The University of Mississippi Athletics
Preseason SEC Softball Poll Announced
1/21/2016 | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In a vote of the Southeastern Conference's 13 head coaches, the Ole Miss Softball team was picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll, the league office announced Thursday.
Florida, the two-time defending National Champion, was chosen to win the 2016 SEC title. LSU, Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee rounded out the top five in the preseason poll.
Points for the poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The Rebels enter the year coming off a strong 2015 campaign under now second-year head coach Mike Smith. Ole Miss went 30-25 overall, tied for the most wins in the 19-year history of the program. The Rebels return 13 players from last year's team including All-Freshman SEC Elantra Cox and six seniors, and welcome 11 newcomers to the 2016 squad competing for time in the lineup.
Ole Miss is set for a tough SEC slate, including seven of eight weekend series versus teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Rebels will host the defending national champion Gators April 8-10, and also host Women's College World Series club Tennessee to close the regular season.
Ole Miss opens the season Feb. 11-13 at the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
2016 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
Place | School | Points |
1. | Florida (10) | 142 |
2. | LSU (3) | 128 |
3. | Auburn | 121 |
4. | Alabama | 113 |
5. | Tennessee | 102 |
6. | Georgia | 85 |
7. | Missouri | 82 |
8. | Kentucky | 59 |
9. | Texas A&M | 58 |
10. | Mississippi State | 45 |
11. | South Carolina | 40 |
12. | Ole Miss | 27 |
13. | Arkansas | 12 |
For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at@msmithsb16.
