Baseball America Ranks Tulane 10th; Aubrey Named All-American
Jan 3, 2002 | Baseball
Jan. 3, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team claimed the No. 10 spot in the Baseball America preseason poll and sophomore Michael Aubrey was named to the first-team All-America squad, the publication announced Thursday at the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention.
The No. 10 honor is the second top-10 ranking for the Green Wave in 2002 as Tulane was tabbed the No. 3 team in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Magazine in December. Aubrey's honor, meanwhile, is his third of the preseason after claiming first-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and second-team Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball recognition.
The preseason ranking comes on the heels of Tulane's record-breaking 2001 season when the Green Wave led the NCAA with 56 wins and advanced to the College World Series for the first time in school history.
Aubrey, who earned Freshman of the Year honors from Conference USA, Baseball America and The Sporting News in 2001, made the team as an outfielder and is joined on the preseason All-America squad by fellow Louisianian Rickie Weeks of Southern who garnered second-team honors as the designated hitter. Tulane is one of two state schools to earn Baseball America Top 25 ranking, joined by archrival LSU who claimed the No. 7 spot.
Last season, Aubrey was a star for the Green Wave in its historic run to the school's first College World Series, hitting .361 with a .592 slugging percentage, 17 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 69 RBI. He also proved to be solid on the mound, going 3-1 with a save in 17 appearances and 13 starts, and striking out 46 batters in 71.2 innings of work.
For his accomplishments, Aubrey earned Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America, The Sporting News, Collegiate Baseball and Baseball Weekly while also earning first-team Conference USA honors and C-USA All-Freshman team recognition. He was selected to play for Team USA for the second consecutive season where he hit .233 (17-for-69) with one double, two triples and a pair of homers. In only one appearance on the mound for the national team, Aubrey gave up just one hit to the four batters he faced.
Aubrey came to Tulane after a standout prep career at Southwood High School in Shreveport, La., where he earned city and district most valuable player honors, as well as all-state recognition as a senior.
In addition to Aubrey, Tulane returns a wealth of talent for the 2002 season with 20 lettermen, six positional starters and seven of the top eight pitchers from last year's squad. Headlining the list are three-time first-team All-Conference USA honoree and 1999 National Freshman of the Year James Jurries and senior southpaw Beau Richardson, who became the team's ace in the latter portion of the 2001 season. Also highlighting the list of returning players are 2001 Freshman All-American second-baseman Anthony Giarratano and New Orleans Regional Most Outstanding Player Joey Charron.
Last season, Tulane finished the year ranked fifth in the Baseball America final poll. The Green Wave was also ranked fifth by The Sporting News, and sixth by Baseball Weekly and Collegiate Baseball.
The Green Wave begins the 2002 season on Friday, Feb. 8 when they travel to Malibu, Calif., for a three-game series with Pepperdine. Tulane opens its home schedule on Friday, Feb. 15 against Villanova at 7 p.m. at Turchin Stadium. For ticket information, call the Tulane ticket office at (504) 861-WAVE.
Baseball America Preseason PollRanking School 2001 Record Final 2001 Ranking 1. Stanford 51-17 2 2. Clemson 41-22 17 3. Miami 53-12 1 4. Southern California 45-19 4 5. Notre Dame 49-13 15 6. Florida State 47-19 10 7. LSU 44-22 9 8. Nebraska 50-16 6 9. Texas 36-26 NR 10. Tulane 56-13 5 11. Rice 47-20 13 12. Wichita State 42-24 NR 13. Georgia Tech 41-20 NR 14. South Carolina 49-20 12 15. Cal State Fullerton 48-18 3 16. Baylor 37-24 NR 17. Mississippi State 39-23 19 18. Arizona State 37-20 22 19. North Carolina 31-26 NR 20. Mississippi 39-23 NR 21. Wake Forest 44-18 18 22. Cal State Northridge 34-22 NR 23. Oklahoma State 42-22 NR 24. Washington 29-23 NR 25. Rutgers 42-17 25
