FAYETTEVILLE — SEC baseball coaches project Arkansas to win the SEC West baseball championship in 2022.
The Razorbacks received five of of 14 first-place votes in the poll, which was released Thursday. Ole Miss and Mississippi State each received four first-place votes in the division voting and tied for second. LSU received one first-place vote and was projected fourth, followed in order by Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn.
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.
Arkansas has won or shared three consecutive SEC West titles. The Razorbacks won the division and conference title outright last season.
Vanderbilt, which was national runner-up to Mississippi State in 2021, is predicted to win the SEC East with nine first-place votes. Florida received three first-place votes and Georgia received two first-place votes in the division standings, and were predicted to finish second and third in the East, respectively.
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In a poll quirk that demonstrates how competitive the SEC is expected to be, Ole Miss was predicted to win the overall SEC title. The Rebels received four first-place votes when coaches were asked to predict the conference champion.
Arkansas received three first-place votes in the overall projection; Florida, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt each received two votes; and LSU received one.
All six of the teams that received a conference title vote are nationally ranked in the top 10 of the preseason USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll — No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Florida.
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Arkansas is scheduled to play all five of the other SEC teams in the top 10, including Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU and Vanderbilt at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Three Razorbacks were voted to preseason All-SEC teams by coaches. Second baseman Robert Moore is on the preseason first team, and third baseman Cayden Wallace and outfielder Brady Slavens are on the second team.
Ole Miss led all teams with five All-SEC projections, including shortstop Jacob Gonzalez on the first team. LSU, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State had three All-SEC picks.
All three players from LSU and Vanderbilt were on the first team.
Western Division (Rank. Team (First-Place Votes) - Total Vote Points
1. Arkansas (5) - 80
T2. Ole Miss (4) - 77
T2. Mississippi State (4) - 77
4. LSU (1) - 62
5. Alabama - 38
6. Texas A&M - 36
7. Auburn – 22
Eastern Division (Rank. Team (First-Place Votes) - Total Vote Points
1. Vanderbilt (9) - 87
2. Florida (3) - 77
3. Georgia (2) - 68
4. Tennessee - 63
5. South Carolina - 43
6. Kentucky - 34
7. Missouri – 20
Overall SEC Champion (Total Votes)
Ole Miss (4)
Arkansas (3)
Florida (2)
Mississippi State (2)
Vanderbilt (2)
LSU (1)
First Team All-SEC
C: Logan Tanner, Mississippi State
1B: Tre' Morgan, LSU
2B: Robert Moore, Arkansas
3B: Jacob Berry, LSU
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF: Dylan Crews, LSU
OF: Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt
OF: Jud Fabian, Florida
DH/UTL: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt
SP: Landon Sims, Mississippi State
SP: Hunter Barco, Florida
RP: Nick Maldonado, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
C: Hayden Dunhurst, Ole Miss
1B: Tim Elko, Ole Miss
2B: Peyton Chatagnier, Ole Miss
3B: Cayden Wallace, Arkansas
SS: Ryan Ritter, Kentucky
OF: Jordan Beck, Tennessee
OF: Drew Gilbert, Tennessee
OF: Brady Slavens, Arkansas*
OF: Kevin Graham, Ole Miss*
DH/UTL: Luke Hancock, Mississippi State
SP: Jonathan Cannon, Georgia
SP: Will Sanders, South Carolina
RP: Jaden Woods, Georgia
*-Denotes voting tie