Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Picked Third In Big West Preseason Coaches Poll
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Long Beach State was picked to finish third in the Big West this season by the conference’s coaches. The Big West released the 2016 preseason coaches poll on Thursday, showing the defending champion Cal State Fullerton Titans as the projected champions, followed by UC Irvine in second place.
Fullerton’s 71 points and four first-place votes put them at the top, but the next three teams are very close. Irvine is close behind with 65 points, followed by Long Beach with 62 and UC Santa Barbara with 60. There is then a substantial drop-off to CSUN in fifth with 44 points.
Each of the top four teams in the poll received at least one first-place vote, with Long Beach State reeling in three. Based on the poll, the Dirtbags will have a very favorable schedule in 2016. The rest of the top-tier teams (CSUF, UCI, UCSB) will all be visiting Blair Field during conference play, starting with the Big West opener April 1 against UC Santa Barbara. UC Irvine visits Long Beach April 15-17 and Fullerton closes out the regular season with a trip to Blair Field May 26-28.
LBSU finished last season sixth in the Big West with an 11-13 record, meaning the rest of the conference expects an improvement from the Beach this season. The Dirtbags were picked to finish fifth in last year’s coaches poll.
The regular season begins Friday, Feb. 19 with Long Beach State hosting a weekend series vs. Holy Cross.
2016 Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (4) 71
2. UC Irvine (1) 65
3. Long Beach State (3) 62
4. UC Santa Barbara (1) 60
5. CSUN 44
6. Cal Poly 43
7. Hawai’i 27
8. UC Riverside 17
9. UC Davis 16
( ) First-place vote
