Gamecocks picked to finish middle of the pack in SEC East. One player named All-SEC
South Carolina baseball has been picked to finish fourth in the SEC East, the conference announced Wednesday as part of its annual preseason coaches poll.
Last year, the Gamecocks were picked to finish fourth in the division. They finished third and fifth overall in the conference, eventually becoming one of six SEC teams to advance to an NCAA Super Regional.
Heading into 2019, however, USC and coach Mark Kingston must replace its entire weekend rotation and nine of the 13 batters who started more than 10 games last season.
Gamecock sophomore Noah Campbell, one of the few returners, was also named to the All-SEC preseason first team by the league’s coaches. After a freshman season in which he played 47 games and hit .270 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, Campbell tore up the Cape Cod League this summer, hitting .364 and earning All-Star honors.
Campbell was previously named a second-team All-American by Baseball America this preseason.
South Carolina opens its season on Feb. 15 against Liberty. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
2019 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll
East Division
1. Vanderbilt (9) - 87
2. Florida (4) - 81
3. Georgia (1) - 68
4. South Carolina - 53
5. Tennessee - 40
6. Kentucky - 30
7. Missouri - 26
West Division
1. LSU (10) - 88
2. Ole Miss (1) - 65
3. Arkansas (1) - 59
4. Auburn (1) - 57
5. Texas A&M (1) - 48
6. Mississippi State - 47
7. Alabama - 21
() - First place votes
SEC Champion: Vanderbilt (6), LSU (5), Florida (2), Arkansas (1)
2019 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team
First Team
C: Philip Clarke, Vanderbilt
1B: Cole Zabowski, Ole Miss
2B: Austin Martin, Vanderbilt*
2B: Noah Campbell, South Carolina*
3B: Aaron Schunk, Georgia
SS: Casey Martin, Arkansas
OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas
OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas
OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: T.J. Collett, Kentucky
SP: Tanner Burns, Auburn
SP: Zack Thompson, Kentucky
RP: Matt Cronin, Arkansas
Second Team
C: Mason Meadows, Georgia
1B: Tanner Allen, Mississippi State
2B: LJ Talley, Georgia
3B: Tyler Keenan, Ole Miss
SS: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M
OF: JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt
OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU
OF: Daniel Cabrera, LSU
DH/UTL: Aaron Schunk, Georgia*
DH/UTL: Chase Cockrell, Ole Miss*
SP: John Doxakis, Texas A&M
SP: Tyler Dyson, Florida
RP: Parker Caracci, Ole Miss
This story was originally published February 7, 2019 at 3:08 PM.
