The SEC’s 14 head coaches picked LSU to finish 2nd in the SEC West behind Arkansas. The Tigers received five first-place votes, while the Razorbacks had nine first place votes. The Hogs are also the coaches’ pick to win an outright Southeastern Conference title.
Now it’s important to note LSU didn’t win the SEC West last year as they finished a half game back of Arkansas. The Bayou Bengals also didn’t make it to the semi-final round of the SEC Tournament, but in the end, they were holding up the big trophy at the end of the season in Omaha.
Third baseman Tommy White was also the lone selection from LSU to the coaches’ preseason All-SEC team. White led the nation in RBIs last season with 105 and he was third in total bases with 198.
White hit.374 and slugged 24 home runs despite a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery.
Tigers coach Jay Johnson says despite not swinging a bat for six months, “Tommy Tanks” looks prime for another big season.
“This is a guy that was born to hit for both average and power, I think through eight scrimmages he’s hitting .444, hit a home run the other day, looks like himself in the box, showing great plate discipline, he’s already walked nine times,” said Johnson.
White benefited from batting behind Dylan Crews. That means nearly half of the time he had someone on base when he came up to the plate. Plus, White had some veteran hitters behind him in Tre Morgan, Gavin Dugas and Cade Beloso.
This season, fifth year senior Hayden Travinski will likely bat behind White. Travinski was a second team selection on the coaches’ preseason All-SEC team.
In 41 games last season, Travinksi hit .356 with 10 home runs in 104 at-bats and he also drove in 30 runs.
Johnson is eager to see the numbers Travinski can put up, if he gets over 200 at bats.
“If you just look at his statistics last year, they are very impressive and if you were to double those by being able to play healthy and fulltime for a full season, what you have is an all-American hitter,” said Johnson. “He did it against the best competition, like Tommy he hit in the most important moments and with him sitting there right behind him there’s no way you can pitch around Tommy.”
This is the first time Arkansas has been picked to win the Southeastern Conference baseball championship since 2013. The Razorbacks get the edge over LSU because of their starting pitching.
Hagen Smith could be the SEC Pitcher of the Year. After suffering a sprained elbow last season, Brady Tygart is healthy this season and the Razorbacks weekend rotation will likely feature Mason Molina.
Molina was 6-2 with 3.67 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 83.1 innings for Texas Tech last season.
After Arkansas and LSU in the SEC, Texas A&M is projected to finish third, Alabama fourth, Auburn fifth, Ole Miss sixth and Mississippi State seventh.
The Bulldogs and the Rebels won a national championship in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Last year these two schools failed to make the NCAA Tournament. It’s like these schools sold their soul to win a national title.
