SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Fresh off a West Coast Conference Tournament appearance last season, the San Francisco baseball program was voted to finish fifth in the 2019 WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while returning first team all-WCC players Riley Helland and Riley Ornido were both voted to the All-WCC Preseason Team, as announced Wednesday by the conference office.
 
PICKED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK
 
San Francisco (28-30, 15-12 WCC in 2018) earned 44 points in the poll to finish fifth. Gonzaga – the defending WCC Tournament champion with three straight WCC Tournament appearances and two NCAA Regional showings in the last three years – was voted the preseason favorite with 74 points and five first-place votes. Defending conference champion Pepperdine was second with 66 points.
 
"I'm sure the kids' expectations are to try and finish first, and that's our expectation as a coaching staff, is to try and win the conference," said San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano, now entering his 21st season on The Hilltop. "Fifth is where they feel like we might be, and hopefully we surprise a whole 'lot of people and hopefully we're not surprised by finishing above that.
 
"It is what it is, the rankings and the polls, and you're going to have to go out there and play the games, so it doesn't matter if we were ninth or 10th or we were one or two; we're still going to have to go out and play the games."
 
2016 WCC regular season and tournament champion Saint Mary's finished third in the poll with 65 points and four first-place votes. San Diego rounded out the predicted WCC Tournament field with a fourth-place finish (52 points). BYU was sixth behind the Dons with 41 points and one first-place vote. Loyola Marymount – a 2018 WCC Tournament participant – finished seventh with 37 points. Portland (32), Santa Clara (26) and Pacific (13) rounded out the poll and eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
 
The Dons made their second appearance in the WCC Tournament in 2018 after running out to a 10-1 start in conference play. The Dons would finish fourth in the regular season and boast four all-conference players, two of whom (first teamer Michael Perri and second teamer Thomas Ponticelli) that were drafted in the 2018 MLB First-Year Players Draft.
 
RILEYS REPRESENTING ON THE PRESEASON TEAM
 
Helland is the Dons' top returning bat in 2019. A switch-hitting catcher and infielder, Helland batted .329 with 19 doubles and 34 RBIs while starting all 58 games last season and earning first team all-WCC honors. He led the team with a .398 on-base percentage and was among the Dons' top-three in batting average, slugging (.441), runs (29), hits (73), RBIs, doubles and walks (21). He also boasted a .990 fielding percentage.
 
Ornido was also a first team all-WCC honoree in 2018 while going 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 95 strikeouts – all team bests. He threw a team-high 97 2/3 innings and also limited would-be base stealers to just a 37.5 percent success rate.
 
"Just being recognized by their peers is great for them," said Giarratano. "They're good players. I think everyone knows that Riley Ornido is going to be a tough day for them when they see him on the mound, and I think Riley Helland is going to pose a lot of problems for opposing pitchers as well. A testament to both of them. I know they're going to have a good year and hopefully they can make the people's decision correct."
 
COMING UP
 
San Francisco opens the 2019 season on the road with a three-game series at 2018 NCAA Regional participant San Diego State, starting on Feb. 15. Fans can purchase season tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.

2019 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll

Pl.	Team (1st Place Votes	Pts.
1.	Gonzaga (5)	74
2.	Pepperdine	66
3.	Saint Mary's (4)	65
4.	San Diego	52
5.	San Francisco	44
6.	BYU (1)	41
7.	Loyola Marymount	37
8.	Portland	32
9.	Santa Clara	26
10.	Pacific	13

2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team - Position Players

Name	School	Yr.	Pos.
James Free II	Pacific	Jr.	C
Brock Hale	BYU	Sr.	OF
Cody Hawken	Portland	Sr.	OF
Riley Helland	San Francisco	Sr.	C/IF
Adam Kerner	San Diego	So.	C
Quincy McAfee	Pepperdine	Jr.	IF
Shane McGuire	San Diego	So.	C/IF
Kevin Milam	Saint Mary's	Jr.	IF/RHP
Nick Sogard	Loyola Marymount	Jr.	IF
Ernie Yake	Gonzaga	Jr.	IF

2019 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team - Pitchers

Name	School	Yr.	Pos.
Cooper Chandler	Pepperdine	So.	RHP
Casey Legumina	Gonzaga	Jr.	RHP
Riley Ornido	San Francisco	Jr.	RHP
Jonathan Pendergast	Pepperdine	Sr.	RHP
Ken Waldichuk	Saint Mary's	Jr.	LHP