Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Ranked No. 12 Preseason by Perfect Game
January 20, 2015 | Baseball
Texas Tech received another preseason national ranking on Tuesday - No. 12 by Perfect Game.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech received its third preseason national ranking on Tuesday as Perfect Game tabbed the Red Raiders No. 12 in its preseason top-25 poll.
Just yesterday the Red Raiders were tabbed No. 16 in the first-ever D1Baseball.com poll while receiving a No. 9 ranking by Collegiate Baseball - Tech's highest preseason ranking since 1998 (Collegiate Baseball).
Tech, led by head coach Tim Tadlock, put together a 45-21 overall record last season while winning the NCAA Coral Gables Regional, NCAA Lubbock Super Regional and making the program's first appearance at the College World Series.
Tech returns 22 players from last season, including five position starters and eight pitchers that started at least one game.
A pair of Red Raiders return that were All-Big 12 first team selections in 2014, including senior shortstop Tim Proudfoot (.309, 19 RBI, .990 fielding percentage) and junior first baseman Eric Gutierrez (.302, 12 HR, 58 RBI).
Junior left fielder Tyler Neslony became the first Red Raider in school history to lead the Big 12 in batting in 2014 while hitting .375 with 12 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 34 RBI. Neslony was an All-Big 12 second team pick and named ABCA All-Midwest Region second team.
Tech has a pair of Freshman All-Americans returning as outfielder Stephen Smith led all Big 12 freshmen last year in walks, runs and on-base percentage while batting .287 with 20 RBI. Left-handed pitcher Dylan Dusek became the first left-handed pitcher in school history to be named a Freshman All-American while breaking the Big 12 freshman record with a 1.94 ERA going 8-0 on the season.
Texas Tech returns 13 of its 16 pitchers from last season including senior left-handed pitcher Cameron Smith (8-3, 2.79 ERA), senior right-handed pitcher Dominic Moreno (2.84 ERA, 33rd round draft pick - St. Louis), senior right-handed pitcher Corey Taylor (5-3, 2.61 ERA) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Moseley (2.84 ERA) to name a few.
Texas Tech will host San Francisco on Opening Day, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock.
Fans can purchase season tickets online at www.texastech.com/tickets or by phone at (806) 742-TECH.
Perfect Game Preseason Top-25 Poll
1. Vanderbilt
2. Virginia
3. TCU
4. Florida
5. UCLA
6. Texas
7. LSU
8. Houston
9. Louisville
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Florida State
12. TEXAS TECH
13. Oklahoma State
14. South Carolina
15. Oregon
16. Arkansas
17. North Carolina
18. UC Santa Barbara
19. Cal State Fullerton
20. Arizona State
21. Rice
22. Stanford
23. Mississippi State
24. Kennesaw State
25. Texas A&M
