Rice University Athletics
Owls Begin Four-Game Homestand Wednesday vs. Dallas Baptist
3/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2011
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(All start times listed are CENTRAL TIME)
Mar. 16 (Wed.) 6:30 pm; Rice vs. Dallas Baptist
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Mar. 18 (Fri.) 6:30 pm; Rice vs. Louisiana Tech
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Mar. 19 (Sat.) 2 pm; Rice Louisiana Tech
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Special Promotion:Rice Baseball Trading Card Strips, courtesy of Fidelity Investments. Featured on Strip 2 are Tyler Duffey, Jeremy Fant, Michael Fuda and Daniel GonzalesLuna.
Mar. 20 (Sun.) 1 pm; Rice vs. Louisiana Tech
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Owls Begin Four-Game Homestand Starting On Wednesday Night
The Rice baseball team, 10-8 this season and ranked as high as 17th in the nation, is back home at Reckling Park for four-straight games beginning on Mar. 16. The Owls host state rival Dallas Baptist at 6:30 pm Wednesday to begin a homestand that lasts until Mar. 20. After a showdown with the DBU Patriots (10-6 this season), the Blue & Gray host former Western Athletic Conference rival Louisiana Tech at Reckling Park for a three-game weekend series Fri.-Sun. Start times with the Bulldogs (8-7 overall) are set for 6:30 pm (Fri.), 2 pm (Sat.) and 1 pm (Sun.).
Watch Home Games On OwlVision All Access
Home games at Reckling Park are slated for a live on-line video broadcast by OwlVision All Access. OwlVision is a subscription-based service which matches the play-by-play audio with a video feed to create a television-like broadcast on the Internet (either live or in an archived format). The service has proved to be very popular with fans and alumni living throughout the world. Information about the service and subscription prices are available here. Access the service on game day at the above links.
Audio Broadcasts - Catch Every Rice Baseball Game On The Web
Every Rice baseball game this season will be broadcast live around the world on the Internet at RiceOwls.com. Use the above link to access the Internet audio home page. The Rice broadcasting tag-team this season is primarily David Brady and J.P. Heath, with help from some of our Rice broadcasting friends. Tune-in to the pregame show 30 minutes before each game's first pitch.
Live Stats On GameTracker
Live play-by-play text and statistics from every Rice game will be posted on RiceOwls.com. Look for the GameTracker links on either the Rice Athletics front page, the weekly series preview or the baseball schedule page.
National Ranking Update • Rice Now 17th In The Polls
After four weekends of college baseball action the Owls are now 17th in the nation according to PerfectGame.com. Rice was 14th in the nation in that poll to start the 2011 season, and the team has remained in its national Top 20 after posting wins over powerhouse teams Stanford, Arizona and Texas A&M. Here's a closer look at the current polls:
| Poll | This Week | Last week |
| PerfectGame.com | 17 | 14 |
| NCBWA | 24 | 19 |
| USA Today/ESPN | 24 | 20 |
| Baseball America | 25 | 18 |
| CollegeBaseballLineup.com | 26 | 21 |
| Collegiate Baseball Magazine | n.r. | 23 |
99th Season Since The Start; 95th Season On The Field
The 2011 season marks the 99th year since Rice played baseball for the first time. Rice Owls baseball made its debut in the spring of 1913, just one semester after the school (The Rice Institute) opened its doors for higher education in the fall of 1912. The 2011 season is, however, only the Owls' 95th season on the diamond. The school cancelled its season in 1919 and did not field a team for three years (1933-35) during the Great Depression. Rice returned to the diamond in the spring of 1936 and has been playing ever since... The Rice baseball program's all-time record is 1,787 - 1,457 - 9.
Head Coach Wayne Graham
Four-time national coach of the year and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970) is in his 20th season at Rice. The 2011 campaign marks his 31st year as a collegiate head coach... He is now 880-348 with the Owls (532-119 at home, 263-179 in road games and 85-50 at neutral sites). His Rice winning percentage is .717, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .717 win percentage is that it is the equivalent of a major league team winning 116 games in a single year... Graham's record vs. this week's opponents is as follows: 13-3 vs Dallas Baptist (12-3 at home, 1-1 road); and 22-2 vs Louisiana Tech (12-1 at home, 10-1 road)... Under Graham, the Owls clinched another postseason bid in 2010, making 16-straight seasons for Rice to earn an NCAA appearance. The Blue & Gray has advanced into the NCAA tournament in 1995-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10. The 2003 bid culminated with the Owls' first national championship... Rice played in the 1994-95-96 Southwest Conference tournaments (winning the final league title in `96), won the 1997-98-99 WAC tournaments, shared the 2000 WAC title with San Jose State before winning the 2001-02-03-04-05 titles outright. He won C-USA regular season crowns in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 as well as the C-USA tournament championships in `06, `07 and `09... Graham was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 1998, `99, `02 and the Co-Coach of the Year in `03. He was named the Keith LeClair C-USA Coach of the Year in `06, his first year in the league, and again in `07, `08 and `10... Rice has seven appearances in the NCAA College World Series under Graham (1997, `99, `02, `03, `06, `07, `08)... Graham has led the Owls to number-one rankings for seven weeks during the 1999 season, for six weeks during the `01 campaign, two weeks in `02, six weeks in 2003 (the last of which established some staying power), three weeks in 2004, 12 weeks in 2006 and five weeks in `07... Graham's San Jacinto Gators dominated the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., in the 1980s, winning five national titles in six years (1985-86-87, 89-90)... The Austin American-Statesman named Graham its SWC Coach of the Year in `95 after he led the Owls to their first NCAA tournament appearance... Collegiate Baseball was especially cognizant of Graham's efforts at San Jac. He was named the newspaper's Coach of the Decade for all levels in the 1980s after winning those five junior college national titles, and CB tabbed him the NJCAA Coach of the Century... He was named the 2007 Division I college Coach of the Year by FieldTurf... One of the few current collegiate coaches to have played in the major leagues (N.Y. Mets in 1963, Philadelphia in 1964), Graham is aided by assistant coaches Mike Taylor (Prairie View A&M, 1997; 11th year), David Pierce (Houston, 1988; ninth year), Patrick Hallmark (Rice, 1995, Brown College; sixth year)... Taylor coaches at third base this year while Hallmark coaches at first base.
Apples To Apples
Using coach Graham's first Rice season of 1992 as the starting point, here are the active Division I national leaders for coaching victories heading into the 2011 season.
1. Mike Martin, Florida State - 961
2. Gene Stephenson, Wichita State - 932
3. Wayne Graham, Rice - 870
4. Jim Morris, Miami (Fla.) - 868
5. Ray Tanner, South Carolina - 853
6. Augie Garrido, Texas - 847
1,455 Wins • A Baseball Odyssey
Wayne Graham owns 880 career wins at Rice, but his career victories tally to 1,455 when you include his 11 years at San Jacinto North College where he won five national championships. Graham's overall collegiate record is 1,455-461 in a 30-year career that began in 1981.
Wayne Graham Radio Show
The live, weekly Rice baseball radio show featuring the Owls' legendary head coach Wayne Graham made its debut on Mar. 7, and is scheduled for a total of nine shows through the remainder of the regular season. The Wayne Graham Radio Show presented by Waste Management, originates live from Prince's Restaurant at the Southwest Freeway near Wesleyan and is broadcast in the Houston area on 1560 AM The Game (KGOW), and around the world on RiceOwls.com. Coach Graham, with Rice baseball broadcaster David Brady, will review games from the previous weekend and preview upcoming games and series. In addition to discussions on college baseball's national rankings and chase for the Conference USA championship, each week's show will include current members of the team, former Owl players and special guests. There will be some Rice give-away items at the show and a segment for fans to ask Coach Graham a question. It's a unique opportunity for baseball enthusiasts to get direct insight from one of the college game's most successful icons.
Probable Rice Pitchers
Wayne Graham announced the Owls' probable starting pitchers for the Dallas Baptist game junior right-hander Matthew Reckling (2-0, 2.41). Rice's probable rotation for the Louisiana Tech series will be announced at a later time.
- Veteran Matthew Reckling shares the team lead with four starts this season, facing the likes of Stanford, USC, Kentucky and Florida International. On Feb. 21 he earned the first C-USA Pitcher of the Week award for the 2011 season on the strength of a sterling outing vs. nationally-ranked Stanford. Against the Cardinal he scattered four hits and held the Pac-10 power scoreless for a career-long 6.0 innings. The following week against USC he struck out a career-high seven batters, but left after 4.0 frames with a no-decision. That season-high didn't last very long because in his next start (Mar. 9), the Houston native from Kinkaid High School then fanned nine in 6.0 innings for a victory against FIU. The nine Ks was the most since Mike Ojala struck out nine in the 2010 NCAA Regional win over Louisiana (June 6)... Reckling is second on the staff in strikeouts with 25, and averages an eye-opening 12.1 Ks per-nine innings... His next start would be his ninth as an Owl. His all-time Rice record in 34 appearances is 5-3.
- Dallas Baptist announced its probable starting pitcher as senior right-hander Jared Stafford (3-1, 2.76).
Previous Outing: "The Chase Is On!" Owls Top UCSB Sunday At AT&T Park
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sophomore right-hander Chase McDowell fired a complete game four-hitter and the Owls' offense rallied for runs in each of the last two innings to pace the Rice baseball team to a 2-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara in the finale of the Cal Baseball Classic presented by Safeway, May 13 at AT&T Park in San Francisco... With the game deadlocked 1-1 moving into the bottom of the ninth, junior Daniel GonzalesLuna singled near the left field line and freshman Keenan Cook bunted for a base hit. The Owls loaded the bases with a hit batsman and with one away, Michael Ratterree's sacrifice fly to right scored GonzalesLuna's winning run and a 2-1 final... The rally capped a comeback after the Blue & Gray fell behind 1-0 in the latter stages of the contest. Both McDowell and UCSB starter Greg Davis were locked in to a scoreless duel for the first six innings... McDowell had allowed only three baserunners through the first six innings, and all three were in fact in the top of the second. One runner was caught stealing and a pair of fly outs ended the threat. The right-hander from College Station proceeded to retire the next 13 in a row before UCSB was the first to score in the top of the seventh... Gaucho Sean Williams led off with a single, and a walk and hit batsman loaded the bases. The Owls turned a 5-4-3 double play to erase two, but a run came home on the play. McDowell worked out of the inning and his teammates on offense soon came to his aid... The Owls tied the contest in the bottom of the eighth. Anthony Rendon led off with a double to the right field corner. He moved to third on a text-book bunt for a base hit by Craig Manuel and scored on a UCSB wild pitch to make it a 1-1 game. McDowell and the Owls had some work left in the ninth to get the winning result. Sean Williams led off with a triple to the corner in right field. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away and no outs, the Owls right-hander struck out the next batter, induced a pop to shortstop behind third base, and a ground out to get out of the inning. The stage was set for Rice's rally in the bottom of the ninth. McDowell notched his second win of the season and his first complete game at the collegiate level. He scattered four hits and a walk and struck out four.
Versatile McDowell
Chase McDowell had a career-best outing on the mound Sunday (Mar. 13), but his pitching is only part of the story. The College Station, Tex., native is also a .286 hitter with two starts in left field this season. He hit a three-run homer against Lamar and owns a .714 slugging percentage.
Rice 12th In Average Home Attendance (Mar. 14)
Rice baseball is averaging a steady 3,567 fans per home game. That's the 12th-highest total in the country as of Mar. 14. Here are the early national attendance leaders.
1. LSU 10,745 (16 games)
2. Ole Miss 7,833 (14 games)
3. South Carolina 7,348 (11 games)
4. Arkansas 7,216 (11 games)
5. Texas 6,265 (11 games)
6. Mississippi State 5,663 (14 games)
7. Clemson 4,901 (10 games)
8. Florida State 4,658 (12 games)
9. TCU 4,454 (11 games)
10. Florida 3,866 (13 games)
11. Alabama 3,760 (12 games)
12. Rice 3,567 (9 games)
Rice Now 17th In Total Home Attendance (Mar. 14)
Rice has drawn more than 32,000 fans to Reckling Park through March 9 (the first nine home games of the season). The Owls are now 17th in the nation in total home attendance.
The Long & Short of It
The Owls played one of the longest games of the college baseball season this year with a 15-inning affair on March 12 against California at AT&T Park, home of the world champion San Francisco Giants. The extra-inning marathon was the Owls' longest game by innings dating back to Wayne Graham's first Rice season in 1992. It was also the program's longest game by time (four hours, 33 minutes) dating back to 1996. The note within in the note is that the Owls have also already had the shortest game by time in the Wayne Graham era: a one-hour, 45-minute (1:45) game against Texas A&M on March 5 that beat a 1:49 game in 1997 by four minutes.
Pac-10 East
If you need any insight into Pac-10 baseball just ask Rice. The Owls have already played three games against Stanford and USC, two at Arizona and one on the road against Cal. Rice owns a winning 5-4 ledger against the rugged Pac-10 conference.
Most Homers In A Major League Park This Season
When the Owls were at AT&T Park over the weekend, sophomore second baseman Michael Ratterree hit his third home run of the season to tie for the team lead. Ratterree has already homered in two major league parks this season, including a round-tripper against Kentucky at Minute Maid Park on March 4.
This & That
Matthew Reckling had nine strikeouts in the Mar. 9 start against FIU. The last Owl to reach double-digit strikeouts in a game was Mike Ojala, who fanned 12 against UAB on May 21, 2010. "O" also struck out 10 East Carolina hitters on April 24 of last seson... In the extra-inning game against Cal, first baseman J.T. Chargois recorded a total of 19 defensive put outs. Chargois' total is only three off the school record of 21 set back in 1948... The Owls had four two-out hits against UCSB, the most by the team in seven games (5 vs. Kentucky on Mar. 4)... For the fashion Dynamo out there, Rice is 4-3 in its all-white uniforms, 4-1 in the pinstripes and 2-4 in the all-gray.
Best Opening Weekend In Reckling Park History
The Stanford series proved to be the best-attended opening weekend in Reckling Park history. Here's how some other opening weekends have added-up. (Many of the previous opening weekends were in a tournament format against three different opponents.)
Year, 1st Weekend Total (Average)
1. 2011 - 12,182 (4,060)
2. 2009 - 10,950 (3,650)
3. 2004 - 10,117 (3,372)
4. 2010 - 9,198 (3,066)
5. 2001 - 8,885 (2,961)
Career Longball Leaders
As the 2010 national player of the year and a unanimous 2011 preseason All-America selection, junior third baseman Anthony Rendon has both the eye of the media covering college baseball, and the full-attention opposition. It seemed it was only going to be a matter of time before he broke into the Rice top ten for career home runs, and he enters his junior year already in the top three. The junior standout from nearby Lamar High School has two players in front of him who also happen to be some of the most prominent players in Rice baseball history. Rice's top ten career home run hitters are as follows:
1. 67, Lance Berkman (1995-97)
2. 59, Bubba Crosby (1996-98)
3. 49, Anthony Rendon (2009-current)
4. 43, Jose Cruz Jr. (1993-95)
5. 42, Eric Arnold (1999-2002)
T 6. 39, Jay Knoblauh, (1985-88)
T 6. 39, Aaron Luna (2006-2008)
8. 37, Damon Thames (1998-99)
9. 33, Jacques Landry (1995-96)
10. 32, Enrique Cruz (2001-03)
Sign Up For "Dollars For Dingers"
Owl fans are encouraged to support Rice Athletics by signing up for the 2011 edition of the Dollars for Dingers program. Signing up on-line at this link is easy and secure... for Dingers is a fun way to support Rice student-athletes. The popular program ties the total number of Owl home runs hit during the season to a financial contribution from our fans. Last year, participants in the Dollars for Dingers program contributed more than $30,000 to the Owl Club Scholarship Fund supporting all of Rice's student-athletes... Rice invites fans to make your pledge today as the Owls try to eclipse last year's home run total of 96. The Development Office will keep track of the count all the way through the College World Series, and let fans know their gift amount at the end of the season. Every pledge of $2 or more qualifies participants for a special souvenir... The Rice baseball team will again be swinging for the fences this year. On behalf of the student-athletes who benefit from your generosity, Rice sends its deepest appreciation and hopes the wind is blowing our way each time the Owls are up to bat!
"At Flex Packs" Now Available
Owl Single game tickets for the 2011 Rice baseball season are now available through the At Bat Flex Packs, the Rice Ticket office announced... The Flex Packs are a convenient and economic way for fans to purchase tickets of their choice, including on-line purchases. The Flex Packs are available in four options; the single, double, triple and home run. Here's what they deliver:
Single - eight tickets for $60
Double - 12 tickets for $80
Triple - 16 tickets for $100
Home Run - 20 tickets for $120
Flex Pack fans will be sent vouchers that can be redeemed for printed tickets at the Rice ticket office or at the Reckling Park ticket window the day of the game. The vouchers may be used all at one game, or spread out over several games. For example, with the Single Pack, a fan and a friend can go to four games, bring a group of eight to one game, or get one ticket to eight different games, etc.... Fans are encouraged to specify the games they would like to attend when they order online or by phone. Otherwise, fans will receive vouchers that can be redeemed during ticket office business hours or at Reckling Park on the day of a game while supplies last... Tickets purchased with the Flex Packs will be in Concourse 2 at Reckling Park, with the exception of games against Texas A&M (April 12) and the University of Houston (March 23 & 29), which will be general admission... For more information, call the Rice Ticket Office at 713-522-OWLS. Link directly to Rice Ticket Page.
Kubitza Named Most Outstanding Player of College Classic
HOUSTON - With freshman right-hander Austin Kubitza leading the way as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 Houston College Classic, four Owls were named to the All-Tournament team it was announced on the final day of the tournament at Minute Maid Park on March 6. Joining Kubitza as Owls to earn All-Tournament honors are freshman Shane Hoelscher (3B), sophomore Michael Ratterree (2B) and junior Anthony Rendon (DH). Rice, Baylor and Utah all had 2-1 records at the Classic. The full all-tournament team and the weekend statistics of the honorees are listed below:
C John Cannon, Houston .375 (3x8), 2B, 3B, 4RBI, BB
1B C.J. Cron, Utah .556 (5x9), 2BB, 2HB, 3RBI
2B Michael Ratterree, Rice .250 (3x12), 3R, BB, HR, 2RBI
3B Shane Hoelscher, Rice .454 (5x11), 2R, BB, 2RBI, SB
SS Landis Ware, Baylor .700 (7x10), 2R, 2B, 3RBI, 2BB
OF Brian Adams, Kentucky .333 (4x12), 2B, 2RBI
OF Tyler Naquin, Texas A&M .286 (4x14), 2R, 2B, 3B, HR, 6RBI
OF Jake Runte, Houston .454 (5x11), 3R, BB, 2B, RBI, SB
DH Anthony Rendon, Rice .454 (5x11), 3R, 2BB, 2 2B, HR, 2RBI, 2HBP
P Rick Anton, Utah 1-0, 7.0IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 8SO
P Austin Kubitza, Rice 1-0, 9.0IP, 6H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 7SO
P John Stilson, Texas A&M 0-0, 6.0IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 10SO
P Logan Verrett, Baylor 1-0, 6.2IP, 7H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 7SO
Rice Baseball Picked For Seven Televised Games This Season
HOUSTON - Rice baseball is slated to have seven of its regular season games televised, Conference USA and Rice Athletics Director Rick Greenspan announced. With a winning tradition and a fan-and-TV-friendly Reckling Park as its home stadium, the Owls are again a favorite for live televised broadcasts. CBS Sports Network (formerly CBS College Sports - CBSC), a national leader in televising a host of collegiate sporting events, will nationally televise Rice's May 19 road game against Southern Miss. The contest is a rematch of the same two teams that a year ago met in the Conference USA Championship Final. Six games are regional telecasts on Comcast Sports Southwest (CSS) that have potential for wider distribution. Three of the CSS games will be played at Reckling Park. All five games of the Owls' annual season-long series against crosstown rival Houston will be broadcast on CSS. Rice's April 12 home game against longtime foe Texas A&M is now a CSS game.
The C-USA Favorites
IRVING, Tex. - With returning National Player of the Year Anthony Rendon tabbed as the 2011 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, along with fellow Owls Jeremy Rathjen and Taylor Wall selected as preseason all-conference honorees, the Rice baseball team was picked to finish first in the league in a head coaches poll, the C-USA office announced... Rice, East Carolina and Southern Miss all had three preseason honorees, sharing the most of any school in the annual coaches' survey... Already a unanimous preseason All-America selection, the C-USA coaches voted Rendon as the favorite to win what would be his third C-USA Player of the Year Award in as many seasons. The Owls' junior third baseman became the first freshman to win the C-USA player of the year award in 2009, and then just the second player in league history to earn the honor twice when he won it again in 2010. A year ago Rendon batted .394 and ranked among the NCAA leaders in home runs (26), RBI (85) and slugging percentage (.801). The Houston native from nearby Lamar High School was named the recipient of the 2010 Howser Trophy as the National Player of the Year... Junior outfielder Jeremy Rathjen earned second team all-conference honors after a solid sophomore season in 2010. A year ago Rathjen batted a steady .317 with 13 home runs. The local standout from Memorial High School drove-in 69 runs and scored 52 times in 57 games played... Taylor Wall is a left-handed pitcher who earned second-team all-Conference USA accolades in 2010. Wall went 5-5 with a 4.45 ERA in 15 starts. The Houston native from Westside High School finished among the C-USA leaders in starts, innings pitched (85.0) and strikeouts (61). He held all opponents to a composite .233 batting average.
2011 CONFERENCE USA PRESEASON BASEBALL AWARDS
(as selected by C-USA's head coaches)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Rice (6)
2. Southern Miss (2)
3. East Carolina
4. UCF (1)
5. Tulane
6. Memphis
7. Houston
8. Marshall
9. UAB
(first place votes in parentheses)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Anthony Rendon, Rice (Junior, Third Baseman)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Todd McInnis, Southern Miss (Senior, RHP)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P, Seth Maness, Sr., East Carolina
P, Todd McInnis, Sr., Southern Miss
P, Taylor Wall, Jr., Rice
RP, Collin Cargill, Sr., Southern Miss
C, Victor Gomez, Jr., Marshall
IF, Garrett Cannizaro, So., Tulane
IF, Anthony Rendon, Jr., Rice
IF, Corey Thompson, Jr., East Carolina
IF, B.A. Vollmuth, Jr., Southern Miss
IF, Chad Zurcher, Jr., Memphis
OF, Jamal Austin, Jr., UAB
OF, Drew Martinez, Jr., Memphis
OF, Trent Whitehead, Sr., East Carolina
DH/UT, Jeremy Rathjen, Jr., Rice
Winningest Teams of The 2000's
(Since the beginning of the 2000 season)
Team Yrs. Won Lost Tied Pct.
1. Florida State 11 552 194 1 .740
2. Rice 11 534 185 0 .743
3. Texas 11 529 202 1 .723
4. South Carolina 11 521 217 0 .706
5. Wichita State 11 500 236 0 .679
6. North Carolina 11 497 212 1 .701
7. Cal St. Fullerton 11 488 213 0 .696
8. Coastal Carolina 11 487 200 0 .709
9. Georgia Tech 11 484 201 1 .699
10. LSU 11 481 232 4 .674
11. Clemson 11 481 241 1 .666
12. Miami (Fla.) 11 477 210 3 .693
13. Oral Roberts 11 476 187 0 .716
14. Nebraska 11 455 225 2 .662
15. Tulane 11 454 231 2 .662
16. Arizona State 11 449 186 2 .706
17. East Carolina 11 447 232 2 .658
18. Notre Dame 11 443 224 4 .663
19. Stanford 11 442 237 2 .651
20 Mississippi 11 434 252 1 .632
21. Florida 11 433 256 2 .628
22. TCU 11 424 247 0 .625
23. Southern Miss 11 421 237 2 .639
24. Virginia 11 421 248 1 .629
25. Florida Atlantic 11 420 256 0 .621
18-Straight 30-Win Seasons; Lookin' For 19!
Rice has reached the 30-win plateau for 18th-straight seasons. Only five other schools in the country have longer active streaks of having won at least 30 games: Arizona State (48 years), Miami-Fla. (40 years), Clemson and Cal State Fullerton (both 36 years) and Georgia Tech (28).
Postseason Streak Now 16-Straight; Lookin' For 17!
A year ago the Rice baseball program made its 16th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Baseball Championship, which ranks as the fourth-longest active streak in the country. Miami (Fla.) made the field for the 38th consecutive year, extending its own record, followed by Florida State (33) and Cal State Fullerton (19).
Conference Championship Streak Reaches 15-Straight Years
Rice has now won or shared a total of 15-straight conference championships (including either regular season or conference tournament titles) dating back to 1996. The streak covers the Owls' membership in three different leagues beginning with the Southwest Conference, to nine seasons in the Western Athletic Conference (1997-2005) and five Conference USA titles in as many years.
