NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2023 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, individual awards and Preseason Poll on Wednesday, based on a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches.
Georgia Southern redshirt senior designated hitter Noah Ledford and Southern Miss junior starting pitcher Tanner Hall headlined the conference’s preseason honors as the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Ledford was an All-Sun Belt First Team honoree in 2022, after hitting .348 with 79 hits, 19 doubles, 17 home runs, 47 runs scored and 70 RBI. The Buford, Ga., product also slugged .665 en route to a pair of All-America nods a year ago.
Hall was a consensus All-American in 2022, after posting a 9-3 record with a 2.81 ERA, 146 strikeouts and just 14 walks over 109.0 innings pitched. The Zachary, La., native was the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-Conference honoree a year ago.
Texas State paced all Sun Belt programs with four preseason honorees, while Georgia Southern (3), Southern Miss (3), Georgia State (2) and Louisiana (2) also had multiple players selected.
Sun Belt newcomer Southern Miss—which hosted an NCAA Baseball Regional and Super Regional a year ago and was ranked in each of the five major national preseason polls—was picked to top the conference in the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
Georgia Southern and Texas State, which each reached their respective NCAA Baseball Regional finals in 2022, were tied for second in the preseason ledger.
A pair of postseason participants from a year ago—Louisiana and Coastal Carolina—earned the fourth and fifth positions. South Alabama and Old Dominion—each just a year removed from a conference tournament title and an NCAA Baseball Regional berth—were also picked to finish in the top half of the league.
Seven of 14 Sun Belt baseball programs were
noted in at least one of the five major national preseason polls.
Troy, Georgia State, James Madison, ULM, App State, Marshall and Arkansas State rounded out the preseason poll.
2023 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Player of the Year
Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., DH – Buford, Ga.)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., SP – Zachary, La.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., SP – Zachary, La.)
Levi Wells, Texas State (Jr., SP – La Porte, Texas)
Zeke Wood, Texas State (Sr., SP – Paris, Texas)
Triston Dixon, Texas State (Sr., RP – Conroe, Texas)
Julian Brock, Louisiana (Jr., C – Fulshear, Texas)
Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana (Jr., 1B – Port Neches, Texas)
Jesse Sherrill, Georgia Southern (Sr., 2B – Pensacola, Fla.)
Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Laurel, Miss.)
Jarrett Brown, Georgia Southern (Jr., 3B – Savannah, Ga.)
Max Ryerson, Georgia State (Sr., OF – Conway, S.C.)
Carson Paetow, Southern Miss (So., OF – Vancleave, Miss.)
Jose Gonzalez, Texas State (Sr., OF – Spring, Texas)
Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., DH – Buford, Ga.)
Cameron Jones, Georgia State (Jr., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)
2023 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Southern Miss (11) – 192
T2. Georgia Southern – 158
T2. Texas State (1) – 158
4. Louisiana (1) – 154
5. Coastal Carolina (1) – 151
6. South Alabama – 123
7. Old Dominion – 116
8. Troy – 109
9. Georgia State – 76
10. James Madison – 73
11. ULM – 58
12. App State – 43
13. Marshall – 36
14. Arkansas State – 23