NEW ORLEANS-The 2007 Sun Belt Conference pre-season baseball team and poll was released on Tuesday afternoon.  The Ragin’ Cajuns placed four players on the 13-person team, including Hunter Moody who was named the pre-season pitcher of the year. 

The Cajuns’ Moody, Danny Farquhar, Jonathan Lucroy and Devery Van De Keere were all named to the pre-season team. 

As a team, the Ragin’ Cajuns were ranked second in the pre-season poll behind the 2006 regular season and tournament champion Troy. The Cajuns received five first place votes for 114 points and finished one point shy of the Trojans (115). 

The Pre-season Pitcher of the Year honor is just another accolade for Moody, the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year.  The junior from Clinton was named a 2006 and 2007 Roger Clemens Award Nominee for Pitcher of the Year, as well as, to the 2007 Brooks Wallace Watch list for Player of the Year. 

This season Moody was named Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American. 

Last season, he was a Louisville Slugger All-American, ABCA/Rawlings All-American and first team All-South Central Region selection. Moody ranked third on the Cajuns pitching staff with a 2.63 ERA serving as the Friday night starter. Moody earned a total of 12 wins on the season, which ranked 12th in the NCAA.  He was a perfect 7-0 record in conference with a 3.02 ERA.

Farquhar was named pre-season all-conference on the heels of a very successful rookie season.  He tied for first on the Cajuns pitching staff with a 2.17 ERA, which ranked 22nd in the nation.  He began the season as a starter, but moved to the bullpen to add depth to the UL relief. 

Farquhar finished the 2006 season with six wins and four saves. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native recorded 55 strikeouts and allowed just 16 runs in 20 appearances.

Lucroy, a junior catcher from Umatilla, Fla., was named to Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the 2006 season.  He caught for the nation’s 24th ranked pitching staff. 

Lucroy batted .333 and although his average was down from his all-conference freshman year, he had 77 hits on the season, including a career high homeruns, triples, doubles and RBI.  He led team with 68 RBI (which ranked in the top-50 in the NCAA), 12 homeruns, 20 doubles and 141 total bases. Lucroy finished the season with 26 multiple hit games and 20 multiple RBI games, both of which led the team.

Van De Keere was named to the pre-season team after being named a 2006 All-Sun Belt Conference selection.  His .368 batting average led all Cajuns and his .582 slugging percentage was second. 

Van De Keere hit nine homeruns, three triples and six doubles on the season.  He ranked in the top five in nine statistical categories for the Cajuns, including batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, hits, RBI, triples, homeruns, total bases and sacrifice flies.  Van De Keere totaled 22 multiple hit games and 11 multiple RBI games.

The Ragin’ Cajuns kickoff the 2007 season with their annual fan day on Feb. 10.  Gates open at 11 a.m. at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. 

The Cajuns open the season with Nicholls State on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Tigue. 

PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Troy (6)
2. Louisiana-Lafayette (5)
3. South Alabama
4. Florida Atlantic
5. Florida International
6. Middle Tennessee
7. New Orleans
8. Arkansas State
9. Western Kentucky
T-10. UALR
T-10. Louisiana-Monroe
*First place votes in parenthesis*

PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT TEAM
Mickey Storey (FAU, Jr., SP)
Hunter Moody (UL, Jr., SP)
Danny Farquhar (UL, So., RP)
Josh Dew (Troy, RP)
Jonathan Lucroy (UL, Jr., C)
Jeff Cunningham (USA, Jr., 1B)
Johnny Giavotella (UNO, So., 2B)
Ben Soignier (ULM, So., SS)
Devery Van De Keere (UL, Sr., 3B)
Chris Dunn (FIU, Sr., OF)
James McOwen (FIU, Jr., OF)
Ryan Gotcher (UALR, Sr., OF)
Josh Yates (ASU, Sr., DH)

PRESEAON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Josh Dew (Troy, Sr., 1B/RP)

PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Hunter Moody (UL, Jr., SP)

-Ragin’ Cajuns-