Ball State University Athletics
Baseball America Names Ball State One Of Top 64 Programs
January 31, 2007 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball program ranks as one of the top 64 programs in the nation over the past eight years, according to the most recent Baseball America.
The magazine's 2007 College Preview edition includes a ranking of Baseball America's 64 most successful programs since the NCAA Baseball Tournament expanded in 1999 to include 64 teams.
The ranking takes into account various markers of success, including winning percentage, appearances at each level of the NCAA Tournament, number of All-Americans, number of players selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft and number of former players to play in the major leagues. Varying amounts of points are awarded based on success in each category.
Ball State accumulated 58 total points over the past eight seasons to rank 62nd since the expansion of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals own a .618 (283-175) winning percentage since 1999, and the program made its first NCAA Regional appearance in 2006.
Ball State has had three players named Baseball America All-Americans in the past eight years: Brad Snyder (2003 first team), Bryan Bullington (2002 first team) and Larry Bigbie (1999 second team).
During that time period, the Cardinals have had 10 players drafted in the first 10 rounds of the draft: Ben Snyder (2006 fourth round), Joe Ness (2005 sixth round), Brad Snyder (2003 first round), Bullington (2002 first round), Luke Hagerty (2002 first round), Paul Henry (2002 seventh round), Justin Wechsler (2001 fourth round), Jason Hickman (2000 eighth round), Bigbie (1999 first round) and Jonathan Kessick (1999 third round).
Of those players, Bigbie, Bullington, Brad Snyder and Wechsler have each spent time on Major League Baseball rosters.
In the Baseball America rankings, Ball State came in just ahead of Coastal Carolina (No. 63) and Vanderbilt (No. 64). The Cardinals will play both of those teams this season in addition to six other schools on the 64-team list: Notre Dame (No. 20), Oklahoma State (No. 29), Wake Forest (No. 36), Florida Atlantic (No. 41), Ohio State (No. 46) and Kent State (No. 60).
Ball State and Kent State were the only two teams from the Mid-American Conference to make the list.
Texas topped the rankings with a total of 321 points. Miami (319), Stanford (314), Cal State Fullerton (306) and Rice (303) rounded out the top five.
