By Andrew Krumme

Spring is in the air and that means one thing: the start of baseball across the country. College baseball is warming up, and the University of Louisville baseball team is preparing for their final Conference USA campaign. Despite the inevitable C-USA break-up and the relocation of several teams into the Big East, Atlantic Ten and the Mountain West Conference, the Cardinals will have a good showing again this year.

C-USA baseball powerhouse Tulane has been voted the top preseason team by the coaches and will look to continue its dominance. They have five players on the All-Conference preseason team and are led by Player of the Year favorite Brian Bogusevic. The junior has put up some gaudy stats the past two years including a .339 average last year which included a team high 68 RBIs, 10 home runs and nine steals (good for third on the team).

Senior catcher Greg Dini is another Tulane player tabbed All-Conference and led the team in home runs last year. The University of Miami transfer also played a critical role as the team’s catcher. J.R. Crowell is the Green Wave’s ace and was also voted All-Conference. The junior southpaw started 17 games last year with a record of 8-3 and a 3.39 ERA. Senior shortstop Tommy Manzella and outfielder Mark Barket were also given the honor of being added to the All-Conference first team for Tulane.

TCU, ECU and Southern Mississippi round out the top four C-USA preseason picks and will look to repeat on last year’s impressive seasons and attempt to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

Texas Christian University is lead by the sophomore duo of Shelby Ford and Chad Huffman. Ford anchors the outfield for Coach Jim Schlossnagle and led the Horned Frogs with 16 homeruns last year while batting a respectable .301. Second baseman Huffman was the team leader in batting average and finished third in the conference with a .383 average. He also proved last year he could hit  some power by sending nine balls over the fence last year. He also had 44 RBIs.

ECU comes in at third in conference picks and is the only team in the top four with just one player on the All Conference Team. Junior third baseman Mark Minicozzi made the cut for the Pirates. Minicozzi combines great defense on the hot corner to go with all-around good offensive numbers. ECU has great balance on their team; they had five different players last year that went for 10 or more home runs and counter with a good pitching staff. The team is led by the likes of Shane Matthews and Brody Taylor, who combined for a 15-1 record as starters. This balance is one of the main reasons they can contend with Tulane for the conference crown.

Southern Miss boasts two players voted All-Conference: junior Marc Maddox and sophomore Patrick Ezell. Maddox hit .317, had 15 homeruns, 60 RBIs and had some great defense at first base. While Maddox does the work behind the plate, sophomore Patrick Ezell will have to carry the Golden Eagles on the mound. Ezell’s 3.57 ERA and 5-2 record will have to improve for the men from Hattiesburg if they want to compete and counter the loss of senior Anthony DeWitt who carried the pitching staff last year. Last year, DeWitt went 10-3 and led the team in innings pitched.

While the top four teams in C-USA this year are pretty even talent-wise, the rest of the league is significantly sub-par. Houston is predicted to finish fifth in the conference and is led by Travis Tully and Kevin Roberts. Tully, a junior left fielder, is best known for his speed which he utilizes both on the base paths and in the outfield, running down fly balls. He hit .301 last year and churned out 17 stolen bases. While Roberts will be asked to lead the Cougars offensively, the real key for them to make a move this year will be with the pitching staff, which was suspect and lacked a consistent starter to go out and give them a dominating performance.

South Florida comes in at the sixth position and their season’s hopes will ride on pitcher Casey Hudspeth. Hudspeth went 8-4 last year and will have to take it to the next level if he wants South Florida to contend with the big dogs on top. He comes into the 2005 season with just one season of collegiate experience on the mound.

Louisville, UAB, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Memphis and St. Louis fill the seven through 12 positions in the coaches’ preseason poll. While U of L, Alabama Birmingham and Cincinnati usually are more toward the top of the conference, they all are in rebuilding phases for their respective programs.