Duo Earns Preseason All-SEC, Dawgs Picked Sixth in West
February 07, 2019 | Baseball
State lands two on preseason All-SEC squad, coaches place Bulldogs sixth in ultra-competitive West Division
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The preseason poll featured all 14 baseball coaches voting on the preseason all-conference squad, along with ranking their projected order of finish in each division. No head coach was allowed to vote for his own team or student-athlete in the preseason poll.
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The coaches also chose the overall SEC champion, with Vanderbilt garnering nine votes. LSU (5 votes), Florida (2 votes) and Arkansas (1 vote) also appeared on the champions line. The divisional coaches polls are listed below, with first place votes in parenthesis.
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Western Division
1. LSU (10) – 88Â
2. Ole Miss (1) – 65 Â
3. Arkansas (1) – 59Â
4. Auburn (1) – 57
5. Texas A&M (1) – 48 Â
6. Mississippi State – 47 Â
7. Alabama – 21
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Eastern Division
1. Vanderbilt (9) – 87
2. Florida (4) - 81
3. Georgia (1) – 68
4. South Carolina – 53
5. Tennessee – 40
6. Kentucky – 30
7. Missouri – 26Â
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The Diamond Dawg duo of senior Jake Mangum and sophomore Tanner Allen each saw their names on the Preseason All-SEC squad, with Mangum earning a first-team distinction and Allen landing on the second team. The teams were based on positions, with Mangum filling one of three outfield spots on the first team and Allen qualifying as the second-team first baseman.
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Mangum enters the season looking to become the SEC's all-time hits leader, needing just 78 knocks to eclipse LSU's Eddy Furniss (352; 1995-98) for the all-time record. In his career, Mangum owns a hit in 146 of 176 games started (82.9%) and has reached base in 159 of 176 games started (90.3%). The active career leader in hits among NCAA baseball student-athletes, Mangum enters the season with 275 career hits.
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Mangum has already earned four preseason All-American honors heading into 2019, as the Pearl, Mississippi native has earned recognition from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (first team), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (first team), D1Baseball (second team) and Perfect Game (third team).
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Allen enters the season after starting all 68 games during his freshman campaign and garnering Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Allen hit .287 during his initial campaign in Starkville, driving in 45 runs, scoring 42 runs and boasting 28 extra base hits in 2018. His 79 hits ranked third on the squad and he added 27 walks, ending the season with a .353 on-base percentage.
The complete 2019 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team is listed below.
First Team
C: Philip Clarke, Vanderbilt
1B: Cole Zabowski, Ole Miss
2B: Austin Martin, Vanderbilt*
2B: Noah Campbell, South Carolina*
3B: Aaron Schunk, Georgia
SS: Casey Martin, Arkansas
OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas
OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas
OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: T.J. Collett, Kentucky
SP: Tanner Burns, Auburn
SP: Zack Thompson, Kentucky
RP: Matt Cronin, Arkansas
Second Team
C: Mason Meadows, Georgia
1B: Tanner Allen, Mississippi State
2B: LJ Talley, Georgia
3B: Tyler Keenan, Ole Miss
SS: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M
OF: JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt
OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU
OF: Daniel Cabrera, LSU
DH/UTL: Aaron Schunk, Georgia*
DH/UTL: Chase Cockrell, Ole Miss*
SP: John Doxakis, Texas A&M
SP: Tyler Dyson, Florida
RP: Parker Caracci, Ole Miss
*Tie (ties are not broken)
The Bulldogs open the 2019 season with a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field against Youngstown State on Feb. 15-17. The season opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 against the Penguins. Single game and general admission season tickets are on sale now by contacting the ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS or clicking here.Â
