Alabama Baseball Picked to Finish 6th in SEC West in 2017

Florida and LSU have been predicted to win the 2017 Southeastern Conference baseball championship as voted by the league’s 14 head coaches in the annual preseason poll released Thursday. The Preseason All-SEC First and Second Teams, as determined by the head coaches, were also announced.

Florida and LSU each garnered six votes, while South Carolina earned two votes. The Gators were predicted to win the SEC Eastern Division, while the Tigers were the favorite to win the SEC Western Division.

Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to 1996, the tournament champion was considered the SEC champion.

Points were compiled on a descending basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, and each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.

For the second consecutive year, two Preseason All-SEC Teams were selected by the SEC head coaches, and ties were not broken. Nine of the 14 schools were represented on the All-SEC teams with Florida leading the way with six total selections. LSU and Vanderbilt each garnered four selections, while Mississippi State and South Carolina had two. The Gators also claimed an SEC-best five first-team accolades.

The 2017 regular season for SEC teams begins Feb. 17, with conference play set to begin March 17.

A total of seven SEC teams qualified for NCAA Regionals in 2016, and a record four teams were selected as national seeds.

2017 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll

Eastern Division

1. Florida (10) – 70
2. South Carolina (4) – 61
3. Vanderbilt – 52
4. T4. Georgia – 29
5. T4. Kentucky – 29
6. Tennessee – 20
7. Missouri – 12

Western Division

1. LSU (13) – 72
2. Texas A&M (1) – 55
3. Ole Miss – 51
4. Mississippi State – 36
5. Arkansas – 27
6. T6. Alabama – 16
7. T6. Auburn – 16

SEC Champion: Florida (6), LSU (6), South Carolina (2)

2017 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

First Team

C: Mike Rivera, Florida

1B: Evan White, Kentucky

2B: Cole Freeman, LSU

SS: Dalton Guthrie, Florida

3B: Jonathan India, Florida

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

OF: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt

OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU

DH/UTL: JJ Schwarz, Florida

SP: Alex Faedo, Florida

SP: Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt

RP: Tyler Johnson, South Carolina

Second Team

C: Jason Delay, Vanderbilt

1B: JJ Schwarz, Florida

2B: Tate Blackman, Ole Miss

SS: Kramer Robertson, LSU

3B: Colby Bortles, Ole Miss

OF: Greg Deichmann, LSU

OF: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State

OF: Luke Bonfield, Arkansas

DH/UTL: Alex Destino, South Carolina

SP: Alex Lange, LSU

SP: Tanner Houck, Missouri

RP: Matt Ruppenthal, Vanderbilt