The four-time defending California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season and tournament champion Tritons earned one first-place vote and 55 points.

Defending West Region champion Chico State, which shared the CCAA's regular-season crown with UCSD a year ago, each with identical 26-14 league marks, tops the preseason edition of the West Region poll. The Wildcats were chosen No. 1 on five ballots in accumulating 58 points to edge the Tritons out.

The remainder of the poll is made up Western Oregon, the host of the 2012 NCAA West Regional in Keizer, Ore., in third (39 points), followed by California Baptist (38), Dixie State (33), Cal Poly Pomona (30), Sonoma State (29), Cal State L.A. (15), Hawaii Pacific (12) and Cal State San Bernardino (9). Grand Canyon, UCSD's first road opponent in Phoenix, Ariz., in the second week of the regular season (Feb. 8-10), was among four other teams receiving votes.

For individual recognition, Ryan Goodbrand, Danny Susdorf and Garrett Tuck were all selected to the 13-player 2013 NCAA Division II NCBWA Preseason All-West Region First Team. Goodbrand is the Tritons' senior right-handed pitching ace who gained All-America honorable mention in his first year in the program after posting an 11-0 win-loss record with a 2.90 ERA. Susdorf, a fourth-year Triton, led the squad with a .393 batting average while playing a flawless center field and terrorizing opponents on the bases. Tuck is a junior infielder who hit .362 and was an All-West Region and first-team all-conference pick like Goodbrand and Susdorf in 2012.

UCSD and Division II newcomer Cal Baptist boast the most preseason first-team honorees at three each, while the defending Pacific West Conference champion Lancers garnered the most honors with a total of five players placed on the two squads out of 26 in all. Susdorf is the lone two-time postseason NCBWA All-West Region pick among the group as a first-teamer in both 2011 and 2012.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official website at ncbwa.com.

The Tritons host one final exhibition game in the lead-up to the 2013 season, taking on Vanguard University on Tuesday, Jan. 29. First pitch at Triton Ballpark is slated for 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Following that last tune-up, No. 23 UCSD will await No. 20 Colorado Mesa on Opening Night this Friday, Feb. 1, underneath the Triton Ballpark lights at 6 p.m.

-- UCSDtritons.com --