The University of Florida was predicted to repeat as the 2011 Southeastern Conference baseball champions, as voted by the league’s 12 baseball coaches in the 20th annual preseason SEC poll released on Tuesday.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gators return 22 letterwinners, eight position starters and 11 pitchers from last season's squad which captured its first SEC crown since 2005 with a program-best 22-8 league mark and advanced to the NCAA College World Series for the sixth time in school history. Florida is among the top three of the four major collegiate baseball preseason polls: 1st in Baseball America, 2nd in Collegiate Baseball and 3rd in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ and the NCBWA.
Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to 1996, the tournament champion was considered the SEC Champion.
In addition to picking a preseason SEC Champion, the league’s head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. After capturing back-to-back divisional flags, Florida was the favorite in the East with a total of 66 points. Vanderbilt was second with 55 points, while South Carolina, last season’s NCAA National Champion, finished third with 48 points. In the West, LSU was the favorite with 63 of a possible 66 points. Arkansas came in second with 49 points and Auburn third with 46 points.
Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
The Gators will raise the curtain on their campaign Friday at 7 p.m. versus USF at McKethan Stadium. Season-ticket information is available by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR or by visiting www.GatorZone.com/tickets.
The 2011 SEC regular season begins Friday, Feb. 18, with conference play set to begin Friday, March 18. The SEC Tournament will be played at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., May 25-29. The SEC Tournament has drawn over 100,000 fans six of the last nine years, including a record 126,000 in 2010. An NCAA-record of nearly two million fans attended games in the SEC last season, the ninth year in a row the SEC has topped the one million mark in attendance, leading the nation once again in that category.
2011 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Eastern Division
| No. | Team | Pts. | 2010 SEC Record/Finish |
| 1. | FLORIDA | 66 | 22-8/1st |
| 2. | Vanderbilt | 55 | 16-12/3rd |
| 3. | South Carolina | 48 | 21-9/2nd |
| 4. | Kentucky | 33 | 13-17/4th |
| 5. | Georgia | 26 | 5-23/6th |
| 6. | Tennessee | 17 | 12-18/5th |
Western Division
| No. | Team | Pts. | 2010 SEC Record/Finish |
| 1. | LSU | 63 | 14-16/5th |
| 2. | Arkansas | 49 | 18-12/2nd |
| 3. | Auburn | 46 | 20-10/1st |
| 4. | Ole Miss | 40 | 16-14/3rd |
| 5. | Alabama | 33 | 15-15/4th |
| 6. | Mississippi State | 17 | 6-24/6th |
SEC Champion: FLORIDA
