Huskies Picked Sixth In Pac-12 Coaches' Poll
February 06, 2020 | Baseball
In a poll of Pac-12 Baseball head coaches, Washington was picked to finish sixth in the Conference it was announced on Thursday. Arizona State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 title for the 2020 season.
Washington returns four players from their 2019 squad that made 20 or more starts in the field -- eight with 10 or more starts -- including honorable mention All-Pac-12 and two-time Conference stolen bases champion, Braiden Ward. They also have six pitchers that have logged 40 or more career innings on the mound and return last season's Friday night starter, sophomore David Rhodes.
The Huskies' 2020 roster includes 16 returners and 18 newcomers. The roster touts players from five different states and Canada: 15 are from Washington, 13 are from California, two from Oregon and British Columbia and one each from Arizona and New Mexico. Among the 34 players on the 2020 Husky roster, there are four seniors, 15 juniors, two sophomores and 13 freshmen.
The Huskies have a strong track record of exceeding their expectations in the Pac-12 preseason polls. They finished third in 2018 and made it to the College World Series after being chosen seventh. In 2016, the Huskies were picked eighth and ended up second, while in 2014 they were picked 10th and also ended up second.
The Sun Devils received seven first-place votes and 96 total points to earn the title as Conference favorites. UCLA received the other four first-place votes and is second with 89 points. Stanford (81) is third, followed by Arizona (70), Oregon State (66), Washington (49), USC and California (45 each), Oregon (35), Utah (16) and Washington State (13).
The Huskies start the season next Friday, Feb. 14 with a three-game series at LMU.
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