Coaches pick Gamecocks to finish third in SEC East

South Carolina has been predicted to finish third in the SEC East in 2016 by the SEC’s 14 coaches, the league announced on Thursday.

Florida was picked to win the SEC, receiving 13 votes from head coaches. Vanderbilt received one vote to win the league.

Texas A&M was picked to win the SEC West, followed by LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn and Alabama.

Florida was predicted to win the SEC East, followed by Vanderbilt, USC, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee.

The preseason All-SEC teams were also announced Thursday, but South Carolina does not have any representatives on the first or second teams.

The Gamecocks open the season on Friday, beginning a three-game series with Albany. Starting pitchers for USC this weekend are Clarke Schmidt, Braden Webb and Taylor Widener.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Coaches pick Gamecocks to finish third in SEC East."