Sooner Baseball Picked Fifth In Big 12

The Oklahoma baseball team landed fifth in the 2014 Big 12 Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's coaches, Tuesday afternoon. The Sooners, coming off a Big 12 Tournament Championship and 43-21 season, received 49 points in the poll. The top five spots are separated by a mere seven points.

Defending regular season champion Kansas State earned 56 points and five first place votes to take the top spot in the poll. Oklahoma State and TCU tied for second at 51 points, while OSU claimed two first place votes to TCU's one. Texas was slotted fourth at 50 points and claimed the final first place vote.

The backside of the poll is filled out by Baylor (26), West Virginia (23), Texas Tech (18) and Kansas (12).

Last season, the Sooners were the preseason favorite before putting together a 13-11 record and third place finish in league play. Oklahoma has twice been at the top of the preseason poll in 2011 and 2013.

The 2014 season gets underway with a non-conference series at home against Seton Hall. The Sooners open Big 12 play at home on March 21 with a three-game set against Kansas State.