The preseason Pac-12 media poll was released Thursday afternoon and the Arizona Wildcats are predicted to finish fourth in the conference after receiving 70 points.ย
Arizona State, ranked ninth in D1 Baseball's Top 25, was voted to win the Pac-12 title with 96 points, including seven for first place. UCLA also received four first-place votes, but finished with 89 total points.ย
Stanford accumulated 81 votes and finished third in the media poll.ย
Here's a complete look at the Pac-12 media poll:ย
1. ASU (96)
2. UCLA (89)
3. Stanford (81)
4. Arizona (70)
5. Oregon State (66)
6. Washington (49)
7. USC (45)
7. Cal (45)
9. Oregon (35)
10. Utah (16)
11. Washington State (11)
The Wildcats have missed the NCAA Tournament the previous two seasons despite having the top offense in the Pac-12 in 2019. Last year, the Wildcats led the conference in batting average (.326), runs (548) and RBI (503).ย
Arizona returns junior catcher and utility Matthew Dyer and sophomore catcher Austin Wells, who received Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2019.ย
On Thursday, Dyer and Wells were named preseason All-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Wells was listed on the third team as a catcher, while Dyer was named to the first team as a hitter. Dyer held a .393 batting average and scored 46 runs while having a .480 on-base percentage.ย
Wells was also named a preseason All-American by Baseball America, D1 Baseball, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball over the last month.ย
Arizona opens its season on Friday, Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day) against Albany at 6 p.m. at Hi Corbett Field.ย
