The SEC baseball coaches voted in the annual preseason conference poll and picked Florida to finish fifth. Three Gators, second baseman Cade Kurland, catcher Luke Heyman and shortstop Colby Shelton were also named to the preseason All-Conference teams.
Kurland is the only Gator to earn a first-team nod, while Heyman and Shelton are both on the second team.
A fifth-place finish for Florida might seem low considering the Gators only lost two key pieces to the draft in two-way star Jac Caglianone and reliever Brandon Neely. Replacing that kind of production is easier said than done, though. There’s no true ace on the staff, though any of the expected weekend starters — Pierce Coppola, Jake Clemente and Liam Peterson — could wind up on an All-SEC team at the end of the year, and bats like Brody Donay and Ty Evans are still question marks in the field.
It’s not that Florida doesn’t have talent on its roster, but a preseason all-conference selection usually requires some evidence to back the pick. Evans is the only returner omitted, and the SEC is loaded with guys who can hit and play somewhere in the outfield.
Going back to the fifth-place prediction, Florida trails Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU, in that order. The Aggies earned 10 first-place votes, followed by Arkansas with three, and the other three top-five programs all earned one vote.
The college baseball season begins Feb. 14, with Florida hosting Air Force at Condron Family Ballpark for a three-game series. Based on these results, there’s plenty to prove for the Orange and Blue right out of the gate.
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