COUNTY CONNECTION:

NCAA Baseball

The Baseball American Division I college baseball top 25, featuring the players on their rosters with Orange County connections:

1. Stanford

Freshman Ryan Garko (Servite) will be a reserve catcher and outfielder after batting .347 during fall scrimmages.

2. Cal State Fullerton

Chris Beck (El Dorado), a senior right fielder who led the Titans with a .408 batting average and drove in 75 runs, and David Bacani (Los Alamitos), a junior second baseman and preseason third-team All-American who batted .332 in 1999, return as offensive leaders. Two others competing for starting spots are senior catcher Craig Patterson (El Dorado), who batted .286 last spring, and freshman shortstop Mike Martinez (Katella). George Carralejo (Kennedy), a junior, returns to the bullpen, where he was third on the team last year in relief appearances. Brett Kay (Mater Dei), a sophomore, will be a backup at catcher, and the Titan freshman class includes pitcher Nick Lovato (Mater Dei) and infielder Jason Corapci (Canyon).

3. Alabama

4. UCLA

Garrett Atkins (University), a junior who was second on the team with a .375 batting average last spring, returns to third base after playing first base last year. Pushing him for playing time is Randall Shelley (Santa Margarita), who batted .202 last year as a freshman.

5. Miami

6. Houston

7. Florida State

8. Louisiana State

Brad Cresse (Marina) returns for his senior season, after a broken finger in the preseason last year contributed to the catcher’s home run total dropping to 10 from 29 as a sophomore.

9. Georgia Tech

10. Baylor

11. USC

After posting a 6-1 record as a freshman two years ago, Rik Currier (Capistrano Valley) tailed off to 5-7 last year, but opened his junior season with an 8-1 victory over Pepperdine Sunday. Brian Barre (Pacifica), a sophomore, is competing for the starting job in center field after batting .240 as a freshman reserve. Another sophomore, Peter Montrenes (Ocean View), is a top reliever.

12. Auburn

13. Wichita State

14. Rice

John Lukin (Trabuco Hills/Orange Coast) is expected to move into the starting lineup as a senior catcher after batting .279 as a reserve last year.

15. Texas

After a successful summer stint with Team USA, Phil Seibel (Cypress), a junior left-hander, is expected to move from the bullpen to the starting rotation. He pitched 17 innings in 11 games for the national team during its summer tour, striking out 21 and posting a 2.12 ERA. Tommy Nicholson (Esperanza), a junior, returns at second base after batting .315 with 42 RBIs last spring.

16. Tulane

17. Loyola Marymount

Freshman Chad Lindholm (Los Alamitos), an all-Sunset League selection, will look for playing time on the infield behind returning starters Tommy Perez at third base and Anthony Angel at second base.

18. Florida

19. Arizona

Tony Milo (Laguna Hills), a senior left-hander, emerged late last season as the Wildcat closer, with a 3-2 record and four saves, and is expected to fill the same role this spring. “He pitched really well this fall,” Coach Jerry Stitt said, “and looked as good as he looked when he first got here.”

20. Notre Dame

After starting 33 of the Irish’s 61 games last year, batting .200, sophomore Matt Strickroth (Santa Margarita) figures to be a regular at first base and in the outfield.

21. Wake Forest

22. Arizona State

23. Central Florida

24. Clemson

25. South Carolina

Brandon Pack (Esperanza/Cypress College), a junior catcher, is expected to challenge for playing time after batting .355 during the fall intrasquad schedule.