Fresno State was an unlikely College World Series champion a year ago, and the Bulldogs are ready to take their first swings at an encore.

The lowest-seeded team to win a national title, Fresno State will join the rest of college baseball's Division I teams in opening their seasons Friday. The Bulldogs, trying for a rare repeat, have plenty of competition with LSU, North Carolina and Texas A&M among the talented teams with big expectations.

"I haven't heard anybody on our team saying 'repeat' at this point," Fresno State coach Mike Batesole said. "We've got 23 new guys, and 15 of them are freshmen. We've got Washington at home this weekend and we better put everything we have into that and not get ahead of ourselves."

Batesole's Bulldogs know better. They barely made it into the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed last season and then had to fight off injuries to key players while beating touted teams such as Long Beach State, San Diego and Arizona State before even getting to Omaha. Fresno State, which earned the label "Wonderdogs" by thriving in its underdog status, then knocked off Rice, North Carolina and Georgia at the College World Series.

"The players said, 'We've never been here before and we're going to act like it,'" Batesole recalled. "That was so perfect. And that's what they did, went about it like we just let the sixth graders out for recess."

Despite the surprising run to their first championship, the Bulldogs haven't received much respect in the preseason polls. Their highest ranking is No. 16, and they don't even appear in the Top 25 in one.

"That's stuff that you earn," Batesole said. "There's only one way to answer that, which is to get on the field this weekend and win some games."

Gritty third baseman Tommy Mendonca, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors despite playing with three dislocated fingers on his right hand, is back for the Bulldogs, as are first baseman Alan Ahmady, outfielder Steve Detwiler and shortstop Danny Muno. They'll try to help the Bulldogs become the sixth school to win back-to-back titles.

"The strength of our team is going to be defense," Batesole said, "but the big, glaring, huge weakness is we're going to be very immature and young on the mound."

LSU coach Paul Mainieri had the same assessment of his squad, which is picked preseason No. 1 in at least two national polls.

"Preseason polls are great because they get everybody talking about college baseball, and it's flattering," Mainieri said. "I'm not going to give the normal coach speak and blow it off. I'm excited about it and it's good for our program. That said, it doesn't mean anybody's going to spot us any wins."

The Tigers have perhaps the most balanced and experienced lineup in the nation with slugging outfielder Blake Dean, shortstop D.J. LeMahieu and second baseman Ryan Schimpf leading the way. The key will be replacing the entire weekend rotation, but Mainieri's optimistic a trio of sophomores in Anthony Ranaudo, Austin Ross and Daniel Bradshaw will be able to step up.

"The pitching is going to tell the tale of what we're going to do this year," Mainieri said.

Texas A&M returns a deep pitching staff from a super regional squad, including left-hander Brooks Raley and righty Barret Loux, and relievers Kyle Thebeau and Travis Starling.

"Obviously, we've got quite a bit of pitching back," coach Rob Childress said. "The biggest concern is replacing five hitters that just weren't only in the lineup every day, but were big difference-makers for us."

The Aggies do have power-hitting first baseman Luke Anders and outfielder Kyle Colligan back, and are aware of lofty expectations. They're ranked preseason No. 1 in at least one national poll.

"There's as much parity as there's been in our sport," Childress said. "Our team is just like everyone else's. The 2009 teams haven't done anything yet."

North Carolina has been to three straight College World Series, and the Tar Heels are also ranked No. 1 in one poll.

"Our goal, as always, is to get back (to Omaha) in June, but it's a long way away," coach Mike Fox said. "June will get here when it gets here, so we've just got to start with the first game and go from there."

The Tar Heels have first baseman Dustin Ackley, considered by many as the top all-around hitter in the country, along with a trio of solid right-handers in Alex White, a possible Top-5 draft pick, Matt Harvey and Adam Warren.

Also expected to have big seasons are College World Series runner-up Georgia, Cal State Fullerton, Rice, Texas and Louisville.

Some top players to watch this season include: San Diego State hard-throwing righty Stephen Strasburg, a possible No. 1 overall pick; Louisville slugging third baseman Chris Dominguez; Southern California's slick-fielding shortstop Grant Green; Georgia first baseman Rich Poythress; and Oklahoma State lefty Andrew Oliver.

"College baseball is still probably the best-kept secret in college sports," Mainieri said. "In the region I coach in, the secret has long been out there, but the sport is growing across the country. There's so many teams getting after it with recruiting, new facilities, coaches' salaries. It's making it harder and harder for traditional powers to dominate, and that's a good thing.

"The stronger the game becomes around the country, the more it becomes a truly national sport."