After a deep postseason run in 2016, the USC Aiken Pacers have been selected as the team to beat as they stand atop the 2017 poll. USCA received seven first-place votes and 135 total points, putting them just ahead of second-place Columbus State. North Georgia was third with Lander fourth and Georgia College fifth. Montevallo, Flagler, UNC Pembroke, Francis Marion, Augusta, Armstrong State, Young Harris and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the voting.
Head Coach Chris Howell and the Jaguars return to the field on Feb. 3-5 at West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga.
Augusta went 29-22 last year in 2016 and 17-13 in the Peach Belt. The squad earned a No. 18 national ranking from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America (NCBWA) in mid-April – the team's first national mark since the 2005 season. The Jags put together a winning season for the first time since the 2008 campaign
Augusta ended the 2016 season fifth in the Peach Belt standings after making their first trip to the PBC Tournament since 2011. The Jaguars have 12 new student-athletes for the 2017 spring season. The squad returns 19 total letterman from 2016. Augusta has 48 games total on the new slate with 22 home games scheduled. The Jags host all their games at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
The 2017 coaches poll is below. Teams were given 12 points for a first-place vote, 11 for second place and so on. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
Read the full PBC press release by clicking here
Peach Belt 2017 Preseason Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
Total |
|
1. |
USC Aiken |
135 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
135 |
|
2. |
Columbus State |
129 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
129 |
|
3. |
North Georgia |
113 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
113 |
|
4. |
Lander |
97 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
97 |
|
5. |
Georgia College |
94 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
94 |
|
6. |
Montevallo |
83 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
83 |
|
7. |
Flagler |
80 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
|
8. |
UNC Pembroke |
74 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
74 |
|
9. |
Francis Marion |
68 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
68 |
|
10. |
Augusta |
63 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
63 |
|
11. |
Armstrong State |
38 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
38 |
|
12. |
Young Harris |
22 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
22 |
|
13. |
Georgia Southwestern |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
18 |
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