SAN RAMON – With the baseball season less than two weeks away, the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) announced Monday the 12 head coaches' predictions in its annual preseason poll and Cal State Dominguez Hills was picked to finish ninth in the standings.
 
The Toros, under the leadership of third-year head coach Tyler Wright, received 38 points. They begin their season February 8 against California Baptist with 13 letterswinners returning while 14 join the ballclub. They will be led by seniors Nick Suniga, Daryl Donerson and Esteban Ortega, who all three saw much playing time throughout the year last season.
 
In a narrow decision, defending CCAA champions Chico State was picked as the favorite to repeat this year, garnering six first-place votes for 116 points. National runner-up UC San Diego received five first-place votes for 113 points and Cal Poly Pomona got the final first-place vote and was predicted to finish third with 104 points.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (84 points) and Cal State LA (71) round out the top five in the poll.
 
The CCAA Baseball Tournament returns to Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton from May 9-12. Unlike years past, the CCAA will move away from the North-South Division format and will play a 44-game schedule. The conference will take the top six teams into the tournament.
 

2018 CCAA Baseball Preseason Poll
Team	Points (1st-Place Votes)
1. Chico State	116 (6)
2. UC San Diego	113 (5)
3. Cal Poly Pomona	103 (1)
4. Cal State Monterey Bay	84
5. Cal State LA	71
6. Sonoma State	70
7. Stanislaus State	69
8. Cal State East Bay	55
9. Cal State Dominguez Hills	38
T-10. San Francisco State	27
T-10. Cal State San Marcos	27
12. Cal State San Bernardino	18