BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In a vote of the league’s head coaches, the Southeastern Conference released its annual preseason poll on Thursday as LSU was picked to finish second after earning three first place votes and 128 overall points.
The Tigers, who made it to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series in 2015, returns 16 letterwinners and seven starters from a team that went 52-14 overall, beginning the season winning their first 25 games to start. LSU was 15-9 during the conference portion of the schedule, finishing in a tie for fourth place.
After winning each of last two national championships, Florida was picked to win the SEC after earning 10 first-place votes. The Gators finished with 142 total points, as UF, LSU, Auburn in third, Alabama in fourth and Tennessee in fifth were the only teams to earn greater than 100 points in the poll.
Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Mississippi State were slotted from sixth to 10th place, respectively, while South Carolina, Ole Miss and Arkansas round out the poll in 11th, 12th and 13th place.
The 2016 SEC Softball Tournament will be held May 11-14 in Starkville and hosted by Mississippi State.
LSU opens the 2016 regular season on Friday, February 12 against Ohio State at 5 p.m. in Tiger Park.
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