USC baseball picked third in SEC East; 4 Gamecocks honored
South Carolina baseball is predicted to finish third in the SEC East, according to an annual preseason poll of league coaches.
Defending NCAA Champion Vanderbilt was predicted to win the SEC in 2015. Vanderbilt was predicted to win the SEC Eastern Division, while LSU was the favorite to win the SEC Western Division.
For the first time, two 12-person Preseason All-SEC Teams were selected by the SEC head coaches, and ties were not broken.
South Carolina's DC Arendas and Max Schrock were selected preseason first-team All-SEC, while Kyle Martin and Taylor Widener earned preseason second-team honors from coaches. Widener was selected in a utility role, though he is more likely to pitch as a closer.
Points were compiled on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 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.
SEC East
| TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|
| 1. Vanderbilt (11) | 89 |
| 2. Florida (3) | 80 |
| 3. South Carolina | 67 |
| 4. Tennessee | 51 |
| 5. Georgia | 42 |
| 6. Kentucky | 36 |
| 7. Missouri | 20 |
SEC West
| TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|
| 1. LSU (13) | 91 |
| 2. Alabama | 62 |
| 3. Texas A&M (1) | 60 |
| 4. Arkansas | 59 |
| 5. Mississippi State | 52 |
| 6. Ole Miss | 42 |
| 7. Auburn | 19 |
SEC first team
C - Gavin Collins, Mississippi State
1B - Sikes Orvis, Ole Miss
2B - Kyle Overstreet, Alabama *
2B - Max Schrock, South Carolina *
SS - Alex Bregman, LSU
3B - DC Arendas, South Carolina
OF - Christin Stewart, Tennessee
OF - Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt
OF - Andrew Stevenson, LSU
DH/UT - A.J. Puk, Florida
SP - Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
SP - Logan Shore, Florida
RP - Hayden Stone, Vanderbilt
SEC second team
C - Kade Scivicque, LSU
1B - Kyle Martin, South Carolina
2B - Nick Senzel, Tennessee
SS - Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt
3B - Josh Tobias, Florida
OF - Nick Banks, Texas A&M
OF - Mark Laird, LSU
OF - Harrison Bader, Florida
DH/UT - Taylor Widener, South Carolina
SP - Walker Buehler, Vanderbilt
SP - Robert Tyler, Georgia
RP - Thomas Burrows, Alabama *
RP - Jacob Stone, Arkansas *
* - Ties were not broken
This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "USC baseball picked third in SEC East; 4 Gamecocks honored."