Allen West, 43, RHP, Senior
Expectations:
The Blazers return 16 letterwinners from last years team that finished the season 31-27. In the field and at the plate the team should rely on returning starters Ryan Metcalf, Zac Ward and J.R. Bond, plus the team could also see Phillip Bell, Brett Hall, Levi Patmon and transfer Jorge Guitierrez contribute plenty this season. The weakness for UAB could be off the mound where the team does not return a proven starter capable of leading the team. So..the team will look for a few players to step up and produce, if they expect to win games. This could come from the arms of Heath Tapscott, Randy Mills, Brandon Flaherty or Jim Crew. UAB has a few question marks entering the 2006 season, especially in the rotation, so..if these questions can be met then…maybe…UAB could play spoiler to the hopes of one of the top three teams.
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