For the second straight year, Baseball America’s College Top 25 ranks Mississippi State No. 17 in the nation in its preseason poll.
The Bulldogs responded to that ranking last year with a 34-24-1 record–one that failed to place them among the 64 teams to make the NCAA regionals.
Head coach Ron Polk, who will begin the second year of his second MSU coaching stint in February, said he’s never put any value in preseason polls.
“Mississippi State should be ranked in the Top 25 every (preseason) because it’s rich in tradition in baseball, but it doesn’t mean anything to us until the end,” Polk said. “I thought we got the maximum out of the kids we had last year. I think we’re better this year because of experience and the influx of really good, fine young players.”
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper expects even more from the Bulldogs, giving them a No. 11 ranking.
Junior Steve Gendron, who split time in 2002 playing third base and right field, said the polls help reassure the players.
“It’s a boost seeing the team 11th in one poll and 17th in another,” Gendron said. He added that he expects to return to third base full-time this year. “It’s good that the whole nation sees that we’re going to be a good team, and everybody here feels like we’re going to be.”
State is one of seven teams in Baseball America’s Top 25 not ranked at the end of last season. Polk attributes this fact to MSU’s reputation for having a strong baseball program along with other variables.
“They knew we had a great recruiting year and felt like the second year with a new coaching staff the players would feel more comfortable,” Polk said.
Polk also said that he hasn’t set any specific goals for the team at this point.
“We just play hard every day and go out and make every effort to be the winner that particular day,” Polk said. “When you start setting goals like being in Omaha and winning the national championship, it makes it real tough if you don’t achieve it. You just play hard every day and let the chips fall where they may.”
However, according to Gendron, the players have established a few objectives.
“Everybody has set a goal that we want to win every single midweek game,” Gendron said. “Being ranked so high can help out a lot in hosting the regional, and that’s a big goal for everybody, too.”
Senior Matthew Maniscalco, who spent the winter rehabilitating his shoulder after surgery due to torn cartilage, places more emphasis on consistency.
“We’re hoping that we come out and perform more consistently this year,” co-captain Maniscalco said. “Last year, we looked like world-beaters on Friday night. We could beat anybody’s No. 1 with Paul (Maholm) on the mound, but then we would just have a letdown in our hitting or our pitching.”
The Bulldogs share the Baseball America Top 25 with three other teams from the Southeastern Conference: Louisiana State (ninth), South Carolina (14th) and Auburn (21st). Like State, LSU and South Carolina fare better in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Yop 40, ranking sixth and eighth respectively, while Auburn lies at the bottom at No. 40.
The first games of the Diamond Dawgs’ 2003 campaign will be at the National Bank of Commerce Classic against Connecticut and Birmingham Southern.