Baseball ranked No. 17 in Baseball America preseason poll

The Arizona State baseball team has been ranked No. 17 by Baseball America in their annual preseason poll, the publication announced.

The Sun Devils are set to play a total of 16 games against five ranked opponents this season, including four Pac-12 series'. They travel to Los Angeles March 16-18 to face No. 14 UCLA before hosting No. 23 Oregon State at Packard Stadium April 5-7, and play No. 2 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., April 20-22. ASU hosts No. 5 Arizona for two separate single-game sets on April 17 and May 16, respectively, and finishes the season with a three-game series against the Wildcats in Tucson May 25-27. No. 25 Cal State Fullerton visits Packard Stadium for a two-game tilt March 27-28.

Florida is ranked first, followed by Stanford, South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona. Including the Sun Devils, the newly expanded Pac-12 Conference (with the addition of Utah) features five ranked opponents, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 Arizona, No. 14 UCLA and No. 23 Oregon State. The conference is tied for second with the ACC for number of teams in the poll.

The preseason poll can be found online at baseballamerica.com

For a first look at the 2012 Sun Devil baseball team, ASU is hosting the annual Alumni Game at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark on Feb. 11. First Pitch will be at 1 p.m. (MST) and admission is free.

The Sun Devils open the season by hosting a three-game series against Western Michigan from Feb. 17-19 at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. For the full 2012 schedule, click here.

Baseball America Top-25 Preseason Poll (2011 Final Record, '11 Final Ranking)
1. Florida 53-19 2
2. Stanford 35-22 13
3. South Carolina 55-14 1
4. Arkansas 40-22 24
5. Arizona 39-21 NR
6. Rice 42-21 15
7. Texas A&M 47-22 7
8. Louisiana State 36-20 NR
9. North Carolina 51-16 5
10. Vanderbilt 54-12 4
11. Georgia 33-32 NR
12. Georgia Tech 42-21 20
13. Texas 49-19 6
14. UCLA 35-24 22
15. Texas Christian 43-19 19
16. Clemson 43-20 21
17. Arizona State 43-18 9
18. Miami 38-23 23
19. Oklahoma 41-19 NR
20. Florida State 46-19 8
21. Central Florida 39-23 NR
22. Mississippi 30-25 NR
23. Oregon State 41-19 10
24. Louisville 32-29 NR
25. Cal State Fullerton 41-17 14