Baseball | 2/8/2017 11:51:00 AM
NEW ORLEANS – With the 2017 season just nine days away, the Sun Belt Conference has announced its annual Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Eagles were selected third in the newly formed East Division behind defending National Champion Coastal Carolina and South Alabama. It wasn't a clean sweep for the Chanticleers, as the Eagles claimed a first place vote in the poll.
2017 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses
EAST DIVISION
1. Coastal Carolina (10) - 70 pts
2. South Alabama (1) - 56 pts
3. Georgia Southern (1) - 48 pts
4. Troy - 39 pts
5. Georgia State - 23 pts
6. Appalachian State - 15 pts
WEST DIVISION
1. Louisiana (12) - 72 pts
2. UTA - 50 pts
3. Little Rock - 45 pts
4. Texas State - 44 pts
5. Arkansas State - 27 pts
6. ULM - 14 pts
Georgia Southern returns starters at seven of the eight fielding positions and a full stable of pitchers from the 2016 season. The Eagles capped a 36-24 campaign in 2016 by reaching the Championship Game of the Sun Belt Championships, falling one win shy of a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles open the 2017 season with their first eight games at home, including visits from Georgia, Georgia Tech, College of Charleston and Middle Tennessee. Georgia Southern kicks off the season with a three-game set against Middle Tennessee starting on February 17th.
Get your Georgia Southern Baseball season tickets by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets or calling the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-GSU-WINS during normal business hours.
Beginning with the 2017 season, the conference will conduct its baseball regular season with divisional play. Two divisions – East and West – will be comprised of six teams each and divisional champions will be awarded at the end of the year based on the winning percentage against all teams, regardless of division.
Those teams earn the top seeds for the 2017 Sun Belt Baseball Championships which will be held on the campus of Georgia Southern University at J.I. Clements Stadium. The tournament runs May 23-28. For more information, visit SunBeltSports.org.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.
