South Carolina baseball picked to finish second in SEC East

South Carolina baseball has been picked to finish second in the SEC East and third in the SEC by the league coaches, the conference announced Thursday.

Florida, which finished second behind USC for the SEC East title last season, has been picked to win the division. LSU was chosen as the SEC West favorite.

Florida and LSU each received six votes to win the conference, while the Gamecocks received two.

Vanderbilt was picked to finish third in the SEC East with Georgia and Kentucky tying for fourth. Tennessee and Missouri were picked to finish sixth and seventh in the division.

Behind LSU in the SEC West is Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Alabama and Auburn.

South Carolina closer Tyler Johnson was named first-team preseason All-SEC as a relief pitcher, while outfielder/DH Alex Destino was named second-team preseason All-SEC as a DH/utility player.

Johnson was 3-2 with a 2.42 ERA and nine saves in 2016, while Destino hit .321 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs.

The Gamecocks open the season next Friday, Feb. 17, hosting a three-game series against UNC Greensboro.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 3:24 PM with the headline "South Carolina baseball picked to finish second in SEC East."