FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
The LSU Tigers are predicted to repeat as the 2010 Southeastern Conference baseball champions, as voted by the league’s 12 baseball coaches in the 19th annual preseason SEC poll.
The Tigers, ranked No. 2 nationally in multiple preseason polls, seek to capture their league-leading 15th SEC Championship. The Tigers return eight position players with starting experience and 10 pitchers from their 2009 squad which claimed the NCAA National Championship.
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.
In the overall SEC Champion vote, LSU received five of a possible 11 votes. Florida received four votes while Arkansas had three.
In addition to picking a preseason SEC champion, the league’s head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. In the Eastern Division, Florida was the favorite with 64 of a possible 66 points. South Carolina came in second with 52 points and Georgia third with 42. LSU was favorite in the Western Division with a total of 63 points. Arkansas was second with 59, while Ole Miss, who shared the overall title last season with LSU, finished third with 39.
Points were compiled on a 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.
The 2010 season gets underway this Friday, February 19. The conference schedule is set to begin the weekend of March 19-21. The 2010 SEC Tournament will be held May 26-30 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. The SEC Tournament has drawn over 100,000 fans five of the last eight years. An NCAA-record of nearly 1.9 million fans attended games in the SEC last season, the eighth year in a row the SEC has topped the one million mark in attendance, leading the nation once again in that category.
Eastern Division
Team Pts. ’09 SEC Rec/Finish
1) Florida (9) 64 19-11/1st
2) S. Carolina (2) 52 17-13 / 2nd
3) Georgia 42 15-15 / 3rd
4) Vanderbilt (1) 41 12-17 / 4th
5) Kentucky 25 12-18 / 5th
6) Tennessee 19 11-19 / 6th
Western Division
Team Pts. ’09 SEC Rec/Finish
1) LSU (8) 63 20-10 / T-1st
2) Arkansas (4) 59 14-15 / 4th
3) Ole Miss 39 20-10 / T-1st
4) Alabama 32 18-11 / 3rd
5) Auburn 28 11-19 / 5th
6) Miss. State 25 9-20 / 6th
( ) – First Place Votes
SEC Champion: LSU (5); Florida (4); Arkansas (3)
