Winston-Salem State Rams Baseball Ranked #21 in Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

TUCSON, Arizona -- Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has released its first set of 2016 NCAA Division II College Baseball preseason rankings and the Winston-Salem State Rams have been tabbed the #21 team in the rankings.

"Preseason rankings are exciting because it means the season opener is right around the corner," said Kevin Ritsche, WSSU head baseball coach. "Being only a few votes from the top 12 is a sign of respect for our program. Now it's up to us to uphold it in February," added Ritsche.

Winston-Salem State finished 42-15 in 2015, capturing their fifth consecutive CIAA Baseball Championship. The 42 wins by WSSU in 2015 are the most in school history and the Rams advancing to within 2 wins of the NCAA DII College World Series is the furthest a CIAA baseball team has ever advanced.

The 2016 WSSU baseball team will open the season on Friday, February 5th, when the Rams host Millersville University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, at BB&T Ballpark in downtown Winston-Salem. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm.

Rank, School	2015 Record	Pts
1. Tampa	(43-13)	630
2. Catawba	(47-15)	626
3. Mercyhurst	(40-11)	623
4. Franklin Pierce	(48-4)	619
5. Minnesota St.	(43-9)	616
6. St. Cloud St.	(54-5)	614
7. Florida Tech.	(38-13)	611
8. West Alabama	(42-11)	608
9. Colorado Mesa	(48-9)	606
10. Cal. Poly Pomona	(46-15)	603
11. St. Edwards, TX	(40-13)	600
12. St. Mary's, TX	(41-16)	597
13. Angelo St.	(42-18)	595
14. Southern Arkansas	(40-18)	592
15. North Georgia	(38-17)	590
16. Henderson St.	(33-21)	589
17. Nova Southeastern	(39-13)	585
18. Millersville	(45-11)	584
19. Seton Hill	(43-13)	581
20. Lynn	(35-15-1)	576
21. Winston-Salem St.	(42-15)	572
22. Quincy	(40-17)	596
23. S. New Hampshire	(31-14)	565
24. Missouri Southern St.	(40-14)	562
25. Armstrong St.	(34-14)	560
26. U.C. San Diego	(36-21)	557
27. West Georgia	(33-15)	554
28. Ashland	(38-19)	552
29. Mt. Olive	(39-16)	550
30. Alabama-Huntsville	(36-11-1)	546
31. Colorado St.-Pueblo	(41-16)	544
32. Lander	(22-26)	541
33. Southern Indiana	(28-21)	538
34. Azusa Pacific	(34-10)	535
35. Grand Valley St.	(34-18)	532
36. Trevecca Nazarene	(36-18)	529
37. Flagler	(32-15)	526
38. Emporia St.	(39-16)	522
39. West Florida	(30-18)	519
40. Drury	(33-24-1)	516

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION