Since it appears to be a slow day on the board, I have put together a preseason All-SEC squad (trying to be as objective as possible). I am interested to read your thoughts and/or selections for the team, so here goes...
2003 Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team
C - Landon Powell, South Carolina
1B - Matthew Brinson, Mississippi State
2B - Walter Sevilla, Tennessee
3B - Brian Buscher, South Carolina
SS - Aaron Hill, LSU*
OF - Javon Moran, Auburn
OF - Beau Hearod, Alabama
OF - Ben Harrison, Florida
P - Jeremy Sowers, Vanderbilt
P - Paul Maholm, Mississippi State
P - Colby Paxton, Auburn
P - Jeffrey Norris, Alabama
P - Alan Horne, Ole Miss
P - Taylor Tankersley, Alabama
P - Brian Reed, Alabama
P - Brian Wilson, LSU
Player of the Year - Landon Powell, South Carolina
Pitcher of the Year - Paul Maholm, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year - Ron Polk, Mississippi State
Ranking the SEC coaches:
1. Jim Wells, Bama
2. Ron Polk, Miss. St.
3. Ray Tanner, USC
4. Mike Bianco, Ole Miss
5. Pat McMahon, Florida
6. Smoke Laval, LSU
7. Rod Delmonico, UTK
8. Steve Renfroe, Auburn
9. Keith Madison, UK
10. Dave Van Horn, Arkansas*
11. Ron Perno, UGA
12. Tim Corbin, Vandy*
Projected Order of Finish
East
1. South Carolina
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky
USC has to replace their top two players in Drew Meyer and Yaron Peters, but Ray Tanner returns one of the conference's strongest pitching staffs. Look for third baseman Brian Buscher to have a big year, and catcher Landon Powell will finally get his chance to shine as the SEC's top catcher now that he is no longer playing in the shadow of our very own Jeremy Brown. Georgia is my dark horse team in the division. UGA has some good hitters, led by 3B Lee Mitchell, and the starting rotation doesn't have stellar numbers, but at least has experience. Florida should slip a little after losing most of their lineup and their entire weekend rotation. Ben Harrison will challenge for Player of the Year recognition, but his supporting cast will be made up of extremely talented yet inexperienced youngsters. Tennessee had a down year in '02, but should improve on those numbers this season. The Viles aren't all that impressive (although some consider catcher Javi Herrera one the best backstops at the collegiate level) and will have to fight for a spot in the SEC tournament. Personally, I would love it if they lost every game they played, but that's just me. Vandy has a true gem in LHP Jeremy Sowers. The problem is that he has no run support or bullpen help. I see the 'Dores take some lumps this season, but new coach Tim Corbin, a former Clemson assistant who replaces longtime head coach Roy Mewbourne, should be able to have Vandy seriously contending before too long. Kentucky is really the only complete pushover in the league and will have a hard time even matching last year's meager conference win total now that first-round draft pick Joseph Blanton is gone.
West
1. Mississippi State
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Auburn
5. Ole Miss
6. Arkansas
The West will be yet another tight race, and basically any of the six could step up and win the division. Mississippi State returns most of their starters, which seems to be a rarity around the league this year. LSU is probably a little overrated right now, but they will probably still manage to win enough to get by, host the super regional, and peak at the right time. People rant and rave about Auburn's pitching, but they had one of the worst team ERAs in the league last year. They should be better, but not Omaha material. Ole Miss lost a lot of power in the lineup (Burney Hutchinson, Josh Christian), but Seth Smith is one of the top hitters in the SEC and the defense is strong. RHP Alan Horne is the ace of the staff and looks to be the real deal, but the rest of the pitching is questionable. Arkansas has a new coach in Dave Van Horn, who hopes he can pick up where the Hogs left off last season - going from the #8 seed in the SEC to one game away from Omaha.
I'll leave discussion of our team out, since that's really what this board is all about anyway!
2003 Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team
C - Landon Powell, South Carolina
1B - Matthew Brinson, Mississippi State
2B - Walter Sevilla, Tennessee
3B - Brian Buscher, South Carolina
SS - Aaron Hill, LSU*
OF - Javon Moran, Auburn
OF - Beau Hearod, Alabama
OF - Ben Harrison, Florida
P - Jeremy Sowers, Vanderbilt
P - Paul Maholm, Mississippi State
P - Colby Paxton, Auburn
P - Jeffrey Norris, Alabama
P - Alan Horne, Ole Miss
P - Taylor Tankersley, Alabama
P - Brian Reed, Alabama
P - Brian Wilson, LSU
Player of the Year - Landon Powell, South Carolina
Pitcher of the Year - Paul Maholm, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year - Ron Polk, Mississippi State
Ranking the SEC coaches:
1. Jim Wells, Bama
2. Ron Polk, Miss. St.
3. Ray Tanner, USC
4. Mike Bianco, Ole Miss
5. Pat McMahon, Florida
6. Smoke Laval, LSU
7. Rod Delmonico, UTK
8. Steve Renfroe, Auburn
9. Keith Madison, UK
10. Dave Van Horn, Arkansas*
11. Ron Perno, UGA
12. Tim Corbin, Vandy*
Projected Order of Finish
East
1. South Carolina
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky
USC has to replace their top two players in Drew Meyer and Yaron Peters, but Ray Tanner returns one of the conference's strongest pitching staffs. Look for third baseman Brian Buscher to have a big year, and catcher Landon Powell will finally get his chance to shine as the SEC's top catcher now that he is no longer playing in the shadow of our very own Jeremy Brown. Georgia is my dark horse team in the division. UGA has some good hitters, led by 3B Lee Mitchell, and the starting rotation doesn't have stellar numbers, but at least has experience. Florida should slip a little after losing most of their lineup and their entire weekend rotation. Ben Harrison will challenge for Player of the Year recognition, but his supporting cast will be made up of extremely talented yet inexperienced youngsters. Tennessee had a down year in '02, but should improve on those numbers this season. The Viles aren't all that impressive (although some consider catcher Javi Herrera one the best backstops at the collegiate level) and will have to fight for a spot in the SEC tournament. Personally, I would love it if they lost every game they played, but that's just me. Vandy has a true gem in LHP Jeremy Sowers. The problem is that he has no run support or bullpen help. I see the 'Dores take some lumps this season, but new coach Tim Corbin, a former Clemson assistant who replaces longtime head coach Roy Mewbourne, should be able to have Vandy seriously contending before too long. Kentucky is really the only complete pushover in the league and will have a hard time even matching last year's meager conference win total now that first-round draft pick Joseph Blanton is gone.
West
1. Mississippi State
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Auburn
5. Ole Miss
6. Arkansas
The West will be yet another tight race, and basically any of the six could step up and win the division. Mississippi State returns most of their starters, which seems to be a rarity around the league this year. LSU is probably a little overrated right now, but they will probably still manage to win enough to get by, host the super regional, and peak at the right time. People rant and rave about Auburn's pitching, but they had one of the worst team ERAs in the league last year. They should be better, but not Omaha material. Ole Miss lost a lot of power in the lineup (Burney Hutchinson, Josh Christian), but Seth Smith is one of the top hitters in the SEC and the defense is strong. RHP Alan Horne is the ace of the staff and looks to be the real deal, but the rest of the pitching is questionable. Arkansas has a new coach in Dave Van Horn, who hopes he can pick up where the Hogs left off last season - going from the #8 seed in the SEC to one game away from Omaha.
I'll leave discussion of our team out, since that's really what this board is all about anyway!
