UF Baseball Picked Second In SEC Coaches' Poll
Monday, February 16, 2009 | Baseball
The University of Florida is predicted to finish second in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division, as voted by the league's 12 baseball coaches in the 18th annual preseason SEC poll released on Monday. LSU, ranked as high as No. 1 nationally in multiple preseason polls, is predicted to win the 2009 SEC Championship.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gators return six position starters and 17 letterwinners from last season's squad which was second in the East with a 17-13 league mark. After being picked 11th overall, UF was third and later advanced to NCAA Regionals on its way to a 34-24 overall mark.
Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular-season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to 1996, the tournament champion was considered the SEC Champion. In the overall SEC Champion vote, LSU was listed on 10 of the 12 championship ballots, with Georgia and Ole Miss picking up one vote apiece.
In addition to picking a preseason SEC champion, the league's head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. In the Eastern Division, Georgia was the favorite with 62 of a possible 66 points. The Gators came in second with 52 points and Vanderbilt third with 40 points. LSU was the clear favorite in the Western Division with a total of 65 points. Ole Miss was second with 54, while Alabama finished third with 44.
Points were compiled on a 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.
A total of five SEC clubs, LSU (No. 2), Georgia (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 14), Kentucky (No. 23) and Florida (No. 24), are ranked in the preseason top 35 poll released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The Gators will open their season on Friday at 6:30 p.m. versus No. 8 Louisville at McKethan Stadium. The conference schedule is set to begin the weekend of March 13-15. The 2009 SEC Tournament will be held from May 20-24 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
The SEC Tournament has drawn over 100,000 fans in five of the last seven years. Over 1.6 million fans attended games in the SEC last season, the seventh year in a row that the SEC has topped the one million mark in attendance, leading the nation once again in that category. Additionally, LSU and South Carolina will both unveil new ballparks this season.
2009 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Eastern Division
| No. | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2008 SEC Record/Finish |
| 1. | Georgia (10) | 62 | 20-9-1/1st |
| 2. | FLORIDA (2) | 52 | 17-13/2nd |
| 3. | Vanderbilt | 40 | 15-14/4th |
| 4. | South Carolina | 37 | 15-15/5th |
| 5. | Tennessee | 28 | 12-18/6th |
| 6. | Kentucky | 27 | 16-14/3rd |
Western Division
| No. | Team (1st place votes) | Pts. | 2008 SEC Record/Finish |
| 1. | LSU (10) | 65 | 18-11-1/1st |
| 2. | Ole Miss (2) | 54 | 15-15/3rd |
| 3. | Alabama | 44 | 16-14/2nd |
| 4. | Arkansas | 38 | 14-15/4th |
| 5. | Auburn | 28 | 11-19/5th |
| 6. | Mississippi State | 18 | 9-21/6th |
SEC Champion: LSU (10), Ole Miss (1), Georgia (1)
--UF--
