Eagles Selected as Tied for Seventh in Sun Belt Preseason Poll
2/4/2026 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles finished 2025 with a 28-31 record and as the nine seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
New Orleans, La. --- The Georgia Southern baseball team was selected to finish tied for seventh in the 2026 Sun Belt Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon (February 4th).
Georgia Southern received 104 points in the preseason poll, tying them for seventh with Old Dominion. Three different teams received first-place votes with 12 of the 14 going to Coastal Carolina, who were Sun Belt Champions and National Runners-Up just a season ago. Southern Miss received a vote and trailed the Chanticleers by just 12 points in the poll while Louisisna got the final first-place vote, but was projected to finish fifth. Troy rounds out the top three, followed by Marshall, the Ragin' Cajuns and Texas State for the top six in the Sun Belt. The full poll can be found below:
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
The Eagles did not secure any players on the Preseason All-Conference team. Troy's Blake Cavill was named the Preseason Player of the Year with the Chanticleers' Cameron Flukey as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Of the 14 players named to the list, four of them are from Coastal Carolina, three from Southern Miss and three other teams secured two names. The full Preseason All-Conference team can be found below:
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.)
The Eagles kick off their 2026 campaign with a series against West Virginia, a squad that made a trip to the Super Regionals last year. Opening Day at J.I. is set for 6:30 PM on February 13th against the Mountaineers.
Georgia Southern received 104 points in the preseason poll, tying them for seventh with Old Dominion. Three different teams received first-place votes with 12 of the 14 going to Coastal Carolina, who were Sun Belt Champions and National Runners-Up just a season ago. Southern Miss received a vote and trailed the Chanticleers by just 12 points in the poll while Louisisna got the final first-place vote, but was projected to finish fifth. Troy rounds out the top three, followed by Marshall, the Ragin' Cajuns and Texas State for the top six in the Sun Belt. The full poll can be found below:
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
The Eagles did not secure any players on the Preseason All-Conference team. Troy's Blake Cavill was named the Preseason Player of the Year with the Chanticleers' Cameron Flukey as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Of the 14 players named to the list, four of them are from Coastal Carolina, three from Southern Miss and three other teams secured two names. The full Preseason All-Conference team can be found below:
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.)
The Eagles kick off their 2026 campaign with a series against West Virginia, a squad that made a trip to the Super Regionals last year. Opening Day at J.I. is set for 6:30 PM on February 13th against the Mountaineers.
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