The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the defending champions of Big Ten baseball, in terms of both the regular season and the Big Ten post-season tournament. Now, according to one prominent source, they are expected to repeat that performance in 2011, despite nobody really knowing for sure where their home games are going to be played.
↵Our friends at Gophers Sports are reporting that Baseball America has chosen the Gophers to repeat as Big Ten champions again this season. They've also been chosen to win the Big Ten by CollegeBaseballMag.com, College Baseball Today, and CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
↵Baseball America also tabbed senior relief pitcher Scott Matyas, junior first baseman Nick O'Shea, and sophomore starting pitcher T.J. Oakes for their pre-season All-Conference Team, with Oakes also being selected as the Big Ten Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
↵The Golden Gophers will start their season with the Big Ten/Big East challenge in Clearwater, Florida starting on Friday. They'll face 23rd-ranked St. John's on Friday, 9th-ranked Connecticut on Saturday, and unranked Louisville on Sunday.
↵(Hat tip to our friends at The Daily Gopher for bringing this story to our attention.)
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