The College of Charleston Cougars were tabbed as the top baseball team in the Southern Conference by a vote of the league's coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
In the annual preseason coaches poll, the Cougars narrowly edged out rival Georgia Southern with six first-place votes and one more point than the Eagles. Georgia Southern, the league's defending tournament champion, won the media vote while the College of Charleston was picked second. Samford and Elon landed in the third and fourth spots in each poll.
The Cougars also sported four players on the coaches preseason All-SoCon squads with redshirt-sophomore Daniel Aldrich and junior Christian Powell making the first team. Seniors Marty Gantt and Josh Renfro were picked for the second team.
Georgia Southern's Victor Roache won the preseason Player of the Year nod, while teammate Chris Beck was tabbed as the preseason Pitcher of the Year.
College of Charleston finished 39-22 in 2011 and tied for third place in the Southern Conference with a league record of 18-12. The Cougars return the entire starting rotation in Powell, Renfro, Jake Zokan and David Peterson, who will move to the bullpen. College of Charleston will also look to its NCBWA Preseason First Team All-America selection in Aldrich to anchor the heart of the lineup and team with Gantt in the outfield.
The Cougars open the season with a weekend series at South Alabama starting on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The CofC home opener will come on Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. against Rhode Island as a part of the Cougar Invitational. Season and individual game tickets are available by calling 843-953-COFC.
2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
Place School (First) Points
1. College of Charleston (6) 93
2. Georgia Southern (4) 92
3. Samford (1) 83
4. Elon 76
5. Appalachian State 62
6. Western Carolina 51
7. UNCG 50
8. The Citadel 33
9. Furman 32
10. Wofford 18
11. Davidson 15
2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Media Poll
Place School (First) Points
1. Georgia Southern (20) 269
2. College of Charleston (3) 246
3. Elon (2) 220
4. Samford 198
5. UNCG 150
6. Appalachian State 149
7. Western Carolina 130
8. The Citadel 112
9. Furman 86
10. Wofford 55
11. Davidson 35
2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Victor Roache, Jr., OF, Georgia Southern
Pitcher of the Year – Chris Beck, Jr., RHP, Georgia Southern
First Team
SP Chris Beck, Georgia Southern
SP Christian Powell, College of Charleston
RP Lex Rutledge, Samford
C Trevor Edwards, UNCG
1B Saxon Butler, Samford
2B Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS Eric Phillips, Georgia Southern
3B Drew DeKerlegand, The Citadel
OF Victor Roache, Georgia Southern
OF Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
OF Phillip Ervin, Samford
DH Daniel Kassouf, Appalachian State
Second Team
SP Ryan Arrowood, Appalachian State
SP Josh Renfro, College of Charleston
RP David Port, Appalachian State
C Alex Swim, Elon
1B Konstantine Diamaduros, Wofford
2B Sebastian Gomez, Elon
SS Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina
3B Zack Briggs, Appalachian State
3B (tie) Alex Abrams, Furman
OF Marty Gantt, College of Charleston
OF Nick Orvin, The Citadel
OF Tyler Zupcic, Appalachian State
DH Taylor Johnson, Furman
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