Jan. 9, 2008

Preseason Big East Poll
Rivals.com Big East Preview

VILLANOVA, Pa.-- On the heels of its first playoff appearance in a decade and with nearly the entire team returning from last season, Villanova has been picked to finish between sixth and eighth place in the BIG EAST regular season standings in a series of preseason polls. League coaches selected the Wildcats eighth and Villanova was chosen seventh by the College Baseball Newspaper. In addition, Rivals.com picked the Wildcats sixth in their BIG EAST preview.

"Nobody wants to be picked at the bottom of the standings, which is where we were chosen last year," Villanova head coach Joe Godri said. "We finished six spots higher than our projection last year and I think there is recognition of that in this year's polls. All three polls chose us to finish as a playoff qualifier by being in the top eight in the league."

The 25 letterwinners that return to the Wildcats from last season include nine of the top 10 hitters in the lineup and six of the top seven pitchers from the rotation and bullpen. In 2007, Villanova finished with more than 25 victories and at least a .500 record for the fourth straight season and fifth time in six years since Godri became head coach.

In addition to the team selections, College Baseball Newspaper included four Wildcat seniors as players to watch in the BIG EAST. Shortstop Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.), first baseman Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), second baseman Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) and starting pitcher Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) each were highlighted for their potential this season.

Shunk is the team's top returning hitter and was a preseason first team All-America choice of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. He batted .357 last season and became the eighth player in school history with at least 200 career hits. Terpak, meanwhile, hit .307 and led the Wildcats in triples, home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage. Arcadia is a .297 career hitter who ranks among Villanova's all-time leaders with 46 career stolen bases. During the season, Ellis emerged as one of the team's most consistent starting pitchers and finished the year with a 6-1 record and 3.75 ERA. All three players are considered as prospects for the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft this coming spring.

The pick of the BIG EAST coaches, who could not vote for their own team, to win the league was St. John's, which finished with 117 points and seven first-place votes in the poll. Louisville came in second with 113 points and five first-place votes after reaching the College World Series last season. The rest of the poll included USF (92), Rutgers (91), Notre Dame (80), Connecticut (66), Pittsburgh (59), Villanova (51), Cincinnati (41), West Virginia (39), Seton Hall (31) and Georgetown (12).

Villanova did not have any players voted to the preseason All-BIG EAST team despite the recognition elsewhere for Shunk, Terpak and Ellis. Shunk was a third team all-conference selection last season. The Louisville pair of sophomore third baseman Chris Dominguez and senior pitcher Zach Pitts were the Preseason Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

The Wildcats open the 2008 season with a three-game series against Michigan from February 22-24. The series will be played in Port St. Lucie, Florida at the spring training home of the New York Mets.