Aug. 29, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf team is ranked No. 12 in the Golf Coaches Association of America Preseason Poll, the GCAA announced Thursday.

The Gamecocks are one of eight SEC teams ranked in the poll, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 9 LSU, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 20 Auburn and No. 21 Arkansas.

South Carolina enters the year coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Gamecocks finished ninth at the NCAA Championship last year, which is the second-best finish at the event in program history. During the regular season, Carolina matched the school record with nine top-five finishes in 12 events, including three tournament wins. At one point during the season, the Gamecocks reeled off a school-record seven straight top-three finishes.

The Gamecocks have seven golfers returning, including all five from last year’s postseason run. Carolina opens its season today at The Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif., at the historic Pebble Beach Golf Links.

GCAA PRESEASON COACHES POLL

T1. Alabama

T1. Oklahoma State

3. Georgia Tech

4. Texas

5. Georgia

6. Illinois

7. Stanford

8. Washington

9. Louisiana State

10. UCLA

11. Oklahoma

12. South Carolina

13. Virginia

14. California

15. Houston

16. Vanderbilt

17. Florida State

18. UCF

19. Texas A&M

20. Auburn

21. Arkansas

22. New Mexico

23. Virginia Tech

24. Southern California

25. Oregon