Three C-USA Baseball Teams Finish Ranked in Top 25

Brad Willcutt

For the first time in league history, three Conference USA baseball teams finished the 2003 season ranked in the Top 25, when all four final polls were released this week. Southern Miss was the highest-ranked team, finishing No. 15 in the Baseball America poll. Houston was ranked in the top 25 of all four polls, placing as high as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball). Tulane was ranked No. 25 in the National Collegiate Baseball Association Writers poll. The NCBWA also ranked TCU at No. 32 in its final rankings.

Below is a look the final 2003 polls:

Baseball America
1. Rice (58-12)
2. Stanford (51-18)
3. Cal State Fullerton (51-16)
4. Texas (50-20)
5. Louisiana State (45-22-1)
6. Florida State (54-13-1)
7. Arizona State (54-14)
8. Miami (Fla.) (45-17-1)
9. Long Beach State (41-20)
10. South Carolina (45-22)
11. Baylor (45-23)
12. North Carolina State (45-18)
13. Nebraska (47-18)
14. Texas A&M (45-19)
15. SOUTHERN MISS (47-16)
16. Southwest Missouri St. (40-26)
17. Georgia Tech (44-18)
18. Auburn (42-21)
19. North Carolina (42-23)
20. UNLV (47-17)
21. Ohio State (44-21)
22. HOUSTON (37-30)
23. Florida Atlantic (47-16)
24. Mississippi State (42-20-1)
25. Washington (42-18)


Collegiate Baseball
1. Rice (58-12)
2. Stanford (51-18)
3. Cal State Fullerton (51-16)
4. Texas (50-20)
5. Miami (Fla.) (45-17-1)
6. South Carolina (45-22)
7. Louisiana State (45-22-1)
8. Southwest Missouri St. (40-26)
9. Florida State (54-13-1)
10. Arizona State (54-14)
11. Long Beach State (41-20)
12. North Carolina State (45-18)
13. Baylor (45-23)
14. Georgia Tech (44-18)
15. Nebraska (47-18)
16. HOUSTON (37-30)
17. Texas A&M (45-19)
18. Ohio State (44-21)
19. North Carolina (42-23)
20. Auburn (42-21)
21. Richmond (48-15)
22. Lamar (40-18)
23. Florida Atlantic (47-16)
24. Mississippi State (42-20-1)
25. SOUTHERN MISS (47-16)
26. UNLV (47-17)
27. Washington (42-18)
28. Notre Dame (45-18)
29. South Alabama (42-19)
30. Cal Riverside (41-17)


Sports Weekly/ESPN
1. Rice (58-12)
2. Stanford (51-18)
3. Cal State Fullerton (51-16)
4. Texas (50-20)
5. Miami (Fla.) (45-17-1)
6. Louisiana State (45-22-1)
7. South Carolina (45-22)
8. Florida State (54-13-1)
9. Arizona State (54-14)
10. Long Beach State (41-20)
11. Southwest Missouri St. (40-26)
12. North Carolina State (45-18)
13. Baylor (45-23)
14. Nebraska (47-18)
15. Texas A&M (45-19)
16. Georgia Tech (44-18)
17. Auburn (42-21)
18. SOUTHERN MISS (47-16)
19. Mississippi State (42-20-1)
20. Ohio State (44-21)
21. North Carolina (42-23)
22. UNLV (47-17)
23. Richmond (48-15)
24. HOUSTON (37-30)
25. Florida Atlantic (47-16)


NCBWA
1. Rice (58-12)
2. Stanford (51-18)
3. Cal State Fullerton (51-16)
4. Texas (50-20)
5. Miami (Fla.) (45-17-1)
6. South Carolina (45-22)
7. Arizona State (54-14)
8. Florida State (54-13-1)
9. Louisiana State (45-22-1)
10. Southwest Missouri St. (40-26)
11. Long Beach State (41-20)
12. Baylor (45-23)
13. North Carolina State (45-18)
14. Georgia Tech (44-18)
15. Nebraska (47-18)
16. Texas A&M (45-19)
17. Ohio State (44-21)
18. Auburn (42-21)
19. SOUTHERN MISS (47-16)
20. HOUSTON (37-30)
21. Richmond (48-15)
22. Florida Atlantic (47-16)
23. Lamar (40-18)
24. Mississippi State (42-20-1)
25. TULANE (44-19)
26. UNLV (47-17)
27. Southern (46-7)
28. Washington (42-18)
29. Notre Dame (45-18)
30. South Alabama (42-19)
31. Cal Riverside (41-17)
32. TCU (35-22)
33. Wichita State (39-27)
34. Virginia Commonwealth (46-13)
35. Alabama (38-24)
ARV:
EAST CAROLINA (34-27-1)


PREVIOUS FINAL C-USA BASEBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
(Listed chronologically as Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball Weekly)

2002 Houston (10, 10, 10)
East Carolina (-, -, 24)
2001 Tulane (5,6,6)
2000 Houston (13, 11, 12)
1999 Tulane (21, 15, 19)
Houston (24, 24, -)
1998 Tulane (25, 20, -)
1996 South Florida (16, 21)
Tulane (20, 24)