NEW ORLEANS – Following a campaign in which two Sun Belt programs hosted NCAA Baseball Regionals for the first time in conference history and Coastal Carolina advanced to the championship series at the College World Series, the Sun Belt Conference announced its 2026 preseason awards and Preseason Poll, based on a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches.
Troy senior first baseman Blake Cavill and Coastal Carolina junior starting pitcher Cameron Flukey headlined the conference’s preseason accolades as the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Cavill was an All-Sun Belt First Team honoree in 2025, after hitting .320 with 62 hits, 12 doubles, 11 home runs, 58 runs scored and 50 RBI. The Sydney, Australia, product reached base safely in all 58 games played and tied the Trojans single-season record with 65 walks on the year.
Flukey was an All-Sun Belt First Team selection and a D1Baseball Third Team All-American in 2025, after accumulating a 7-2 record with a 3.19 ERA, 118 strikeouts and just 24 walks over 101.2 innings pitched. The Egg Harbor Township, N.J., native appeared in 18 games with 17 starts as a sophomore, holding opponents to a .209 batting average.
Coastal Carolina paced all Sun Belt programs with four preseason honorees, while Southern Miss (3), App State (2), Arkansas State (2) and Troy (2) also had multiple players selected.
On the heels of its second College World Series appearance, reigning Sun Belt regular season and tournament champion Coastal Carolina received 12-of-14 first-place votes to be picked to top the conference in the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
Southern Miss earned the second slot in the preseason ledger with one first-place vote after appearing in a ninth-straight regional and advancing to a regional final for a sixth-straight season.
Troy—which last appeared in an NCAA Baseball Regional in 2023, but has been on the cusp of the postseason in both 2024 and 2025—sat third in the preseason ledger behind the Chanticleers and Golden Eagles.
Marshall, Louisiana—which received the final first-place vote, Texas State, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion were slotted into the top half of the preseason poll.
Arkansas State, App State, South Alabama, Georgia State, James Madison and ULM rounded out the preseason ledger.
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Player of the Year
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Hayden Johnson, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Sr., SP – Louisville, Miss.)
Ryan Lynch, Coastal Carolina (Gr., RP – Snohomish, Wash.)
Tucker Stockman, Southern Miss (RS Jr., C – Athens, Ala.)
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Joseph Zamora, App State (Gr., 2B – Miami, Fla.)
Patrick Engskov, Arkansas State (Sr., SS – Little Rock, Ark.)
Chase Mora, Texas State (Sr., 3B – Tomball, Texas)
Ashton Quiller, Arkansas State (RS So., OF – Lake Charles, La.)
Dean Mihos, Coastal Carolina (Sr., OF – Chester Springs, Pa.)
Ben Higdon, Southern Miss (RS Sr., OF – Paducah, Ky.)
Kameron Miller, App State (Jr., DH – Harrisburg, N.C.)
Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., UT – Downers Grove, Ill.)
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First-Place Votes)
1. Coastal Carolina (12) – 194
2. Southern Miss (1) – 182
3. Troy – 166
4. Marshall – 129
5. Louisiana (1) – 126
6. Texas State – 114
T7. Georgia Southern – 104
T7. Old Dominion – 104
9. Arkansas State – 96
10. App State – 78
11. South Alabama – 62
12. Georgia State – 49
13. James Madison – 48
14. ULM – 18