Arkansas Picked To Win West By League Coaches

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Razorback Baseball team was picked by the head coaches of the Southeastern Conference to win the Western Division and finish second overall, while four Razorbacks were tabbed as Preseason All-SEC players.

The 14 coaches in the SEC voted in the 27th annual preseason SEC poll and the Razorbacks picked up 12 of the 14 votes to win the division. Arkansas also received one vote to win the SEC overall and received 90 points for the overall conference finish, just one point behind Florida.

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.

In addition, Arkansas was one of only two schools (Florida) to have four or more players earn a spot on either Preseason All-SEC team. Catcher Grant Koch led all Razorbacks as the lone first-team player. He’s coming off a career year where he hit .264 with a career-best 13 home runs and 42 RBIs, the highest home run and RBI total among all SEC catchers.

Shortstop Jax Biggers, outfielder Dominic Fletcher, and right-hander Blaine Knight make up the Arkansas contingent on the second team. Biggers and Fletcher are both coming off All-SEC seasons of their own, while Knight is expected to be one of the top pitchers in the league in 2018 and was named a preseason All-American earlier this year.

Arkansas is scheduled to open the 2018 season against Bucknell on Friday, Feb. 16 with first pitch at 3 p.m. at Baum Stadium. Season tickets, mini-plan, and group tickets are now on sale through the Razorback Ticket Office.

For more information on Razorback Baseball, follow @RazorbackBSB on Twitter.

2018 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll

Eastern Division

1. Florida (13) – 91

2. Kentucky (1) – 74

3. Vanderbilt – 72

4. South Carolina – 50

5. Georgia – 41

6. Missouri – 32

7. Tennessee – 25

Western Division

1. Arkansas (12) – 90

2. Texas A&M (1) – 72

3. Ole Miss (1) – 62

4. LSU – 59

5. Mississippi State – 44

6. Auburn – 38

7. Alabama – 20

() – First place votes

SEC Champion: Florida (12), Arkansas (1), Texas A&M (1)

2018 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

First Team

C: Grant Koch, Arkansas

1B: Julian Infante, Vanderbilt

2B: Cobie Vance, Alabama

SS: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M

3B: Jonathan India, Florida

OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU

OF: Tristan Pompey, Kentucky

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

DH/UTL: Michael Curry, Georgia

SP: Brady Singer, Florida

SP: Casey Mize, Auburn

RP: Michael Byrne, Florida

Second Team

C: JJ Schwarz, Florida

1B: Kameron Misner, Missouri

2B: Luke Becker, Kentucky

SS: Jax Biggers, Arkansas

3B: George Janca, Texas A&M

OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas

OF: Zach Watson, LSU

OF: Carlos Cortes, South Carolina

DH/UTL: JJ Schwarz, Florida

SP: Sean Hjelle, Kentucky

SP: Blaine Knight, Arkansas

RP: Dallas Woolfolk, Ole Miss