Feb. 5, 2013

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington has been picked sixth in the 2013 Western Athletic Conference regular season baseball poll in a vote by the league’s 10 head coaches.This is the first and only season for the Mavericks in the WAC.

"Last year we were picked eighth and we ended up winning [the Southland Conference] so you just never know," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "I haven’t seen a lot of these teams play, so that makes it difficult to evaluate.

"I'd be very surprised if the WAC wasn’t a three-bid league [to the NCAA Tournament] this year. The top eight go [to the conference tournament] and the eighth team could win it."

The Mavericks are coming off a 36-25 season that included a Southland Conference championship and trip to the NCAA Regionals. UTA opens the season on Feb. 15 with a three-game non-conference series against Louisiana Tech. Season tickets are on sale at UTAtickets.com.

Dallas Baptist was selected as the favorite to win the WAC. The Patriots received 80 points and eight first place votes after a 41-19 season last year as an independent. DBU advanced to its second-straight NCAA Tournament last season.

DBU joins the WAC this season after playing as a Division I independent the past nine seasons. As an independent, the Patriots have made three trips to the NCAA tournament, including an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2011.

Texas State ranked second with 65 points and one first place votes. Texas State was followed by 2012 WAC regular season co-champion New Mexico State with 60 points.

2012 WAC regular season co-champion Sacramento State was selected fourth with 54 points and one first place vote. The Hornets dropped a 4-3 decision in 13 innings to Fresno State in the WAC Tournament championship game last season.

CSU Bakersfield was picked fifth with 47 points. UT Arlington received 45 points to earn the No. 6 spot, followed by Louisiana Tech in seventh with 41 points. UTSA was eighth with 24 points. San Jose State received 23 points to place ninth, while Seattle U was 10th with 11 points.

The 51st year of WAC baseball begins Friday, February 15 when each of the league's 10 teams will open regular season play. The WAC Tournament will be held in Grand Prairie, Texas at QuikTrip Park, May 22-26. The top eight teams will advance to the tournament.

1. Dallas Baptist (8) 80

2. Texas State (1) 65

3. New Mexico State 60

4. Sacramento State (1) 54

5. CSU Bakersfield 47

6. UT Arlington 45

7. Louisiana Tech 41

8. UTSA 24

9. San Jose State 23

10. Seattle U 11