Less than a full season's work was enough for Jared Alexander to impress Western Athletic Conference coaches.

The senior right-hander was named the conference's preseason pitcher of the year as voted on by the league's coaches.

Hawaii was picked to finish fourth. Defending national champion Fresno State, winners of the last three WAC titles, was chosen to finish first, followed by San Jose State and Nevada.

Alexander went 7-3 with a 3.27 ERA last year before an arm injury forced him to miss his final two starts and the WAC tournament.

Alexander is still making his way back from the injury and won't be ready for the start of the season. He threw off the mound Monday and Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso is hopeful he'll be back in three to four weeks.

“;We're hoping he'll be back then, but the reality is the focus is on getting him healthy for the beginning of the WAC season,”; Trapasso said.

Joining Alexander on the preseason All-WAC team is senior catcher Landon Hernandez and sophomore pitcher Josh Slaats.

Hernandez, who returns for his senior season after being picked in last year's MLB Draft, hit .277 with five home runs and 30 RBIs last year. Slaats, who made eight starts as a freshman, was impressive in the Cape Cod league last summer and is expected to be used out of the bullpen.

Hawaii opens its season Feb. 20 against No. 9 UC Irvine in the first of a four-game series.