BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU is the preseason favorite to repeat as Southeastern Conference baseball champions, according to the league's 12 baseball coaches voting in the league's 19th annual preseason poll.
The Tigers, ranked No. 2 nationally in multiple preseason polls, return eight position players with starting experience and 10 pitchers from their 2009 squad which claimed the national champion.
Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular-season champion as well as a tournament champion.
In the overall SEC Champion vote, LSU received five of a possible 11 votes. Florida received four votes while Arkansas had three.
In addition to picking a preseason SEC champion, the league's head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. In the Eastern Division, Florida was the favorite with 64 of a possible 66 points.
LSU was favorite in the Western Division with a total of 63 points. Arkansas was second with 59, while Ole Miss finished third with 39.
