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TROJANS PICKED FIFTH IN THE SUN BELT WEST DIVISION

Started by Seminole Indian, January 31, 2018, 08:07:36 am

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Seminole Indian

LITTLE ROCK - The Sun Belt preseason baseball rankings were released Tuesday morning and Little Rock was picked fifth in the western division of the conference with 27 points.

Louisiana was picked to win the western division for the second year in a row with 68 points. Behind Louisiana were the two Texas schools, UT Arlington with 56 points and two first-place votes, and Texas State with 51 points and one first-place vote. Little Rock sits just behind rivals Arkansas State who were voted 36 points and ahead of ULM with 11 points.

"If you look at what we did before we probably earned where we are seeded," head coach Chris Curry said when asked about it. "But, it very much mirrors two years ago when we were seeded very low and finished third overall in the league."

This marks the second year that the Sun Belt is split into two divisions, east and west, since the last time it was done in 1994.

In the eastern division, South Alabama was a unanimous first-place decision to win and received the most points overall in the conference with 72. Behind them is 2016 NCAA baseball champions, Coastal Carolina with 59 points followed by Georgia Southern with 43, Troy with 41, Georgia State with 20 and Appalachian State with 16.

"It's just a starting point that doesn't hold much water once the first pitch is thrown," Curry said. "It's always a fun time of year when you start seeing these preseason polls and rankings come out, but you can never put any stock into them because they are based on what happened from the year before."

The Trojans are going into the season with 23 new faces on their roster, which includes six true freshman and 17 junior-college transfers. The assistant coaching staff will also have three new faces to it behind Curry who is heading into his fourth season at the helm. They joined assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Mike Silva, who will be entering his second season.

Little Rock begins its season with a road trip to play 2017 Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech for a three-game series beginning Feb. 16.

2018 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses

EAST DIVISION
1. South Alabama (12) - 72 pts
2. Coastal Carolina - 59 pts
3. Georgia Southern - 43 pts
4. Troy - 41 pts
5. Georgia State - 20 pts
6. Appalachian State - 16 pts

WEST DIVISION
1. Louisiana (9) - 68 pts
2. UTA (2) - 56 pts
3. Texas State (1) - 51 pts
4. Arkansas State - 36 pts
5. Little Rock - 27 pts
6. ULM - 11 pts

http://lrtrojans.com/news/2018/1/30/baseball-trojans-picked-fifth-in-the-sun-belt-west-division.aspx
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