The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Ranked In Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40
12/16/1999 | Baseball
Dec. 16, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss was ranked No. 40 in Collegiate Baseball newspaper's pre-season top 40 poll, as voted on by a survey of NCAA Division I baseball coaches from around the country.
The Rebels were one of seven Southeastern Conference schools to be ranked in the pre-season poll, including one of five from the SEC's Western Division.
"It's great to receive some pre-season recognition," said fourth-year head coach Pat Harrison. "We have a lot of experienced players returning from last year's team that competed in the NCAA Regionals, and we're looking forward to having another fine season."
Ole Miss returns six position starters from last year's squad that went 34-28 and made the school's first postseason appearance since 1995. Top returnees in the field include junior shortstop Justin Huisman, .302 BA, 7 HRs, 45 RBIs, and senior first baseman Jude Voltz, .263 BA, 12 HRs, 38 RBIs.
The Rebels also return two of their top starting pitchers in senior right-hander Jeff McAvoy and sophomore southpaw Nathan Lyons. McAvoy went 8-6 with a 4.60 ERA last season and registered 88 strikeouts in 115.1 innings pitcher. Lyons was 4-5 with a 4.34 ERA and had 50 strikeouts in 64.1 innings during his freshman campaign.
Other SEC teams ranked in the top 40 were: No. 3 Alabama, No. 8 LSU, No. 17 Auburn, No. 24 Florida, No. 32 Arkansas, and No. 34 South Carolina.
Stanford was tabbed as the pre-season No. 1.
Ole Miss is scheduled to open its 2000 season on Friday, Feb. 11 against Nicholls State in Oxford.
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL PRE-SEASON TOP 40
1. Stanford
2. Cal-State Fullerton
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. Miami (FL)
6. Florida State
7. Rice
8. LSU
9. Georgia Tech
10. Houston
11. Clemson
12. Texas
13. Tulane
14. Wichita State
15. Southern California
16. Baylor
17. Auburn
18. Texas Tech
19. Arizona
20. North Carolina
21. Texas A&M
22. Long Beach State
23. Oklahoma State
24. Florida
25. Notre Dame
26. Pepperdine
27. Minnesota
28. Arizona State
29. South Alabama
30. Oral Roberts
31. Wake Forest
32. Arkansas
33. Nevada
34. South Carolina
35. Illinois
36. Florida Atlantic
37. Ohio State
38. California
39. Nebraska
40. OLE MISS
