LSU baseball predicted fourth in SEC in preseason coaches poll

BATON ROUGE, La. – Four LSU baseball players received 2025 Preseason All-SEC recognition Wednesday in a vote of the league’s 16 head coaches. The Tigers are predicted to finish fourth in the league in the coaches’ preseason poll.  

Texas A&M is the favorite to win the SEC regular-season title, and five different schools received first place votes to win the league championship. Texas A&M led the way with 10 votes, while Arkansas received three and Tennessee, LSU and Florida received one. Tennessee was predicted to finish second, followed by Arkansas in third, LSU fourth and Florida fifth.

LSU junior first baseman Jared Jones, sophomore left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson and junior right-handed pitcher Gavin Guidry received First-Team Preseason All-SEC recognition, and junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson was voted to the second team.

Jones, a native of Marietta, Ga., hit .301 (69-for-229) for LSU last season with 14 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 59 RBI and 56 runs. His 28 home runs marked the fourth-most in LSU history and the most by a Tiger since first baseman Matt Clark also hit 28 in 2008.

Jones, a 2023 Freshman All-American, finished the 2024 season No. 2 in the SEC in walks (59), No. 5 in home runs, No. 5 in slugging percentage (.747) and No. 9 in total bases (171).

He was named to the 2024 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional All-Tournament team after hitting a team-best .538 (7-for-13) with two homers, four RBI, five runs, nine walks and a .739 on-base percentage.

Anderson, a product of Madisonville, La., recorded an outstanding 2024 freshman season for LSU, making 18 appearances (nine starts) and posting a 4-2 mark with a 3.99 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 38.1 innings.

He was especially effective in the postseason, working 2.1 scoreless innings over two NCAA Chapel Hill Regional appearances on the same day (June 2 vs. Wofford and North Carolina) with two hits, one walk and six strikeouts.

Anderson also made two appearances in the SEC Tournament (May 25-26), working 1.2 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts.

Guidry, native of Lake Charles, La., made 22 relief appearances last season for the Tigers, posting a 2-0 mark, a 2.59 ERA and three saves in 24.1 innings with 18 walks and 36 strikeouts. He pitched a combined 4.2 innings in LSU’s SEC and NCAA postseason games, allowing just one unearned run on three hits with six strikeouts and one save.

He developed into one of LSU’s top arms out of the bullpen as a true freshman in 2023, making 23 appearances (one start) and posting a 3-0 record with a 3.77 ERA and three saves in 28.2 innings. He recorded 42 strikeouts and 12 walks, and he limited opponents to a .209 cumulative batting average.

Guidry made relief appearances in Games 2 and 3 of the 2023 College World Series Finals vs. Florida, working a total of 3.2 innings with four strikeouts. He pitched the final two innings of Game 3 to seal the CWS title for LSU, recording no walks and two strikeouts. He made a total of four CWS appearances, posting one walk and six strikeouts in five innings.

Dickinson, a native of Richland, Wash., transferred to LSU last summer from Utah Valley. He posted a .369 career batting average in two seasons at UVU with 27 homers, 95 RBI and a .457 on-base percentage.

He was a First-Team All-WAC selection in 2024, batting .363 (90-for-248) with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 53 RBI and 32 stolen bases.

2025 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Texas A&M (10) – 228

2. Tennessee (1) – 215

3. Arkansas (3) – 214

4. LSU (1) – 204

5. Florida (1) – 183

6. Georgia – 165

7. Vanderbilt – 156

8. Texas – 146

9. Mississippi State – 112

10. Kentucky – 102

11. Oklahoma – 101

12. Auburn – 100

13. Alabama – 98

14. South Carolina – 61

15. Ole Miss – 60

16. Missouri – 31

() – First place votes

2025 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team

First Team

C: Ike Irish, Auburn

C: Devin Burkes, Kentucky

1B: Jared Jones, LSU

1B: Hunter Hines, Mississippi State

2B: Cade Kurland, Florida

3B: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M

SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama*

SS: Dean Curley, Tennessee*

OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M

OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina

OF: Max Belyeu, Texas*

OF: Tre Phelps, Georgia*

DH/Util: Hayden Schott, Texas A&M

SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M

SP: Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas

SP: Liam Doyle, Tennessee

SP: Kade Anderson, LSU

RP: Nate Snead, Tennessee

RP: Alton Davis II, Georgia

RP: Gavin Guidry, LSU

Second Team

C: Rylan Galvan, Texas*

C: Luke Heyman, Florida*

1B: Cooper McMurray, Auburn

2B: Gavin Kilen, Tennessee

2B: Wyatt Henseler, Texas A&M

2B: Daniel Dickinson, LSU*

3B: Andrew Fischer, Tennessee

3B: Slate Alford, Georgia*

SS: Colby Shelton, Florida

OF: RJ Austin, Vanderbilt

OF: Hunter Ensley, Tennessee

OF: Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M

DH/Util: Will Hodo, Alabama

SP: Zane Adams, Alabama

SP: Landon Beidelschies, Arkansas

SP: Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss*

SP: JD Thompson, Vanderbilt*

SP: Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma*

RP: Christian Foutch, Arkansas

RP: Miller Green, Vanderbilt

RP: Robert Hogan, Kentucky

*Ties

*LSU press release