For the second consecutive season and third time since 1999, Texas Tech topped the preseason Big 12 baseball coaches’ poll in a vote of the league’s head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.
The Red Raiders, a College World Series participant last season, were again slotted to finish No. 1 in the poll with six first-place votes and 61 points. Baylor, who won the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, earned two first-place votes and 58 points for a No. 2 spot.
TCU garnered a first-place vote and collected 48 points to finish third in the preseason poll. Texas, which won the regular-season title and earned a berth to the College World Series in 2018, placed fourth with 40 points.
Oklahoma State (39), West Virginia (31), Oklahoma (23), Kansas (16) and K-State (9) rounded out the poll.
The 2019 season opens on Friday, Feb. 15, with conference play starting the weekend of March 15.
2019 Big 12 Conference Baseball Preseason Poll
| 1. |
Texas Tech (6) |
61 |
| 2. |
Baylor (2) |
58 |
| 3. |
TCU (1) |
48 |
| 4. |
Texas |
40 |
| 5. |
Oklahoma State |
39 |
| 6. |
West Virginia |
31 |
| 7. |
Oklahoma |
23 |
| 8. |
Kansas |
16 |
| 9. |
K-State |
8 |
(First-place votes in parentheses; coaches not allowed to vote for their own team)