BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The LSU Tigers are the favorite to win the Southeastern Conference Baseball Championship, as voted by the league’s 12 baseball coaches in the 11th annual preseason SEC poll.
The Tigers seek to capture their 13th SEC Championship, having won or shared the title twice in the past six seasons (1996 & 1997). LSU is also the defending SEC Western Division Champion. 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 nine of the 12 championship votes in the poll. Ole Miss received two votes, while Alabama received one.
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, South Carolina was the favorite with 63 points. Florida came in second with 58 points with Tennessee third with 48 points.
LSU was the predicted winner in the Western Division with a total of 69 points. Ole Miss was second with 54, while Mississippi State, last season’s SEC Tournament Champions, finished third with 45.
Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
The 2002 season gets underway February 1 with the conference schedule set to begin the weekend of March 15. The 2002 SEC Tournament will be held May 22-26 at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
Below is a complete look at the coaches’ vote:
Eastern Division
Team Pts. ’01 SEC Rec/Finish
1. S. Carolina (10) 63 17-13/3rd
2. Florida (2) 58 16-14/4th
3. Tennessee 48 18-12/2nd
4. Georgia 36 20-10/1st
5. Vanderbilt 22 9-21/5th
6. Kentucky 20 7-23/6th
Western Division
Team Pts. ’01 SEC Rec/Finish
1. LSU (9) 69 18-12/1st
2. Ole Miss (2) 54 17-13/t2nd
3. Miss. State 45 17-13/t2nd
4. Alabama (1) 37 15-15/t4th
5. Auburn 32 15-15/t4th
6. Arkansas 15 11-19/6th
( ) – First Place Votes
SEC Champion: LSU (9); Ole Miss (2); Alabama (1)