2015 Houston Cougars baseball team

2015 Houston Cougars baseball
AAC regular season champions
Houston Regional, 1–2
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 23
Record	43–20 (16–8 The American)
Head coach	Todd Whitting (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Frank Anderson (3rd season) Trip Couch (5th season) Mike Taylor (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cougar Field
Seasons ←  2014 2016 →

2015 American Athletic Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
Houston  ‍†‍‍y	16	–	8	–	0		.667			43	–	20	–	0		.683
East Carolina‡y ‍‍‍	15	–	9	–	0		.625			40	–	22	–	0		.645
Tulane  ‍‍‍y	13	–	11	–	0		.542			35	–	25	–	0		.583
South Florida y ‍‍‍	13	–	11	–	0		.542			34	–	26	–	1		.566
Memphis  ‍‍‍	12	–	12	–	0		.500			37	–	21	–	0		.638
Connecticut  ‍‍‍	11	–	13	–	0		.458			35	–	25	–	0		.583
UCF  ‍‍‍	10	–	14	–	0		.417			31	–	27	–	0		.534
Cincinnati  ‍‍‍	6	–	18	–	0		.250			15	–	41	–	0		.268
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 2015 [1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2015 Houston Cougars baseball team represented the University of Houston during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cougars played their home games at Cougar Field as a member of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by head coach Todd Whitting, in his fifth season at Houston.

Previous season

In 2014, the Cougars finished the season 3rd in the American Athletic Conference with a record of 48–16, 14–9 in conference play. They went on to win the 2014 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament. In the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, the Cougars upset LSU to win the Baton Rouge Regional, before falling to Texas in two games in the Austin Super Regional.

Personnel

Roster

2015 Houston Cougars baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Previous school Home town 37 C Colin Butkiewicz R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Greendale HS Milwaukee, WI 31 C Jacob Campbell R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Alvin HS Alvin, TX 19 RHP Taylor Cobb R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Austin HS Blinn College Houston, TX 36 INF Chase Cryer R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Fr Belton HS Belton, TX 27 INF Derek Dickerson R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 269 lb (122 kg) Fr Cypress Ranch HS Cypress, TX 5 INF Garrett Domingue L/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr Klein HS Spring, TX 33 RHP Kyle Dowdy R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Francis Parker School Hawaii Orange Coast College San Diego, CA 51 RHP Micah Edwards R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kingwood Park HS Kingwood, TX 47 LHP Aaron Fletcher L/L 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Langham Creek HS Cypress, TX 23 OF Ashford Fulmer R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Cypress Ranch HS Cypress, TX 21 RHP Aaron Garza R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Ball HS Galveston, TX 1 INF Robert Grilli L/R 5 ft 7 in(1.7 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr St. Michael's College School Salt Lake Community College Toronto, ON 32 OF Daniel Halevy R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr St. John's School Houston, TX 44 INF Connor Hollis R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Lamar High School Arlington, TX 43 RHP Braeden Holub R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 292 lb (132 kg) Fr Tomball HS Tomball, TX 25 INF Chris Iriart R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Chino Hills HS Orange Coast College Chino Hills, CA 24 INF Corey Julks R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Clear Brook HS Friendswood, TX 14 RHP Marshall Kasowski L/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Oak Ridge HS The Woodlands, TX 13 RHP Andrew Lantrip R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Livingston HS Livingston, TX 26 RHP Jake Lemoine R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Bridge City HS Bridge City, TX 29 LHP Matt Locus L/L 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Katy HS Katy, TX 38 RHP David Longville R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Capistrano Valley HS Hawaii Orange Coast College Mission Viejo, CA 40 OF Gino Marucci R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr University HS Baton Rouge, LA 28 RHP Bubba Maxwell R/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Vidor HS Lamar Panola College Vidor, TX 20 INF Justin Montemayor L/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Anderson HS Austin, TX 17 RHP Austin Moore R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Mountain View HS Tucson, AZ 30 C George Pappas R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Memorial HS Houston, TX 2 OF Michael Pyeatt L/R 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Brazoswood HS Lake Jackson, TX 15 RHP Chris Reed R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Aledo HS Aledo, TX 7 C Ian Rice R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Madison Academy Chipola College Huntsville, AL 12 RHP Jared Robinson R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Monterey HS Midland College Lubbock, TX 41 LHP Seth Romero L/L 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 242 lb (110 kg) Fr Columbia HS West Columbia, TX 35 INF Jordan Stading L/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Second Baptist School Katy, TX 34 OF Kyle Survance L/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Jersey Village HS Jersey Village, TX 4 OF Zac Taylor R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Downers Grove South HS Downers Grove, IL 8 INF Josh Vidales S/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr La Porte HS La Porte, TX 18 RHP Patrick Weigel R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Jr St. Bonaventure HS Pacific Oxnard College Ventura, CA 42 INF Michael Wisz R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Lemont HS Lemont, IL 10 INF Connor Wong R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Pearland HS Pearland, TX	Head coach Todd Whitting Assistant coach(es) Frank Anderson Trip Couch Mike Taylor Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 4, 2014

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Houston	Alma mater
Todd Whitting	Head coach	5	University of Houston (1995)
Trip Couch	Assistant coach	5	University of Louisiana at Lafayette (1991)
Frank Anderson	Assistant coach	3	Emporia State University (1983)
Mike Taylor	Assistant coach	2	Prairie View A&M University (1997)

Season

February

The Cougars opened their season with a three-game series against Minnesota. The Cougars, ranked 8th in the nation, swept the Golden Gophers over the three game series. Houston outscored Minnesota 14–1 over the first two games of the series, and won the third game on a walk-off to complete the series sweep. ^[2] The Cougars also had an 11–5 win over Texas Southern the following Wednesday (after it was pushed back from Tuesday).

On the second weekend of the season, the Cougars hosted 30th ranked Alabama. After winning the first two games of the series, the Crimson Tide salvaged a win in game three, thanks to 14 hits. ^[3] On February 25, the Cougars took their second straight loss, this time on the road to Texas State.

The Cougars closed out the month with a four-game series against Columbia. Houston was subject to a major upset in the second and fourth games of the series and ended up splitting the four game set with Columbia, the two time defending Ivy League champions. ^[4] The losses, coupled with the loss to Texas State earlier in the week, caused the Cougars to drop to #12 in two of the major polls.

Schedule

Legend
	Houston win
	Houston loss
	Postponement
Bold	Houston team member

2015 Houston Cougars baseball game log
Regular season
February Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record February 13 Minnesota #8 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 9–1 Lantrip (1–0) Meyer (0–1) 2,132 1–0 – February 14 Minnesota #8 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 5–0 Lemoine (1–0) Sawyer (0–1) Romero (1) 2,003 2–0 – February 15 Minnesota #8 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 5–4 Maxwell (1–0) Thonvold (0–1) 1,797 3–0 – February 18 Texas Southern #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 11–5 Longville (1–0) Konarik (1–1) Cobb (1) 1,442 4–0 – February 20 #30 Alabama #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 3–1 Lantrip (2–0) Guilbeau (1–1) Romero (2) 1,989 5–0 – February 21 #30 Alabama #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 14–9 Maxwell (2–0) Burrows (0–1) 2,463 6–0 – February 22 #30 Alabama #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX L 3–8 Bramblett (2–0) Garza (0–1) 1,883 6–1 – February 25 at Texas State #6 Bobcat Ballpark • San Marcos, TX L 6–7 Whitter (1–0) Longville (1–1) 1,316 6–2 – February 27 Columbia #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 3–0 Lantrip (3–0) Thanopoulos (0–1) Romero (3) 1,279 7–2 – February 28 Columbia #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX L 4–5 (13) Barr (1–0) Robinson (0–1) Gannaway (1) 1,772 7–3 – February 28 Columbia #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 8–7 Weigel (1–0) Ratner (0–1) 1,772 8–3 –
March Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record March 1 Columbia #6 Cougar Field • Houston, TX L 7–12 Wiest (1–0) Romero (0–1) Marks (1) 1,216 8–4 – March 3 Houston Baptist #12 Cougar Field • Houston, TX L 1–2 Jones (1–1) Longville (1–2) Garza (1) 1,231 8–5 – March 6 vs. #3 LSU #12 Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX L 2–4 Poche' (4–0) Lantrip (3–1) Stallings (6) 10,651 8–6 – March 7 vs. #11 Texas A&M #12 Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX L 0–6 Long (3–0) Lemoine (1–1) 16,276 8–7 – March 8 vs. Hawaii #12 Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX W 8–6 Romero (1–1) Torres-Costa (0–3) 10,866 9–7 – March 10 at Sam Houston State Don Sanders Stadium • Huntsville, TX W 17–7 Dowdy (1–0) Bisacca (1–1) 803 10–7 – March 13 Buffalo Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 9–1 Lantrip (4–1) Hartz (0–3) 1,355 11–7 – March 14 Buffalo Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 9–3 Weigel (2–0) Magovney (1–3) 1,462 12–7 – March 15 Buffalo Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 5–0 Cobb (1–0) McGee (1–1) 1,308 13–7 – March 17 #15 Rice Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 8–3 Romero (2–1) Stephens (1–1) Garza (1) 2,789 14–7 – March 20 at New Mexico Lobo Field • Albuquerque, NM W 6–5 Lantrip (5–1) Boardman (4–1) Garza (2) 769 15–7 – March 21 at New Mexico Lobo Field • Albuquerque, NM W 6–5 Dowdy (2–0) Stevens (1–1) Garza (3) 982 16–7 – March 22 at New Mexico Lobo Field • Albuquerque, NM W 8–7 Romero (3–1) Estrella (0–1) 463 17–7 – March 24 Lamar #16 Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 6–5 (10) Moore (1–0) Oquendo (0–1) 1,502 18–7 – March 27 at #8 UCF #16 Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL L 2–9 Finfrock (6–0) Lantrip (5–1) 1,397 18–8 0–1 March 28 at #8 UCF #16 Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL W 7–5 Dowdy (3–0) Howell (4–2) Romero (4) 1,555 19–8 1–1 March 29 at #8 UCF #16 Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL L 3–4 Rodgers (4–0) Romero (3–2) 1,281 19–9 1–2 March 31 at Baylor #14 Baylor Ballpark • Waco, TX W 11–0 Longville (2–2) Kay (3–2) 2,104 20–9 –
April Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record April 2 at Memphis #14 FedExPark • Memphis, TN W 3–2 Lantrip (6–2) Wallingford (3–3) 712 21–9 2–2 April 3 at Memphis #14 FedExPark • Memphis, TN L 6–14 Toscano (3–1) Dowdy (3–1) 912 21–10 2–3 April 4 at Memphis #14 FedExPark • Memphis, TN L 2–6 Alexander (4–0) Romero (3–2) Blackwood (10) 829 21–11 2–4 April 7 at Louisiana–Lafayette #25 M. L. Tigue Moore Field • Lafayette, LA L 5–6 Marks (2–0) Garza (0–2) 3,885 21–12 – April 10 Tulane #25 Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 11 Tulane #25 Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 12 Tulane #25 Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 14 at Rice Reckling Park • Houston, TX April 17 Cincinnati Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 18 Cincinnati Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 19 Cincinnati Cougar Field • Houston, TX April 21 at McNeese State Cowboy Diamond • Lake Charles, LA April 24 at South Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 25 at South Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 26 at South Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 28 Sam Houston State Cougar Field • Houston, TX
May Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record May 1 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 2 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 3 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 5 McNeese State Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 8 East Carolina Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 9 East Carolina Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 10 East Carolina Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 12 vs. Rice Constellation Field • Sugar Land, TX May 14 Connecticut Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 15 Connecticut Cougar Field • Houston, TX May 16 Connecticut Cougar Field • Houston, TX
Postseason
AAC Tournament Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AACT Record May 19 Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL May 19 Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL
All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

Rankings

See also: 2015 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'	11	11*	11	13	RV	25	19	20	22	—	25	22	21	21	18	15	23
Baseball America	3	3	3	8	24	22	17	20	—	—	—	—	25	19	14	13
Collegiate Baseball^	8	6	6	12	—	—	16	14	25	28	28	27	28	26	23	19	—	—	—
NCBWA†	7	6	6	12	21	21	19	20	22	25	22	20	21	21	18	16	23	23

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Awards and honors

Jake Lemoine

• Louisville Slugger Pre-season Third team All-American ^[5]
• Perfect Game USA Pre-season Second team All-American ^[6]
• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]
• Baseball America Pre-season Second team All-American ^[8]

Aaron Garza

• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]

Andrew Lantrip

• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]

Jared Robinson

• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]

Connor Hollis

• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]

Kyle Survance

• Pre-season All-AAC ^[7]

References

1. "2015 Baseball Standings". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
2. "UH walks off with opening series sweep". khou.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
3. "Alabama baseball pulls away vs. Houston". tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
4. "Baseball earns two historic wins over No. 6 Houston". columbiaspectator.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
5. "NCAA Div. I Pre-Season All-Americans". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper . Retrieved December 24, 2014.
6. "Preseason College All-Americans". Perfect Game USA. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
7. "2015 American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll And Awards". College Baseball Daily. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
8. "2015 College Preview: All-America Teams". Baseball America. Retrieved February 2, 2015.