Florida Gators baseball picked first in SEC East by league coaches
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Southeastern Conference announced the 2024 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll and All-SEC Team on Thursday, with Florida picked to win the East Division in its final year.
In addition to receiving 11 first place votes to win the East and another two to win the conference outright, a league-high four Gators were named First Team Preseason All-SEC: first baseman Jac Caglianone, second baseman Cade Kurland shortstop Colby Shelton and relief pitcher Brandon Neely. No other school placed more than two players on the first team.
In addition to being first team at first base, Caglianone also earned a second team nod as a starting pitcher. All four players who received honors are first-time Preseason All-SEC recipients.
Florida’s 11 votes to claim the East put them ahead of Tennessee (two) and Vanderbilt (one). The Gators’ two votes to win the SEC Regular Season Championship ranked third behind Arkansas (nine) and LSU (three).
For Caglianone and Neely, Thursday’s announcement marks yet another honor in what has become a busy preseason on the awards front. Caglianone holds status as a Unanimous First Team Preseason All-American while Neely garnered a first team nod from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in addition to a trio of second team mentions.
Last season, Caglianone launched an NCAA-leading and program-record 33 homers while slashing .323/.389/.738. He also set the team record with 90 RBI and was the lone Gator to play in and start all 71 games. The southpaw delivered a 7-4 record, 4.34 ERA, .190 batting average against and 87 strikeouts across 18 starts spanning 74 2/3 frames.
Another standout hurler for the 2023 Gators, Neely made a team-high 34 appearances while posting a 3.58 ERA. The Seville, Fla. product led the SEC with 13 saves in 14 opportunities – a total that ranked sixth nationally. He also fanned 72 batters in 55 1/3 innings and held hitters to a .223 batting average.
As for Shelton, the first-year Gator was named a Second Team Preseason All-American infielder by Perfect Game in January. This is the second piece of winter recognition for the sophomore, who batted .300/.419/.729 with 25 home runs at Alabama last season. Shelton led the Crimson tide in homers, slugging and OPS (1.148) while also adding 10 doubles, 51 RBI and 49 runs scored.
Although Kurland was snubbed for much of the preseason awards calendar, the SEC coaches named him the league’s first team second baseman. As a First Team All-SEC player and a Freshman All-American in 2023, the Tampa native slashed .297/.404/.555 with a program-record 17 homers at the second base position – the most by a UF freshman at any position since JJ Schwarz’s 18 in 2015.
SEC Predicted Order of Finish
Eastern Division
- Florida (11) – 88
- Tennessee (2) – 75
- Vanderbilt (1) – 73
- South Carolina – 50
- Kentucky – 44
- Georgia – 36
- Missouri – 19
Western Division
- Arkansas (9) – 87
- LSU (5) – 82
- Texas A&M – 68
- Alabama – 47
- Auburn – 46
- Ole Miss – 32
- Mississippi State – 23
SEC Champion: Arkansas (9), LSU (3), Florida (2)
Florida Gators baseball place four on All-SEC Teams
First Team
C: Cole Messina, South Carolina
1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida
2B: Cade Kurland, Florida
3B: Tommy White, LSU
SS: Colby Shelton, Florida
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina
OF: Kendall Diggs, Arkansas
DH/UTL: Ike Irish, Auburn
SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas
SP: Drew Beam, Tennessee
RP: Brandon Neely, Florida
Second Team
C: Devin Burkes, Kentucky
1B: Charlie Condon, Georgia
2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee
3B: Billy Amick, Tennessee
SS: Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt
OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M
OF: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State
OF: Bobby Peirce, Auburn
DH/UTL: Hayden Travinski, LSU
SP: Jac Caglianone, Florida
SP: Carter Holton, Vanderbilt
RP: Alton Davis II, Alabama
