As I mentioned in a comment to a previous post, the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Preseason Poll ranks Oregon #10. Other ranked Pac-10 teams are #1 UCLA, #12 Arizona State, #16 Stanford, and #25 Arizona.

Bruin fans want it all this year, after their team came so close in 2010 (51-17 record, 2nd place Pac-10, and runner-up to South Carolina in the College World Series). Duck fans have high expectations after their 2010 record (40-24, 5th place Pac-10).

Beaver fans are no longer satisfied to relive history (back-to-back national championships in 2006-07). OSU baseball has fallen far from those heights (e.g., their 2010 record was 32-24, 8th place Pac-10). We want Oregon State to regain national prominence, compete for the conference title, earn a bid to post-season play, and make it all the way to Omaha in 2011. We know that once you get to the College World Series, anything can happen (South Carolina? Really?).

Is this to be a year of Beaver baseball achievement -- or another season of mediocrity? Let's crack some peanut shells and talk baseball.