Jan. 11, 2007

Columbia, S.C. –
The South Carolina baseball team has been selected No. 3 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Top 35 rankings released on Thursday afternoon (January 11). It is the fourth straight Top 10 ranking the Gamecocks have received in the preseason. Carolina was also ranked No. 3 in both the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40 and Rivals.com Top 25 along with No. 6 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 50.

South Carolina will open its season on February 9, 2007 vs. Oklahoma at a tournament hosted by UNC Wilmington. The Gamecocks are the top ranked SEC school in the all four preseason rankings released. Other SEC teams ranked by the NCBWA include Arkansas (No. 8), Vanderbilt (No. 11), Ole Miss (No. 13), Georgia (No. 19), Tennessee (No. 25), Kentucky (No. 27), Alabama (No. 28), LSU (No. 34) and Mississippi State (No. 35). Rice is the preseason No. 1 team in the nation.

South Carolina returns six position starters back from last year’s team that reached the NCAA Super Regional and also adds a recruiting class ranked No. 1 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and No. 2 in the nation by Baseball America. Last year’s Super Regional appearance was Carolina’s sixth in the past seven seasons, making the Gamecocks one of only three teams in the nation to achieve that feat since the 2000 season. In that span, Carolina has reached the College World Series three times (2002, 2003, 2004), won two SEC championships (2000, 2002) as well as an SEC Tournament title (2004). Carolina’s seven consecutive years reaching the NCAA Regionals is also the longest current streak among all 12 SEC schools. Over the past seven years, the Gamecocks own a 342-135 record; the fourth highest win total in Division I Baseball as well as an SEC-best 130-79 record in conference match-ups.

NCBWA PRESEASON TOP 35
1.	Rice
2.	Clemson
3.	South Carolina
4.	North Carolina
5.	Miami (Fla.)
6.	Texas
7.	Virginia
8.	Arkansas
9.	Cal State Fullerton
10.	Georgia Tech
11.	Vanderbilt
12.	Nebraska
13.	Ole Miss
14.	Arizona State
15.	Florida State
16.	Tulane
17.	Oregon State
18.	Wichita State
19.	Georgia
20.	Pepperdine
21.	Oklahoma State
22.	TCU
23.	UCLA
24.	Stanford
25.	Tennessee
26.	Baylor
27.	Kentucky
28.	Alabama
29.	Evansville
30.	Oklahoma
31.	Winthrop
32.	Southern California
33.	Oral Roberts
34.	LSU
35.	Mississippi State