League coaches pick Hogs as favorite in West

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas was picked by the head coaches of the SEC to win the West and finish second overall, while four Razorbacks were tabbed as Preseason All-SEC players.

The 14 coaches in the SEC voted in the 27th annual preseason SEC poll and the Razorbacks picked up 12 of the 14 votes to win the division.

Arkansas also received one vote to win the SEC overall and received 90 points for the overall conference finish, just one point behind Florida.

Points were compiled on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 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.

In addition, Arkansas was one of only two schools (Florida) to have four or more players earn a spot on either Preseason All-SEC team.

Catcher Grant Koch led all Razorbacks as the lone first-team player. He’s coming off a career year where he hit .264 with a career-best 13 home runs and 42 RBIs, the highest home run and RBI total among all SEC catchers.

Shortstop Jax Biggers, outfielder Dominic Fletcher, and right-hander Blaine Knight make up the Arkansas contingent on the second team.

Biggers and Fletcher are both coming off All-SEC seasons of their own, while Knight is expected to be one of the top pitchers in the league in 2018 and was named a preseason All-American earlier this year.

Arkansas is scheduled to open the 2018 season against Bucknell on Friday, Feb. 16 with first pitch at 3 p.m. at Baum Stadium.