Arizona State enters new season with lofty expectations

Last year served as the breakthrough. This year must be the arrival.

Willie Bloomquist's fourth season as the head coach of the Sun Devils saw the university's most accomplished program get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years, and the first since Bloomquist took over.

Arizona State went 1-2, getting shellacked by both UCLA and UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional, but it still signified meaningful momentum for the program. That led to Bloomquist earning a contract extension, though he and athletics director Graham Rossini both understand the expectations are beyond just reaching the tournament.

Now, those expectations are manifesting with just days ahead of the season opener.

The Big 12's preseason poll saw the Sun Devils picked to finish fourth. They received the same prognostication from Baseball America's preseason outlook. The outlet's preseason Top 25 omitted Arizona State, but did note that they were one of the last teams to miss the cut.

There is a lot of optimism around the program, thanks in large part to the work Bloomquist did in the offseason, especially in the transfer portal. They pulled in one of the top transfer classes this year, including some talented pitching.

That's big, as the pitching staff has consistently been an issue in the Bloomquist era. The university's decision to allot the full 34 scholarships now allowed in baseball was touted by Bloomquist as a huge move at the conclusion of last season. So far, he's delivered on it, adding a long list of accomplished arms.

Still, though, many need to see it actually pay off on the mound before declaring Arizona State - the program that's sent more players to the Show than anyone else - to be back. But these preseason rankings indicate that, if the pitching staff lives up to the hype, it won't be long before Arizona State is the talk of the town.