Ken Knutson can be considered as veteran a coach as anybody in college baseball.

After finishing his 16th year as head coach of the Washington baseball team last season, Knutson — the winningest coach in any sport in UW history — didn’t really think about retiring.

“I’ve got a 9-year-old daughter, so I’ve got to work for a little while,” he said.

So entering his 17th season, it comes as no surprise that he’s eager to get things started with what could be one of the most experienced squads he has coached for UW.

“This is the time to go; it’s a fun time of year,” Knutson said. “I’m really excited about this year’s team.”

While a majority of the players on the 2009 team are either freshmen or sophomores, the Huskies’ returning position players have appeared in a combined 909 games throughout their careers, and the veteran pitching is no slouch either.

With returning boppers like first baseman Troy Scott and outfielder Kyle Conley, and experienced pitchers Jorden Merry and Jason Erickson all expected to start, the Huskies appear to have set themselves up nicely to compete for the Pac-10 title.

“I think we have a team that’s ready to play well for an entire season, and get back to the postseason, and get back to the top of the heap like we’ve been in the past,” Knutson said.

Merry, a senior who decided to stay with the team despite being picked in the 14th round of the MLB draft, said the pitching staff is experienced and ready to go.

“We’ve got a great pitching staff; we’re really deep, especially the freshmen,” Merry said. “All of them can touch 90 [miles per hour] and with me and Jason [Erickson] and Tyler [Cheney] being seniors, they look up to all of us.”

The expected starting three this weekend against defending NCAA champion Fresno State include Merry, Cheney and Erickson, while a corps of experienced relievers and back-up options are also available for Knutson to call on.

Offensively, the Huskies had trouble producing runs last year, but with the return of Conley, Scott, catcher Brett Wilcox, third baseman Aaron Russell and other key players, the UW won’t look quite so stiff against tough competition.

But winning against more experienced teams was a problem for the Dawgs last year. After looking like an NCAA Tournament-bound team toward the end of Pac-10 play, the Huskies weren’t able to win a single game in a series against eventual conference champion and offensive juggernaut Arizona State, sealing their fate as a team looking in from the outside.

“You just can’t be in that position,” Knutson said. “You just need to take care of business so that it doesn’t come down to being on the road against the best offense I’ve ever seen. So this year we’re hopefully in a better position.”

Knutson added that he hoped the team would focus on the Pac-10 title and not worry so much about tournament seeding. Getting rid of the jitters this weekend against the Bulldogs is an important step in that direction.

“I’m definitely a little less nervous than last year,” Scott said. “I remember my first play: me and [David Bentrott] were both freshmen on the right side and there was a pop-fly, and we both just missed it, so I don’t think that’ll happen this year. It’s just baseball again, last year it was kind of more than that — just way too nervous. But we’re ready this year.”

Working out the kinks against last year’s champion could just be what the doctor ordered. Knutson will also use this series as a gauge to see which players are performing up to expected levels.

“It’s a different year, a different team,” Knutson said. “They’ve got some guys back and we return a lot of guys. So who knows? It’s a brand new year, and you just never know.”

Reach sports editor Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.