The baseball coaches of the Southern Conference announced their first and second Preseason All-Conference teams today.  The teams are headlined by Georgia Southern’s Victor Roache and Chris Beck, who were named Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Area schools were well represented on the teams.  College of Charleston’s outfielder Daniel Aldrich and pitcher Christian Powell were named to the first team.  They were joined on the team by Drew DeKerlegand, the third baseman for the Citadel.

Six area players were selected to the second team, including outfielder Marty Gantt and pitcher Josh Renfro of College of Charleston, first baseman Konstantine Diamaduros of Wofford, outfielder Nick Orvin of the Citadel, as well as third baseman Alex Abrams and designated hitter Taylor Johnson of Furman.  The full team rosters are listed below.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.  The Southern Conference baseball season kicks off on February 17 with all 11 teams in action.

2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason All-Conference Teams

First Team
SP  Chris Beck, Georgia Southern
SP  Christian Powell, College of Charleston
RP  Lex Rutledge, Samford
C    Trevor Edwards, UNCG
1B  Saxon Butler, Samford
2B  Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS  Eric Phillips, Georgia Southern
3B   Drew DeKerlegand, The Citadel
OF  Victor Roache, Georgia Southern
OF  Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
OF  Phillip Ervin, Samford
DH  Daniel Kassouf, Appalachian State

Second Team
SP  Ryan Arrowood, Appalachian State
SP  Josh Renfro, College of Charleston
RP  David Port, Appalachian State
C    Alex Swim, Elon
1B  Konstantine Diamaduros, Wofford
2B  Sebastian Gomez, Elon
SS  Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina
3B  Zack Briggs, Appalachian State
3B  (tie) Alex Abrams, Furman
OF  Marty Gantt, College of Charleston
OF  Nick Orvin, The Citadel
OF  Tyler Zupcic, Appalachian State
DH  Taylor Johnson, Furman

The Southern Conference released both their baseball preseason coaches and media polls today, with favorable results for the College of Charleston. 

The Cougars were picked to finish first by the coaches, receiving 6 out of a possible 11 first place votes.  They were selected as being the second best team in the conference by the media, receiving only 3 of the possible 25 first place votes. 

Charleston finished last year with a record of 39-22 (18-12 in conf) and returns its entire starting rotation, as well as outfielders Daniel Aldrich and Marty Gantt, who were both named all-conference last season.

Georgia Southern finished first in the media poll getting 20 of the first place votes and finished second in the coaches poll (4 first place votes).

The Citadel, Wofford, and Furman finished 8th, 9th, and 10th, respectively in each of the coaches and media polls.  Davidson was picked to finish 11th, last in the SoCon.

The Southern Conference baseball season begins on February 17, when all 11 teams will be in action, and will culminate with the 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Championship that will be held from May 23-27 at Flour Field in Greenville.

The full polls are listed below:

2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. College of Charleston (6)  93
2. Georgia Southern (4)        92
3. Samford (1)                     83
4. Elon                               76
5. Appalachian State           62
6. Western Carolina            51
7. UNCG                            50
8. The Citadel                     33
9. Furman                          32
10. Wofford                        18
11. Davidson                      15

2012 SoCon Baseball Preseason Media Poll
1. Georgia Southern (20)      269
2. College of Charleston (3)  246
3. Elon (2)                          220
4. Samford                         198
5. UNCG                            150
6. Appalachian State           149
7. Western Carolina            130
8. The Citadel                     112
9. Furman                            86
10. Wofford                          55
11. Davidson                        35

*first place votes listed in parentheses*

The school held a press conferce shortly after 6:15 to officially turn the team over to Assistant, Mark Byington. 

 Hull read from a statement from Cremins stating: “I have decided to step aside to take a medical leave of absence, I have asked our Athletics Director, Joe Hull, to turn the team over to our Associate Head Coach, Mark Byington…..”

You can listen to the entire press confernce below.

AUDIO: College of Charleston Press Confernce

AUDIO: Kevin Higgins

AUDIO: Mike Ayers

AUDIO: Bruce Fowler

Davidson returns 11 lettermen and four starters for 2011-12. The Wildcats posted an overall record of 18-15 (10-8 SoCon) and advanced to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational a season ago. Davidson earned ten first-place votes and finished the balloting with 65 points. College of Charleston earned the final two first-place votes in the South Division and finished with 56 points. Georgia Southern was tabbed third (42) ahead of Furman (34). Wofford (32) was selected fifth with The Citadel (17) rounding out the South Division. 

After finishing tied for first in the North Division last year, the Chattanooga Mocs were picked first for the 2011-12 season. The Mocs boast four starters off last year’s team that posted a 12-6 mark in league play. UTC captured nine first-place votes and led the North Division with 64 total points. Appalachian State (51) earned two first-place votes and finished third while Western Carolina (44) grabbed the final first-place vote in the North Division. UNCG (42) was slotted fourth, while Elon (29) and Samford (16) rounded out the North Division. 

In addition to the preseason polls, the coaches selected an all-conference team. Carter is the league’s leading returning scorer from last season (16.3 ppg) and was a first team all-conference selection. Davidson, College of Charleston and Chattanooga each placed a pair on the all-conference team. Juniors Jake Cohen and JP Kuhlman garnered preseason plaudits for Davidson, while College of Charleston was represented by Trent Wiedeman and Antwaine Wiggins. Seniors Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad from Chattanooga were named preseason All-SoCon. They were joined by Willie Powers III (Georgia Southern), Drew Spradlin (Elon) and Trey Sumler (Western Carolina). 

The regular season opens Friday, November 11 as ten Southern Conference teams take the floor that evening. Furman travels to Elon November 30th in the first league contest. The Southern Conference Tournament will be held March 2-5, 2012 in Asheville, N.C. 

SoCon Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish

North Division

Team (1st Place Votes) Total

1. Chattanooga (9) 64

2. Appalachian State (2) 51

3. Western Carolina (1) 44

4. UNCG 42

5. Elon 29

6. Samford 16

South Division

Team (1st Place Votes) Total

1. Davidson (10) 65

2. College of Charleston (2) 56

3. Georgia Southern 42

4. Furman 34

5. Wofford 32

6. The Citadel 17

 2011-12 Preseason All-Conference Team

Keegan Bell, Chattanooga

Omar Carter, Appalachian State

Jake Cohen, Davidson

JP Kuhlman, Davidson

Willie Powers III, Georgia Southern

Drew Spradlin, Elon

Trey Sumler, Western Carolina

Omar Wattad, Chattanooga

Trent Wiedeman, College of Charleston

Antwaine Wiggins, College of Charleston

2011-12 Preseason Player of the Year

Omar Carter, Appalachian State

AUDIO: Mike Ayers

AUDIO: Eric Hyman