Texan Baseball picked sixth in WAC Southwest Division

• SEASON TICKETS

DENVER – The annual preseason poll has been released by the Western Athletic Conference and Tarleton was picked to finish sixth in the newly formed Southwest Division that features schools all from Texas.

The preseason poll was a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches, who could not vote for their own teams. The 2022 Preseason All-WAC team was also released, along with a pitcher and player of the year.

“One thing we talk about as a group is that no one’s opinion of us is as important as our own,” said head coach Aaron Meade. “The only thing that matters is what the guys in our dugout think. We can’t let outside noise affect us whether it’s good or bad. Now it’s up to us to go out and prove to ourselves what we are capable of.”

The Texans are coming off their first season competing in the WAC and at the Division 1 level. They finished 20-35 overall and went 13-23 in WAC play. Tarleton returns three honorable mention All-WAC selections from last season in shortstop Bryan Aguilar, outfielder London Green and infielder Kemuel Thomas-Rivera.

WAC teams will play a 30-game conference schedule, with Tarleton taking on each member of the Southwest division, once with a home series and once away.

The Texans will begin their season on Feb. 18 as the UTSA Roadrunners come to Stephenville for a three-game weekend series. Those games will be the first Tarleton has played on the new turf and under the new lights.

Tarleton opens the season with nine straight home games. Incarnate Word comes to town for a midweek game on Feb. 22, followed up by a four-game series with Eastern Illinois Feb. 25-27. The home stretch is capped off by Washington State taking on the Texans in Stephenville on March 2.

The complete preseason poll is as follows:

Southwest Division
Rank        Team (1st Place)                Total Votes
1.             Abilene Christian (5)          25
T2.           UTRGV (2)                            19
T2.           Sam Houston                      19
4.             Lamar                                  11
5.             Stephen F. Austin               9
6.             Tarleton                               7

West Division
Rank       Team (1st Place)               Total Votes
1.            Grand Canyon (5)               34
2.            Sacramento State (1)         30
3.            California Baptist (1)          27
4.            NM State                              20
5.            Dixie State                           19
6.            Utah Valley                          10
7.            Seattle U                              7