Wednesday, February 9, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Baseball
Four Big 12 teams ranked nationally
By Brandon Krisztal
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Big 12 Conference once again is stacked with heavy hitters. Five of the six teams in the Big 12 South are ranked in several preseason polls.
Texas is the favorite and is ranked as high as 12th in one poll. The Longhorns lost just six lettermen and return 13 from last year's 36-26 team. The three top returns for Texas are third-team All-American pitcher Beau Hale, first baseman Jeff Ontiveros and catcher Sam Anderson.
Baylor lost Player of the Year candidate pitcher and designated hitter Jason Jennings, second baseman Eric Nelson, outfielder Jon Topolski and a lot of home run power as well as six of its top nine hitters. Despite the player exodus, the Bears rank 16th in two polls and 10th by *Baseball Weekly*. They return 18 lettermen, losing only six. The Bears' top three returnsees from last season's 50-15 team are first baseman Matt Williams, outfielder Jaime Bubela and pitcher Josh Scott.
Texas Tech falls behind Baylor at No. 18. The Red Raiders return 16 lettermen and lose 13 from last year's 42-17 team. The Raiders lost firstteam All-American catcher Josh Bard, but return thirdteam All-American pitcher Brandon Roberson, outfielder Marco Cunningham and designated hitter Chaz Eiguren.
Texas A&M coach Mark Johnson was the national coach of the year in 1999. This season he will have to show why he earned that honor because of a big void left by eight players who are playing professionally, as well losing another five lettermen. The Aggies are No. 21 and return 13 lettermen from last season's 52-18 team that went to the College World Series. The Aggies top three returners are first team All-American and NCAA home run champ outfielder Daylan Holt, fellow first team All-American pitcher Chris Russ and second baseman Sean Heaney.
Oklahoma State rounds out the ranked teams at No. 23. They will rely on their pitching staff on a team that lost 16 lettermen and returns 14. Last year's 46-21 squad
and was the only other Big 12 team in the College World Series. Firstteam All-American pitcher Matt Smith will be for the Cowboys along with outfielder Jimbo McAuliff and catcher Ryan Budde.
Oklahoma is the only Big 12 South team not in the top 25. The Sooners return 11 lettermen and lost 13 from last season's 30-29 team. Top returnees include first baseman and designated hitter Richard Park, right fielder Jeff Bajenaru and short stop Tommy Whitenau.
Nebraska is the team in the Big 12 North division making the most noise in the preseason polls, ranked among the top 40. They return 16 lettermen from last year's 42-18 team. 'Huskers coach Dave Van Horn is optimistic about his team this season, with their only significant loss coming in All-American first baseman Ken Harvey, who led the nation in hitting at .478. The 'Huskers will look for significant production from infielder Will Bolt, short stop John Cole and pitcher Shane Komine.
Missouri looks to build on a strong performance in '99. The Tigers went 37-19 last season and
finished seventh in the Big 12. The Tigers' top three players of the 15 returning lettermen are catcher Jon Williams, outfielder J.R. Warner and short stop Ryan Stegall.
Kansas State will try to improve on its strong finish at the end of the season that saw the Wildcats miss the Big 12 tournament by one spot. Last year's Wildcat squad finished three games under .500 at 26-29. Kansas State lost 13 letter winners, but returns 12. Wildcats skipper Mike Clark said he would be happy when his team's new facility Frank Myers Field opened in mid-March. His top returne, first team All-Big 12 selection outfielder Kasey Weisharr, will be joined by second baseman Chad Tabor and pitcher Jason Wells to guide the 'Cats.
Iowa State spent last season in the cellar of the Big 12. The Cyclones were 17-36 and won only two games in conference play. Coach Lyle Smith's team returns 12 lettermen and lost nine. Second-season All-American outfielder Aaron Runk is the top returnee for the Cyclones, who expect production from outfielder Ben Van Iderstine and first baseman Jade O'Brien.
Conference stocked full with baseball talent
By Brandon Krisztal
sports@kansan.com
With five Big 12 baseball teams in the top 25 and six teams ranked in the top 40 in the country, it almost goes without saying that the conference is loaded with talent at each position.
Pitcher: The most talked about pitcher in the conference is preseason first team All-American Matt Smith from Oklahoma State. He finished last season with a 9-6 record and a 3.09 ERA with 144 strikeouts and 44 walks. Last season, Smith earned second team All-American honors and was a first team All-Big 12 pick.
Texas Tech hurler Brandon Roberson is a Louisville Slugger preseason third-team All-American. Roberson began the transition from reliever to starter where he posted a 3-4 record 10 saves and .245 ERA.
Texas A&M's closer Chris Russ was named first-team All-American. Russ was 12-2 with 12 saves and 3.27 ERA.
Other notables: Beau Hale, Texas; Shane Komine, Nebraska; Jake Bjerneau, Oklahoma.
offensive numbers, but the Longhorns will rely on his defense and experience behind the plate. In his first year, Anderson hit 311 with six homers and 33 RBL.
Other notables: Jon Williams, Missouri; Ryan Budde, Oklahoma State
First baseman: Baylor's Matt Williams was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last season. He hit .318 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI. Other notables: Richard Park, Oklahoma; Jeff Otiveros, Texas.
Second baseman: Texas A&M's Sean Heaney saw all four of his roommates get drafted a year ago, and although he was not, he should have another stellar year. Heaney hit .333 had 11 round-trippers and 48 RBI. His 27 doubles were second in the league.
Other notables: Zach Lekse, Oklahoma; Chad Tabor, Kansas State
Third baseman: The hot corner's most significant impact could come from Iowa State newcomer Rob Conway. He was named the Big 12 player-of-the week in Week No. 1. He debeted by hitting 571 and had a pair of homers and 10 RBI against Air Force in two games.
Brandt Vlieger, Nebraska.
Shortstop: Kansas' John Nelson was the biggest contributor to the Jayhawks last season. He is expected to improve on his .311 (359 in conference) batting average, four home runs and 39 RBL Nelson led the Jayhawks in seven offensive categories.
Other notables: John Cole, Nebraska; Lance Woodcock, Texas Tech
Outfielder: Texas A&M's Daylan Holt led the nation in home runs last season and earned firstteam All-American honors. He begins the 2000 campaign with the difficult task of trying to better last season's performance when he hit .341 with 34 round-trippers and 105 RBI.
Iowa State's Aaron Runk is a third team All-American and a second team All-Big 12 selection last year when he hit .415, six home runs, 15 doubles and 28 RBI.
Kansas State's Kasey Weishar earned firstteam All-Big 12 honors last year. He was second in the league in batting at .429, had seven homers and 31 RBI.
Other notables: Marco Cunningham, Texas Tech; Adam Shabala, Nebraska; Jamal Strong, Nebraska.
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