UM Ranked No. 21 In D1Baseball Preseason Poll
The University of Miami baseball team received its second preseason ranking as the Hurricanes were ranked No. 21 in the D1Baseball Poll released Tuesday afternoon.
Miami, which won its third straight ACC Coastal Division title and qualified for the College World Series for the 25th time in program history in 2016, also received a No. 8 ranking from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's preseason poll back in December.
2017 could be another fruitful year for the Canes baseball team. The team returns 15 letter winners from this past season, including left-handed junior pitcher lefthander Michael Mediavilla.
Mediavilla, a Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy alum, earned third-team All-ACC honors; finished 11-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 18 starts; led all Hurricanes in strikeouts (85) and innings pitched (103.1); and became Miami's first 11-game winner since 2008 this past season.
In addition, Mediavilla was one of three Hurricanes to earn the distinction of being named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Junior righthander Jesse Lepore joined Mediavilla on the second team and senior infielder Johnny Ruiz was named to the third team.
UM will open its season on February 17th at home against Rutgers at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.