Florida Gators

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The defending SEC Champion Gators have been picked by a vote of the league's head coaches as the preseason favorite for 2016, announced by the conference office Thursday afternoon. Florida received 10 first-place votes from the SEC's 13 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
 
The Gators will look to win their second-straight SEC regular season crown in 2016, a feat UF last achieved in 2008 and 2009. In its history, Florida owns five regular-season SEC crowns (1998, 2008, '09, '13, '15) and three conference tournament championships ('08, '09, '13).
 
Last season, UF went 60-7 and won its second-straight NCAA Championship. Florida reached the 60-win plateau for just the third time in school history and posted its third-highest win percentage (.895).
 
UF returns 12 letter winners, including All-America first team infielder and the reigning SEC Player of the Year Kelsey Stewart, All-America third team pitcher Aleshia Ocasio and All-Region first team outfielder Kirsti Merritt. In addition, Florida's roster boasts seven freshmen.
 
Florida begins its season on Feb. 12 at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Tampa, and the home opener is slated for Feb. 17 against Jacksonville. Conference play starts at Auburn on March 12 and the SEC Tournament will be held at Mississippi State from May 11-14.
 
UF's full 2016 schedule is available on FloridaGators.com.
 
2016 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
 

Place	School	Points
1.	Florida (10)	142
2.	LSU (3)	128
3.	Auburn	121
4.	Alabama	113
5.	Tennessee	102
6.	Georgia	85
7.	Missouri	82
8.	Kentucky	59
9.	Texas A&M	58
10.	Mississippi State	45
11.	South Carolina	40
12.	Ole Miss	27
13.	Arkansas	12

 
** Points for the poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 basis.
 
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