SAN FRANCISCO - Coming off its first College World Series appearance since 2008, STANFORD was voted by the Pac-12 coaches as the preseason favorite for 2022 conference title.  The Cardinal received eight first-place votes and 98 points to earn the top spot in the preseason coaches’ poll for the first time since 2013.

Stanford, who last won the conference title in 2018, is ranked in the Top 10 in all six national polls including a No. 5 ranking in the USA Today baseball coaches poll.  Head coach David Esquer’s squad is led by All-American outfielder Brock Jones who spent the summer playing for USA Baseball as one of the six Pac-12 athletes on the Collegiate National Team.

OREGON STATE picked up one first-place vote and 84 points to finish second in the poll.  The Beavers, in their third season under head coach Mitch Canham, are ranked No. 20 in the USA Today preseason poll and are seeking their first conference title since 2017. 

Defending Pac-12 champion ARIZONA was picked third with 77 points.  Reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and preseason All-American Daniel Susac returns with the Wildcats looking to make the College World Series for the second straight year, something Arizona has not done since the mid-1980s when new head coach Chip Hale was a player on the team.  The Wildcats are ranked No. 15 in the USA Today poll.

UCLA picked up two first-place votes and 75 points to finish fourth in the poll. The Bruins were last year’s preseason favorites when they picked up 10 first-place votes.  UCLA is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today national poll.  OREGON was picked fifth (70 points) but will need to replace Pac-12 Player of the Year Aaron Zavala after he was selected in the 2^nd round of the 2021 MLB Draft.  The Ducks are ranked in the preseason polls by the NCBWA, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball while receiving votes in the USA Today poll.

Preseason All-American outfielder Dylan Beavers leads a CALIFORNIA squad picked to finish sixth (53 points).  ARIZONA STATE (46), USC (34), WASHINGTON STATE (34), WASHINGTON (19) and UTAH (15) round out the poll. 

Non-conference play is scheduled to begin next week with all 11 programs opening up on Friday, February 18 with conference play starting Friday, March 11.  The season will conclude with the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona which is scheduled for May 25-29 at Scottsdale Stadium.

The following are the results of the preseason coaches’ poll. Ten points are awarded for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.

2022 PAC-12 BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL