2012 College baseball preview: Top teams and players

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Another year of college baseball is approaching and after a great finish to last year, with South Carolina winning the College World Series, this year looks to be packed full of the same excitement.

Let’s take a look at the top teams and players going into the 2012 season.

Florida (53-19, 22-8 SEC in 2011) - The Gators top the list and look to get back to the College World Series where they finished runner-up last year to the Gamecocks. Florida returns many of its key pieces from last year, including seven players who are Louisville Slugger pre-season All-Americans, according to NCAA.com. Last season the Gators hit .307 as a team with 69 home runs and averaged 6.3 runs per game. The pitching staff ranked No. 1 in the nation according to NCAA.com with a combined 2.95 ERA and better than a 4-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

The most important returning Gator is star catcher Mike Zunino, who racked up monster numbers batting .371 and driving in 67 last season. He finished the year with 19 home runs and 23 doubles with a .995 fielding percentage and ultimately earned SEC Player of the Year honors for his performance.

The Florida pitching staff is led by righties Hudson Randall and Karsten Whitson. Randall finished 2011 with a 11-3 record and a 2.17 ERA, including two complete games. He logged 124.1 innings pitched with 73 strikeouts. Whitson amounted a record of 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA. He tossed 97.1 innings and finished with 92 strikeouts, earning Freshman All-American honors.

South Carolina (55-14, 22-8 SEC) - South Carolina enters 2012 in the second spot in the polls. The Gamecocks are reigning national champs and look to patch up their pitching to make a run at defending their title. The Gamecocks were able to get past the Gators last season behind stellar pitching and timely hitting to sweep Florida with scores of 2-1 and 5-2.

The Gamecocks will look to the returning arms of Michael Roth and Matt Price to get them back to the CWS. Roth finished 2011 with a 14-3 record and an excellent 1.06 ERA. In 145 innings pitched, he whiffed 112, tossed a complete game, and was named to the All-SEC team. Price compiled a 7-3 record and a 1.83 ERA in 59 innings with 75 strikeouts.

South Carolina will also rely on hitting from CWS All-Tournament team member Christian Walker, who hit .358 with 62 RBIs and 10 home runs last season. He also racked up 21 doubles.

Stanford (35-22, 14-12 Pac 10) The Cardinal sits at No. 3 in the polls. A young team, they return pitching and hitting and look to make some noise in the Pac 12 and in the CWS. Pitcher Mark Appel returns after finishing 2011 with a record of 6-7 and a 3.02 ERA. He started 17 games and racked up 86 strikeouts on 110.1 innings pitched.

Stanford also returns third baseman Stephen Piscotty and left fielder Tyler Gaffney. Piscotty hit .364 and drove in 40 runs, also racking up 13 doubles on his way first team All-Pac 10 honors. Gaffney hit .327 and drove in 35 RBIs.

North Carolina (51-16, 20-10 ACC) - Head coach Mike Fox and the Tar Heels will look to plow through the ACC and make another appearance in the CWS. To do so, the Tar Heels will look to their star third baseman Collin Moran to spur the offense. In 2011 Moran hit .335 and drove in 71 runs with 9 long balls. He earned first team All-ACC honors and also garnered ACC Freshman of the Year.

Pitcher Kent Emanuel will also play a key role in the Tar Heels’ run at another CWS berth. He finished 2011 with a 9-1 record with a 2.33 ERA.

Texas (49-19, 19-8 Big 12) – The Longhorns round out the top five and are looking to return to the CWS and avenge their loss to North Carolina. Texas returns key pitching and will hope that its offense, which hit .269 and averaged just over five runs a game will be able to pick up slightly to give the Longhorns a little more cushion.

Key returning pitchers are Sam Stafford and Corey Knebel. Stafford finished 2011 with a 6-2 record and 1.77 ERA, tallying 91 strikeouts in 81.1 innings while holding opponents to a .189 batting average. Knebel finished 2011 with a 3-2 record and a 1.13 ERA with 61 strikeouts.

Erich Weiss will look to spur the offense and put up numbers just as he did in 2011. He had a .348 batting average and 45 RBIs. He was named to the All-Big 12 Team and was also awarded with Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Others to Watch – A team to keep an eye this year is Rice, who is led by pitching from 2011 Conference USA Freshman of the Year Austin Kubitza and Conference USA All-Freshman team member John Simms. The Owls hit .287 as a team and averaged 5.87 runs per game last season.

Florida State is also a team to watch in this upcoming season. Last season the Seminoles hit .293 as a team and scored 474 runs in 65 games, a stellar 7.29 runs per game.

Look out for Oregon State and Cal State Fullerton as well. These teams have a knack for making some noise in the regionals and finding a way to the CWS.

Players to Watch – Zunino leads the way of position players to watch this season, but keep an eye on Deven Marrero of Arizona State. Last season Merrero hit .315 in 2011 and totaled 20 RBIs. He stole 10 bases and hit 14 doubles earning first team All-Pac-10 honors.

Victor Roache of Georgia Southern led the nation in home runs last season and will be another position player to keep tabs on. Also look out for James Ramsey of Florida State. He will be a big factor in the Seminoles’ success in the 2012 season. In 2011 he finished with a .364 batting average with 67 RBIs and 10 homers.

Appel is the leading candidate for pitchers to watch this 2012 season. He is projected to go No. 1 in the 2012 MLB Draft according to NCAA.com. Roth and Knebel will also be studs for their respective teams this season.

Some other pitchers to keep an eye on are Duke’s Marcus Stroman and Arizona’s Kurt Heyer. Stroman is an athlete making starts in the field and on the mound. He made 17 appearances last season, going 3-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 64.1 innings of work and an impressive 90 strikeouts.

Heyer started 20 games in 2011, finishing with a 8-5 record and a 2.41 ERA. He threw two complete games and struck out 134 batters on 138 innings pitched.

This coming year of baseball will surely shape up to be an exciting one. Florida is clearly the team to watch but there are several teams capable for contending for a national title.

All stats from NCAA.com and team athletic sites

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