COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Aggies were selected as one of the favorites to make a return trip to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series on Tuesday as they were picked No. 7 in Baseball America's Preseason Top 25.
Texas A&M was the highest ranked of three Big 12 schools in the poll, joining No. 13 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma. Future conferencemate Florida topped the rankings which featured six schools from the Southeastern Conference, including the Gators, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 8 LSU, No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 22 Ole Miss.
Non-conference play this season will see the Aggies face an additional trio of ranked opponents that appeared in the poll: No. 6 Rice, No. 15 TCU and No. 25 Cal State Fullerton.
In December, Collegiate Baseball selected the Aggies, who return 16 letterwinners from last season's College World Series squad, as the country's sixth-ranked team in its preseason poll.
Texas A&M baseball officially begins its 2012 campaign on Feb. 17 when it welcomes Illinois-Chicago to College Station for a three-game series in the newly-renovated Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.