Conference USA announced its 2016 preseason baseball awards on Wednesday, as chosen by the league's 12 head coaches.
Florida Atlantic junior infielder CJ Chatham was selected as the preseason Player of the Year, while Rice senior left-hander Blake Fox was named the preseason Pitcher of the Year.
For the second straight season, Rice was the unanimous favorite to win the league's championship. The Owls have won either the regular season or tournament championship in each of its 10 years as a member of C-USA.
MTSU was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. The Blue Raiders were picked in a similar spot last year, but were in the hunt for a league championship until the final weekend.