BYU, Utah Utes baseball: Utes picked 4th, BYU 5th in MWC preseason poll

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Utah and BYU baseball teams have been selected to finish fourth and fifth in the Mountain West Conference, it was announced on Monday.

TCU was tabbed to win its fifth consecutive regular-season title with 70 points, followed by New Mexico (55 points) and San Diego State (47 points) in second and third, respectively. Utah had 45 points, followed by BYU with 28. The poll was rounded out by UNLV in sixth (22 points) and Air Force (13 points).

In addition, Utah senior third baseman Nick Kuroczko was selected to the preseason all-conference team.

The defending MWC Tournament Champion Utes are coming off one of their best seasons in history, reaching the NCAA Baseball Championship for the first time since 1960, capping it off by winning two games in the regional round.

Kuroczko led Utah with a .353 batting average and a .558 slugging percentage last season and was second in the country with nine triples. He also had 24 multiple-hit games and 11 multiple RBI games.

Voting was conducted by the seven MWC head coaches and selected baseball media.

The Utes and Cougars open their seasons on Friday.