Jan. 18, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State Aztec baseball team has been picked to finish second in the Mountain West conference in a vote of the seven MWC head coaches and a select media panel. SDSU received one first-place vote and a total of 52 points to finish behind defending champion TCU, which garnered the other nine first-place votes and 69 points.
Brigham Young tallied 47 points for a third-place standing followed by UNLV (43), New Mexico (34), Utah (22) and Air Force (11). San Diego State senior right-hander Bruce Billings was named to the 11-man preseason all-conference squad. Billings is a two-time all-MWC selection and was voted the league's pitcher-of-the-year in 2005. Last season he finished first in the MWC in opponent batting average, second in earned run average and third in strikeouts.
The Aztecs return just nine letterwinners from a year ago including Billings and second-team all-conference infielder Nick Romero. The 2007 roster features 28 new faces including 10 players who have been drafted by big league clubs during their playing careers.
SDSU opens its season with a three-game series at Cal Poly beginning Friday, Feb. 2. The Aztecs' home opener comes a week later as they host Santa Clara for three games starting on Friday, Feb. 9, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
2007 MWC Preseason PollRk. Team (1st-place votes) Pts.1. TCU (9)..................692. San Diego State (1)......523. Brigham Young............474. UNLV.....................435. New Mexico...............34^. Utah.....................227. Air Force................11