NEW ORLEANS — Reigning Sun Belt champion South Alabama was picked to repeat in the 2022 Baseball Preseason Poll, based on a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
The Jaguars won the East Division regular-season crown in 2021 and made an unblemished 4-0 run through the tournament in Montgomery to secure the tournament title and the Sun Belt’s automatic berth to NCAA Regionals.
In the Gainesville Regional, South Alabama battled back from a 1-0 opening game loss to Miami—winning three straight over Florida, 19-1; Miami, 7-2; and South Florida, 4-0—before falling to South Florida, 6-4, in the regional final.
The Jaguars have claimed two of the last four tournament titles awarded (2017, 2021).
Georgia Southern, which finished as the runner-up at the 2021 Sun Belt Baseball Championship, was picked to finish as the regular-season runner-up.
Coastal Carolina, which won the Sun Belt tournament in 2018 and 2019, and Louisiana, which topped the West Division in 2021, were tied for third in the preseason ledger.
South Alabama (7), Coastal Carolina (3) and Louisiana (2) each received first-place votes.
UTA and Troy were also picked to finish in the top half of the league, while Texas State, Little Rock, ULM, App State, Georgia State and Arkansas State rounded out the preseason poll.
Sun Belt teams return to the diamond beginning on Friday, Feb. 18, with conference play commencing on Friday, March 18. Teams will play a 30-game conference schedule that will culminate with the 2022 Sun Belt Baseball Championship at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., from May 24-29, 2022.
The Sun Belt will release its 2022 Preseason Player of the Year, Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Preseason All-Conference Team on Thursday.
2022 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. South Alabama (7) – 139
2. Georgia Southern – 118
T3. Coastal Carolina (3) – 117
T3. Louisiana (2) – 117
5. UTA – 78
6. Troy – 74
7. Texas State – 71
8. Little Rock – 63
9. ULM – 59
10. App State – 38
11. Georgia State – 34
12. Arkansas State – 28