CUSA-Fans to offer extensive Conference USA baseball coverage in 2007

This spring CUSA-Fans will offer you, the fan, more extensive coverage of Conference USA Baseball. We will be launching a Conference USA Baseball SuperPage in mid-to-late January, which will feature conference standings, scores, CUSA and college baseball links and more! There will be game/series previews and recaps from CUSA team correspondents!

In only 11 years of competition, Conference USA has established itself as one of the nation’s premier conferences in college baseball. During that time, the league’s teams have totaled 50 NCAA appearances, seven College World Series Appearances and a national title.

CUSA has had one of the nation’s preseason No.1 teams in one of the four major polls in each of the last three seasons (Tulane in 2005; Rice in 2006 and 2007).

Last season, the conference was ranked as the nation’s fourth best per the Warren Nolan RPI, as it was only behind the SEC, ACC and Big XII.

The league should be even deeper this season. Rice is the nation’s No. 1 team in the Collegiate Baseball News poll, but there are five more teams that are either ranked or receiving votes. The Green Wave is tabbed 16 th while Rayner Noble’s Houston Cougars are 33 rd. Southern Miss, East Carolina and Memphis are receiving votes.

UCF, UAB and Marshall should all be improved. The Thundering Herd and Blazers feature new coaches.

UAB made an excellent hire and it didn’t even have to leave Birmingham to do it. The Blazers will be in good hands with Brian Shoop, who spent the last 17 seasons as the head coach at Birmingham Southern College. During his time at BSC, he produced 32 wins or more in 16 of his 17 years while taking the program from NAIA to NCAA Division I.

Marshall will have one of the nation’s youngest head coaches in 30-year old Jeff Waggoner. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant at highly successful NC State.

It promises to be an exciting year on the diamond for CUSA! Stay abreast of the latest happenings via CUSA-Fans.com!