Feb. 12, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina has been predicted to finish third in the SEC Eastern Division as voted by the league’s 14 baseball coaches in the 24th-annual Preseason Coaches Poll. In addition, junior infielders DC Arendas and Max Schrock were preseason first-team All-SEC selections with senior first baseman Kyle Martin and sophomore utility player Taylor Widener preseason second-team All-SEC choices.

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 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.

For the first time, two 12-person Preseason All-SEC Teams were selected by the SEC head coaches, and ties were not broken. Eleven of the 14 SEC schools were represented on the All-SEC teams with Vanderbilt leading the way with five total selections. Florida, LSU and South Carolina each garnered four selections. The Commodores also claimed a SEC-best three first-team accolades.

The 2015 regular season for SEC teams begins Friday, February 13, with conference play set to begin Friday, March 13. The 2014 SEC Baseball Tournament drew 120,386 fans, and nine times in the last 12 years, the tournament has surpassed the six-digit mark in total attendance.

An NCAA-record 10 SEC teams qualified for NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 10 SEC teams are ranked in at least one poll to begin the 2015 campaign.

2015 SEC BASEBALL COACHES PRESEASON POLL
Eastern Division
1. Vanderbilt (11) – 89
2. Florida (3) – 80
3. South Carolina – 67
4. Tennessee – 51
5. Georgia – 42
6. Kentucky – 36
7. Missouri – 20

Western Division
1. LSU (13) – 91
2. Alabama – 62
3. Texas A&M (1) – 60
4. Arkansas – 59
5. Mississippi State – 52
6. Ole Miss – 42
7. Auburn – 19

SEC Champion: Vanderbilt (11); Florida (2); LSU (1).

2015 SEC BASEBALL COACHES PRESEASON ALL-SEC TEAMS

First Team
C – Gavin Collins, Mississippi State
1B – Sikes Orvis, Ole Miss
2B – Kyle Overstreet, Alabama *
2B – Max Schrock, South Carolina *
SS – Alex Bregman, LSU
3B – DC Arendas, South Carolina
OF – Christin Stewart, Tennessee
OF – Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt
OF – Andrew Stevenson, LSU
DH/UT – A.J. Puk, Florida
SP – Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
SP – Logan Shore, Florida
RP – Hayden Stone, Vanderbilt

Second Team
C – Kade Scivicque, LSU
1B – Kyle Martin, South Carolina
2B – Nick Senzel, Tennessee
SS – Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt
3B – Josh Tobias, Florida
OF – Nick Banks, Texas A&M
OF – Mark Laird, LSU
OF – Harrison Bader, Florida
DH/UT – Taylor Widener, South Carolina
SP – Walker Buehler, Vanderbilt
SP – Robert Tyler, Georgia
RP – Thomas Burrows, Alabama *
RP – Jacob Stone, Arkansas *

* – Ties were not broken

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South Carolina won the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 2010 and 2011 at the College World Series. South Carolina has 11 College World Series appearances, including six in the last 13 years. The Gamecocks own the second-highest win total in the nation in the last 15 years (2000 to the present) with a 713-289 record. South Carolina is one of five schools to appear in the NCAA Regional every season in the last 15 years, including 11 NCAA Super Regional appearances in that span, one of only two schools to accomplish the feat.