As part of the process of the University of Texas becoming the best in all sports across the board, the Longhorns have accomplished elite status in baseball under the guidance of Augie. Now 2010 looks like that trend will only continue. Anybody else out there wanna bust the monopoly? You’ve got your work cut out.

2009 in a Paragraph:
For the second year in a row only one Big 12 team made it to the round of 16 in the Super Regionals. Tsk, tsk. We’ve come to expect more from this super-conference. The Longhorns made an unforgettable run to the title series in Omaha despite a pretty inexperienced team from a post-season standpoint. And kudos to the Kansas schools who were probably the other big story of the season as both went Big Dancing for the first time in… in… well, memory. Oklahoma could’ve quietly been the bigger story though, as they were just one rain-out away from the Big 12 regular season title. Yep, coach Sunny Golloway keeps working his magic. On the down side, Texas A&M woefully underachieved after getting some No. 1 mention in the pre-season polls and Nebraska found itself with a losing record and last place finish. Okie State and Baylor got controversial NCAA at-large bids, benefitting from some curious decisions despite terrible conference marks. Oh, and I was the rotating national writer that got to take part in the weekly Big 12 Player of the Week voting, which was fun.

Conference RPI: 3

2009 Results:
1- Texas, 17-9-1
2- Oklahoma, 17-10
3- Missouri, 16-11
4- Kansas State, 14-11
5- Kansas, 15-12
6- Texas A&M, 14-13
7- Texas Tech, 12-15
8- Baylor, 10-16
9- Oklahoma State, 9-16
10- Nebraska, 8-19

2010 in a Paragraph:
Look people, Texas can’t be the only ones carrying the flag here. Everyone else must reach down for a little more gusto and make their presence felt on the national stage. Are we really looking at Kansas as being the primary competition for the Big 12 title? Don’t be shocked if the Jayhawks make a run at this thing. Baylor still has enough talent on hand to make things interesting, though they’ll have a lot to overcome as well. Okie State is really looking forward to making amends to last season, after winning just nine Big 12 games. Two things to keep in mind for the Big 12: 1- there were a lot of heavy losses across the board in the pitching department. So I fully expect this to become an offensive explosion type of conference. And 2- Every team seemed to have really solid recruiting seasons, so look for a lot of youth to fill the holes. Sure, that might also mean the overall quality of baseball played may take a hit – well, unless you have the word “Texas” across your jersey.

SS Brandon Loy is there to back up Taylor Jungmann... just in case his pitches actually get hit.

Favorite: Texas

Contenders: Texas A&M, Kansas, Baylor

Darkhorse: Nebraska

Can’t-Miss Series of the Year: Texas A&M at/vs. Texas, April 16-18
Close Second: Kansas at Texas, April 9-11

Best Non-Conference Series: Astros College Classic, March 5-7.
Close Second: Baylor’s QTI Apparel Classic, Feb. 19-21. (Duke, Georgia)

Hot Coach: Augie Garrido, Texas

Hot Seat Coach: Mike Anderson, Nebraska

The “You Gotta See” Player: 3B Tony Thompson, Kansas

Three Non-Conference Series The Big 12 Better Not Overlook:
1- Oral Roberts at Baylor, March 5-7.
2- Xavier at Missouri, March 12-14.
3- Oklahoma State in the OSU Tournament, March 19-21(Missouri State, Wright State)

Three Bold Predictions:
1- Texas will have its struggles, mainly because it’s a long season, we’re still talking about 19-21 year olds here and people forget that this was anything but a dominant team most of last year.
2- Texas A&M and Baylor, playing under less stress and expectations, will play a lot better this season.
3- Nebraska and Kansas State will be ships passing in the night and swap spots in the Big 12 rankings this season.

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- BAYLOR (30-26, 10-16)
2009 RPI: 30
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Logan Verrett (7-1, 5.13)
RHP Craig Fritsch (4-5, 5.09)
RHP Willie Kempf (5-5, 5.22)
1B Dan Evatt (.308-7-31)
2B Joey Hainsfurther (.322)

The Good News:
Maybe the Bears will finally play up to snuff now that the heavy, heavy expectations of the past two seasons are behind them. To begin with, the reconstruction of confidence for Steve Smith’s charges certainly begins on the mound where 10 of last year’s 13 most-used hurlers will come back. The weekend starters have a lot of possibilities, but likely could fall on Kempf, Jon Ringenberg (2-0, 5.07) and frosh LHP Josh Turley, who was drafted by the Brewers in the 36th round last June. Fritsch (who was drafted by the Tigers in the 8th round but chose to return) could also be a weekender or a shut-down closer, after coming on strong at the end of last season. Also look for RHP Shawn Tolleson, who was solid in ‘08 going 6-4, 5.06, before falling off a tad last year. The infield could still be stout, especially since 3B Raynor Campbell (.243-8-31) decided to come back to campus despite getting drafted by Cleveland last June.OF/RHP Brooks Pinckard is a good dual-threat, (.255, 13SBs and 3-0, 5.91) that will be a factor all game long. BU also took a trip to Cuba in January. Who knows, maybe it was a bonding experience? And could it be that team unity was a major issue in past seasons? Just thinking out loud here.

The Bad News:
The Bears are on a cold streak. And not just that 4-10 stretch they went on to end the ‘09 season. They missed the NCAA tournament altogether in 2008 and probably should’ve missed it in 2009 (you KNOW my “only five teams per conference” rule). And on top of that, BU has had these lackluster results despite that awesome freshman class from 2007. Well now, names like Volz, Dickerson, Hansen, Booker and Miller have moved on, leaving a drain in the talent pool. Four of the top five hitters are gone including most of the power sticks on the team. There was little use of speed as the Bears stole only 39 bases last year. And the defense MUST get better after posting a 2nd-to-last .963 percentage. Not good.

Schedule Note:
Quietly one of the toughest. Shhh.
Not sure a lot of people realize how *potentially* difficult BU’s pre-conference slate could be. Opening with under-the-radar Duke and Georgia in the opening weekend is awesome. But the Bears will also take on TCU, Texas State and Western Kentucky – a trio of good mid-majors (okay, TCU is actually a great mid-major). They’ll also host BYU, LaTech and a four-gamer with Oral Roberts as well. Right before Big 12 play kicks in they’ll also play a dangerous Illinois-Chicago team that loves to ambush people. All these games are at home.

Tony Thompson will help KU bludgeon Big 12 pitching.

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- KANSAS (39-24, 15-12)
2009 RPI: 44
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
3B Tony Thompson (.389-21-82)
OF Brian Heere (.364-5-40)
RHP T.J. Walz (8-3, 4.70)
2B Robby Price (.296-5-29)

The Good News:
The Jayhawks made some major waves last year, beating Arkansas and Arizona State (both were ranked No. 1 at one time), sweeping Texas and making it to the title round of the Regionals at UNC in their first return to the NCAA tournament since 2006. Can’t wait to see what the encore might be Coach Price. He should have some ammo to get the job done again as he has the Big 12 P.O.Y. candidate Thompson to lean on. And I gotta say, how impressive was this guy? He won the Big 12 triple crown last season and played solid ball at third base. He’ll combine with the steady Price at 2B to improve the .967 defense. Also, Heere decided to stay here despite getting drafted by the Red Sox last summer, and brings some gap power and speed to the order. Also watch for OF Casey Lytle (.272, 11-of-12SBs) who brings a speed aspect to the basepaths. Walz and Lee Ridenhour (6-3, 4.65) return to weekend duty and will have the comfort of RHP Colton Murray (2-3, 3.23, 242OBA), who should blossom in his second season. Mid-week starters RHP Brett Bollman (5-0, 3.58) and Cameron Selik (2-2, 4.64) are both steady seniors and impressive control specialists who combined for just 22 walks in 113 innings of work. The bullpen is deep and Big 12-ready, making the Jayhawks a snowbelt team worth watching.

The Bad News:
The offense will only miss two big contributors in David Narodowski and Buck Afenir, though they were huge factors, combining for 18 home runs and 106 RBI. Likewise, the pitching staff loses only two key arms, but they were Shaeffer Hall, the staff ace and no-hit specialist, and Paul Smyth, who had nine saves. Certainly, the defense will be good, but must find a new backstop to handle this experienced pitching staff. The Rock-Chalkers must utilize their speed more since they had 19 triples on the season, but a 2nd-to-last-in-the-Big-12 total of just 41 steals. The schedule may be a confidence-buster too.

Schedule Note:
The Big Test on the Bayou.
In the fourth weekend of the season, Coach Price will take his Red & Blue down to the intimidating confines of Alex Box Stadium for a three-game set with the defending national champion LSU Tigers. As if that was a ball-buster enough, they’ll also play a pair of games down at Tulane right after that. By the time the Jayhawks make it down there for those five games, they will have worked out the kinks and the snowbelt blues and be ready to make a statement – be it a good one or, gulp, a bad one. Should be fun.

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- KANSAS STATE (43-18-1 14-11-1)
2009 RPI: 22
Starters Returning: 3
Weekend Starters: 0
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 5

All Conference Candidates:
2B Carter Jurica (.353, 23SBs)
3B Jason King (.316-7-61, 14SBs)
SS/OF Adam Muenster (.292, 24SBs
OF Nick Martini (.336, 19SBs)
LHP Thomas Rooke (5-2, 4.33, 4svs)

The Good News:
K-State had a breakthrough year in 2009, winning a school-record 43 games, making their first-ever NCAA tournament and getting a lot of positive pub in the process. Coach Brad Hill was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year in the process and has 18 returning lettermen from last year’s squad, the most since 2000. A steady infield returns to keep the .972 defense up to high standards. Lots of mix and match relievers return in sophs-to-be RHP Kayvon Bahramzadeh (2-1, 4.58), RHP Matt Applegate (2-2, 4.88) and RHP James Allen (2-1, 5.50, 5svs), and you know how coaches love when their freshmen become sophomores. As noted by the stolen base numbers, alll four returning fielders bring a lot of energy to the basepaths and solid gloves. KSU stole 149 bases last season and should approach that again this season.

The Bad News:
The rotation of A.J. Morris, Lance Hoge and Todd Vogel comprised 43 starts and 241 innings of work from last season. Ouch. Their battery mate Rob Vaughn was a valuable lock-down catcher (only 4Es) and his leadership will be missed. The Cats also say goodbye to a trio of .324+ hitters in Juston Bloxom, Drew Biery and Jordan Cruz, all of which had years of experience under their belts. K-State lost six one-run games and three two-run games last season, some clamp-down bullpenners will need to make themselves known this spring.

Schedule Note:
Time to grow.
Last year the PowerCats got off to an impressive 17-3 start to the season, including wins over San Diego State, Houston, Arizona State and Creighton. Look for a similar pre-Big 12 mark this year, though mainly it will be because of a much lighter schedule. The toughest games will come from Notre Dame, The Citadel, Kent State and Creighton.

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- MISSOURI (35-27, 16-11)
2009 RPI: 35
Starters Returning: 3
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
1B Aaron Senne (.305-6-43)
RHP Nick Tepesch (6-5, 6.27)

The Good News:
Imagine you’re Mizzou, sitting at 17-19 on April 11th, having just lost to Baylor 19-0 (in baseball, not football). Just to show you the tenacity that Coach Tim Jamieson has instilled in his players, instead of folding, the Tigers regrouped and went 17-6, reaching the Big 12 title game and making the NCAA tournament. Strong, strong work. That bodes well for Jamieson’s ability to get his teams’ attention, especially with all the new faces this year. Beyond Tepesch, there are options on the mound as Tyler Clark (3-0, 2.86), Kelly Fick (2-3, 5.71) and Ryan Clubb (3-2, 6.03) had great fall sessions and will step up this spring. Also, Brad Buehler (1-3, 4.29, 8svs) can be devastating at times. RHPs Eric Anderson (28th round, Houston) and Ryan Crowley, (36th round, White Sox) will keep Mizzou armed for the future and watch for Dane Opel (41st round, Washington) to make an immediate impact as well.

The Bad News:
Last season just wasn’t their season. Sure, they made the NCAAs, but you knew something wasn’t right when they got off to a 1-7 start out of the gate. And not that we’re doubting coach Tim Jamieson here, lord no, but this will definitely require the best coaching job of his career. The Tigers have been fortunate to have a lot of impact pitchers and players returning for each of the last four or five seasons, but not this time. It will be a pretty big overhaul of the engine for 2010. Losing a battery like Kyle Gibson and Trevor Coleman is a sizable mountain to climb. As are having six of the top seven hitters and three of the top four starters on the mound being gone from last year. Scare-REE!

Schedule Note:
So much for bringing them along slowly.
The schedule will test the Tiger mettle from pitch one. The non-conference slate has potholes like Gonzaga, Florida Atlantic, Auburn, Houston and TCU in the first three weeks. And the Big 12 slate has some tough road trips too, at Texas A&M, at Texas Tech and at rival Kansas.

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- NEBRASKA (25-28-1, 8-19)
2009 RPI: 106
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
Tyler Farst (.333)
Adam Bailey (.325-12-50)
RHP Mike Nesseth (5-4, 5.01)

The Good News:
Getting off to another 14-6 hot start would help. Having steady hitters like Farst – also a decent glove at 1st – and Bailey back will help improve the offense. And never underestimate the comfort of having a leader like D.J. Belfonte (.256-3-26, 10SBs) back in uniform, since it seems like he’s been a Husker since the ’80s. The pitching staff is potentially exceptional – with heavy emphasis on “potentially”. Nesseth was drafted in the 15th round by the Angels last June but decided to return. He’ll have Sean Yost (2-5, 6.02, .264OBA) and Casey Hauptman (4-6, 5.60), who were all part-time starters and relievers last season. One pitcher to keep an eye on is RHP Matt Freeman, who made 14 appearances last season, holding opponents to a .153 average. NU brings in the No. 13 ranked recruiting class, led by RHP Thomas Lemke (10th round, Texas), who could be the best of the bunch. Fellow righties Kurt Giller (21st round, Toronto) and Ryan Hander (38th round, L.A.) should both be big time and P/OF Bryan Peters was the Colorado player of the year in both baseball AND football – now THAT’S an athlete.

The Bad News:
A losing season in Lincoln? Really? That’s sooooo 1990s. The Huskers finished in 9th place in the Big 12 in both hitting (.282) and pitching (6.22). The Big Red had the lowest on-base percentage at .368, garnering just 197 walks. The patience in the batter’s box must get better. The mound staff also threw a conference-low 361 strikeouts last season. Losing mainstays like Jeff Tezak ( a 21st round draftee), Jake Mort and Nick Sullivan won’t be easy to replace, especially in the intangibles department.

Schedule Note:
Short end of the stick.
The Huskers weren’t done any favors in the Big 12 schedule department, having to play five series on the road, including grinders at Texas (to open conference play), at Oklahoma State and at Baylor. The non-conference portion is no cake walk either, having to go out west twice this season, at Fresno the opening weekend and then at UCLA a couple weeks later. Things ease up on the back end with 10 of the last 13 coming at or near home (one game vs. Creighton at Rosenblatt) from April 30th onward.

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- OKLAHOMA (43-20, 17-10)
2009 RPI: 19
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
3B Garrett Buechele (.353, Frosh All Am.)
OF Casey Johnson (.307-7-44)
RHP Ryan Duke (3-1, 3.22, 16svs)

The Good News:
Sunny Golloway keeps working his version of Sooner Magic as the Big Red has now played in the Regional finals in four of the last five years. This year’s recruiting class was rated at No. 16 by Baseball America and features RHP Bobby Shore (40th round, Baltimore), 2B Danny Black (42nd round, Yankees) and SS Chad Kettler, (top-rated SS in Texas). As usual for a Golloway-coached team, there is also a host of J.C. All Americans coming to campus, led by dynamic RHP Zach Neal (was also at Sam Houston State in ‘08) and his Howard College teammate LHP Luis Collazo (who led the JC ranks with 1.61 Ks-per-inn.). A couple of part-time starters should step up even moreso in 2010 in UTL Kaleb Herren (.319/2-0, 4.91) and OF Chris Ellison (.316-3-22).

The Bad News:
Well, despite all those post-season appearances, the dream of making it to Omaha is still the dangling carrot for the Sooners. Nine players were drafted off of last year’s team, taking some potent sticks and solid arms with them. The biggest loss is finding a replacement at backstop for J.T. Wise, the leading hitter. Along with Wise, power sticks Jamie Johnson, Bryant Hernandez and Aaron Baker all combined for 57 home runs between them. A almost-new staff will have to be built around weekend starter Michael Rocha (5-3, 4.84) and mid-week starter J.R. Robinson (3-1, 6.49), since Andrew Doyle, Garrett Richards, Antoine Hubbard and Stephen Porlier took off (43 starts between them in ‘09).

Schedule Note:
Tournament tough.
Oklahoma will play in four pre-conference tournaments, in three different time zones against 12 different opponents in the first four weekends of this season. The season-opener will be the toughest as they’ll face San Diego State, Big 10 champion Indiana and the San Diego. What a way to start things off, huh? Nice.

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- OKLAHOMA STATE (34-24, 9-16)
2009 RPI: 26
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
SS Tom Belza (.346-6-52)
RHP Tyler Lyons (7-6, 4.07)
C Kevin David (.311-6-47)
RHP Randy McCurry (4-1, 2.16, 10svs)
LHP Thomas Keeling (5-1, 4.41, .225OBA)

The Good News:
Yep, 2009 was an off year for the Pokes. And you gotta dig that even an off year meant a trip to the Regional title round (Arrrgh! OSU dropped two straight to Clemson). Coach Anderson loves having a dirt-under-the-nails leader like Belza around to lead by example. He brings an energy to the diamond and also led the OSU defense to a Big 12-best .976 fielding percentage. Despite losing a trio of top-round draftees, the Pokes came out of the MLB draft last June in good spirits, with Lyons and Keeling both returning to campus despite getting drafted by the Yankees, in the 10th and 17th round respectively, while David got picked in the 35th round by the Cubs. Other draft dodgers we can all be proud of include incoming LHP Andrew Heaney (24th round, Tampa Bay), who has a mid-90s fast ball and could become a weekend starter, plus C Dane Phillips (49th round, Seattle) who will make a reliable backstop in the years to come.

The Bad News:
Even though they made the Big Dance (under much controversy) with all that talent on that team, they should’ve played much better all season long. A 9th place finish for the talent on this team? Not good. Andrew Oliver and Tyler Blandford take their 166 innings of work with them to pro ball. Three of the top four hitters are going to be missing as well, from an offense that *only* hit .300 (that’s low by Okie State standards). The pressure is on righties Brad Propst (1-1, 2.20) and Uriah Fisher (2-0, 3.49) who must step up to bigger roles this year to replace the missing arms.

Schedule Note:
Post-tax time can be tough.
… as we all know. But for the Cowboys, that’s when the schedule takes a turn for the worse. OSU will only play 22 road games this season, but 13 of those will be coming after April 15th. As if Tax Day isn’t tough enough on all of us. It starts with roadies at Missouri and at Texas and finishes the final weekend of the regular season at Baylor. Buckle up and hold on tight.

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- TEXAS (50-16-1, 17-9-1)
2009 RPI: 2
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 3
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00, .193OBA, Freshman All Am.)
RHP Chance Ruffin (10-2, 3.32, .230OBA)
RHP Cole Green (5-3, 3.34, .241OBA)
C Cameron Rupp (.29211-46)
1B Kevin Keyes (.305-9-46)
OF Connor Rowe (.277-8-40)
RHP Brandon Workman (3-5, 3.48)
RHP Austin Dicharry (8-2, 2.28, .189OBA)

The Good News:
I thought Augie said it best in the post-game press conference after losing the title game to LSU, this was the least experienced team he’s ever had that accomplished this much. In other words, his Longhorns over-acheived last year to make it as far as they did with so much youth. Just imagine what that team will do this year with all that experience under their belts? Well put it this way, you KNOW when you get an Augie team that was 2nd in the nation in ERA (2.95) and 8th in defense (.976) and a good bit of that returns… we’re talking about multiple Excedrin headaches for their opponents. Jungmann belied his youth last season and doubles with expected top rounders Workman and Green to make for an intimidating corps. The offense was typical Augie-ball-esque, having 104 sacrifice hits on the season, and not a lot of power (until, mysteriously, they got to the wind-tunnel of Rosenblatt). Look for the bunt-and-dash stuff to continue, but Rupp and Keyes will get their share of dingers too. And don’t forget about Russell Moldenhauer, who only hit .262 last year, but hit four home runs in six games in Omaha. Oh man, we haven’t even gotten to the recruiting class either. Lordy. Baseball America ranked the class at No. 6 in the country and features OF Cohl Walla (43rd round, Washington), C Nick DiSantiago (33rd round, Washington), C Jonathan Walsh (18th round, San Francisco) and RHP Josh Urban (19th round, Pittsburgh), all expected to make big impacts. One last word of warning to their opponents: Buckle in and hang on, people.

The Bad News:
Well, I know UT went to the national title round and all, but you DO remember how the Longhorns struggled to beat Boston College and Army in the regionals and TCU in the Supers, right? They also had some vulnerable moments throughout the year, including getting swept at Kansas, swept by Rice and only won the Big 12 by a half-game. I know, that’s being picky and all, but still. Also keep in mind that All American Austin Wood left the roster and takes his 15 saves from last year with him. Plus, missing All Big 12 talents Brandon Belt and Michael Torres will weaken the infield a bit. Still, I don’t think anyone is shedding any tears for Augie.

Schedule Note:
Return of one of the best non-conference series in college baseball.
I always love the recent games between Stanford and Texas. Lots of great moments in the 2000s between them. They’ll rehash their best-of-three donnybrooks in the second weekend of the season at Disch-Falk. The Trees should be much-improved, so it should be a dandy. The Horns will ease into Big 12 play with Nebraska and Texas Tech in the first two weekends. Oh, and if you’re marking your calendar, the Texas A&M series is April 16th-18th.

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- TEXAS A&M (37-24, 14-13)
2009 RPI: 18
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
3B Caleb Shofner (.348-7-42)
OF Brodie Greene (.344-11-35, 11SBs)
DH Joe Patterson (.386-12-52)
LHP Ross Hales (6-2, 4.11, Frosh All Am.)
RHP Barret Loux (3-3, 4.12, .226OBA)
RHP Nick Fleece (4-1, 3.54, 5svs)

The Good News:
Look for the Aggies to race out to a good start, that’s for sure. As we saw last season, getting a lot of early home cooking was a real boon to the team with its 13-4 mark it had in mid-March. This year will be similar. Hales pitched beyond his years last year, including that wicked 3-hitter vs. Texas on May 9th. If Loux can live up to billing (and his .226OBA is an indication that he can), it will be a huge relief to coach Rob Childress. The top three offensive threats above can be a hell of a wrecking crew for the Maroons. If they get a little support from some new blood, the offense could be one of the better units in the conference (which is saying a lot after last season). Speaking of new blood, the Ags bring in a well-regarded recruiting class, spearheaded by JC All American Andrew Collazo, who could play a middle-infield position and be a leadoff guy. Also watch for OF Tyler Naquin, a 33rd round pick by Baltimore who comes to campus with a mature approach to the game already. And get this, Coach Childress went into Longhorn country and snagged Kyle Martin, a RHP who was drafted in the 39th round by the Nats.

The Bad News:
The Ags started the ‘09 season at No. 1 in the country but was crushed by those expectations. A 7-9 month of May was what drained the tank on A&M eventually. And the Aggies were supposed to be the meanest sumbitches in the conference at the plate last year with guys like Anders and Colligan leading the way, but they hit a boney-armed .275 in Big 12 play. On the mound, the losses were pretty huge, with names like Raley, Wilson, Thebeau and Starling all making trails. Those are some pretty big names in A&M lore. A new right side of the infield must be found and only 21 of last seasons 76 stolen bases return, so getting a new infusion of speed will be big.

Schedule Note:
How much home-heavier can you get?
A&M loves their rowdy student section, and rightly so. They’ll get the comforts of playing in front of them early and often in 2010, having 21 of the first 24 come at Olsen Field, including Big 12 series vs. Texas Tech and Mizzou (how did they swing THAT deal?). In all, the Maroons will play 37 home games, including 15 home vs. 12 road contests in conference play (keep in mind, the Baylor and Texas weekenders are split up between the two schools involved – which I love.).

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- TEXAS TECH (25-32, 12-15)
2009 RPI: 92
Starters Returning: 7
Weekend Starters: 0
Mid-Week Starters: 0
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
3B Joey Kenwrothy (.335)
OF Taylor Ashby (.330, 12SBs)
OF Scott LeJeune (.327)
RHP Chad Bettis (6-1, 3.59, 7svs)

The Good News:
The Dan Spencer era got kicked off with some high points last season, including being more competitive in Big 12 play and wins over teams like Texas, Gonzaga, Baylor, Oklahoma and series wins over teams like Kansas State, Kansas and Texas A&M. Pretty good, eh? The Red Raiders will have four .300+ bats back in the order, led by the sacrifice machine known as Joey Kenworthy, Taylor Ashby, Scott LeJeune and C Jeremy Mayo (.313-11-35). Michael Reed (.287) adds another steady senior to the outfield. Bettis could become a real stud in this his draft-eligible junior season. Also, look for RHP Louis Head (1-4, 6.29) to emerge in his sophomore season. Tech always seems to land a Canadian or two and this year they’ll add RHP Brandon Pettite, a 30th round pick by Houston last June.

The Bad News:
Consistency was consistent problem for this team – if you get my drift here. Though they had their moments, the Raiders never seemed to put together a solid week. This year, they’ll enter the season with huge holes, no make that huge gulches, in the pitching staff. Losing arms like A.J. Ramos, Nathan Karns and Miles Morgan means they’ll also lose 36 weekend starts from last year. The double-Ts weren’t very Brooks Wallace-like, finishing last in the Big 12 defensively at .959 in the field… and that was with most of their infield returning last year. The opponents average of .304 was way too high as well. A whole mess of work needs to be done here, but that’s why they brought in Spencer, the pitching guru.

Schedule Note:
Hoping for a calm winter.
Those all aluminum seats at Dan Law Stadium can get downright ice cold in the months of February and March as the norse winds whip down the plains. So with their first 10 games slated for home contests, the Raiders (and their opponents) will have to hope for unusual warm fronts in the early season. The pre-conference schedule is pretty rigorous with teams like Michigan, Jacksonville State, New Mexico, Bethune-Cookman, Washington State, Dallas Baptist and then the Astros College Classic against TCU, Rice and Houston on the docket. Oh, and mid-major trap door games against Gonzaga, TCU (3 more games) and Texas State round out the slate before the Big 12 headaches begin.