NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama baseball team was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference East Division by the league's head coaches, as announced by the conference office Wednesday.

Coastal Carolina was selected to win the East Division, and received all 12 first-place votes. The Jags were picked second, followed by Troy, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Appalachian State.

Louisiana was picked to win the Sun Belt West Division after receiving 11 of 12 first-place votes. Little Rock, who was predicted to finish third in the West, received the final first-place vote. Texas State was picked to finish second in the West Division, followed by Little Rock, UTA, Arkansas State and ULM. 

South Alabama returns 23 letterwinners, including 2018 Second-Team All-Sun Belt catcher Carter Perkins, first baseman Wells Davis, right-handed pitcher Zach Greene, and a pair of fifth-year senior outfielders in Colton Thomas and Eddie Paparella, each of whom redshirted last season.

The Jaguars finished 32-25 last year and 18-11 in league play to finish third in the East Division. USA opened the 2018 campaign with wins in seven of its first eight contests, which included victories over No. 13 Southern Miss and No. 18 Oklahoma. South Alabama ranked second in the Sun Belt in fielding percentage (.978) last year, and led the league with a .983 fielding percentage in conference games. Offensively, the Jags ranked second in home runs (54) and walks (331), and third in slugging percentage (.400), on-base percentage (.378), runs scored (383), RBIs (348), sacrifice flies (23) and total bases (768).

In league contests, USA ranked second in the conference in OBP (.379), runs scored (192), RBIs (179), home runs (31) and walks (160). The Jaguar pitching staff ranked second in the Sun Belt in hits allowed (235) in league games, and third in opposing batting average (.247) and strikeouts (237).

South Alabama will open the 2019 season Fri., Feb. 15, at 3 p.m. (CT) against Clemson in Clemson, S.C., and will host Alabama State Tue., Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in its home opener at Stanky Field.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give.

2019 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
 
EAST DIVISION
1. Coastal Carolina (12) - 72 pts
2. South Alabama - 52 pts
3. Troy - 48 pts
4. Georgia Southern - 43 pts
5. Georgia State - 24 pts
6. Appalachian State - 13 pts
 
WEST DIVISION
1. Louisiana (11) - 71 pts
2. Texas State - 55 pts
3. Little Rock (1) - 48 pts
4. UTA - 36 pts
5. Arkansas State - 24 pts
6. ULM - 18 pts