The Mountain West released its annual season preview on Wednesday, setting high expectations for UNM baseball.
New Mexico was voted the preseason conference winners for the 2017 season. Three Lobos were also voted preseason All-Conference.
The Lobos, who won the Mountain West tournament in the season prior, picked up four first-place votes, narrowly beating out Fresno State, which received three first-place votes.
Last season the Lobos finished 39-23 on the season and reached the NCAA postseason for the fifth time in the last seven years, according to GoLobos.com.
With New Mexico and Fresno State finishing in first and second place, respectively, Nevada placed third, San Diego State finished fourth, Air Force and UNLV tied for fifth and San Jose State finished in last place.
Outfielder Luis Gonzalez, pitcher Tyler Stevens and third baseman Carl Stajduhar were the three Lobos chosen on the preseason All-Conference team.
Gonzalez, according to the Mountain West Conference website, is the top returning hitter for the Lobos. Last season he posted a .381 batting average, had 96 hits, 21 doubles and 63 runs scored as part of his sophomore year efforts with the Lobos.
On the other hand, Stajduhar — who won the MW Tony Gwynn Player of Year Award last season — posted 18 home runs and 66 RBI, while maintaining a .331 batting average.
tevens posted an 8-4 overall record as a pitcher, while striking out 78 batters and allowing an average of 4.11 runs per game.
The Lobos’ season starts on Friday, Feb. 17 as they will host Binghamton University in a three-game series.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
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