NEW ORLEANS – Old Dominion Baseball has been picked to finish seventh in the 2023 Sun Belt Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.
The Monarchs received a total of 116 points in the poll and are entering their first season as a member of the conference. Last year saw ODU finish one game shy of an appearance in the Conference USA Championship final, falling to eventual champion Louisiana Tech, 8-7 in the tournament semifinals. The Monarchs recorded their second-straight season with 40-plus wins as ODU finished 41-17 overall and 19-11 in conference play.
Southern Miss is the Sun Belt's preseason favorite as the Golden Eagles garnered 11 first-place votes and 192 points. Georgia Southern and Texas State tied for second with 158 points, Louisiana was picked fourth with 154 points, and Coastal Carolina was fifth with 151 points. South Alabama was the other team picked to finish ahead of ODU, receiving 123 points for the No. 6 spot.
Georgia Southern's Noah Ledford was named the Preseason Player of the Year and Southern Miss' Tanner Hall is the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
The Monarchs open their season at home against St. John's on Feb. 17-19. The season opener versus the Red Storm is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. ODU and St. John's will then play again at 2 p.m. that Saturday before closing out the series with a 12 p.m. contest that Sunday.
Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
1. Southern Miss (11) - 192
T2. Georgia Southern - 158
T2. Texas State (1) - 158
4. Louisiana (1) - 154
5. Coastal Carolina (1) - 151
6. South Alabama - 123
7. Old Dominion - 116
8. Troy - 109
9. Georgia State - 76
10. James Madison - 73
11. ULM - 58
12. App State - 43
13. Marshall - 36
14. Arkansas State - 23
Preseason Player of the Year
Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (RS Senior, DH)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Junior, SP)
Preseason All-Conference
C: Julian Brock, Louisiana
1B: Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana
2B: Jesse Sherrill, Georgia Southern
SS: Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss
3B: Jarrett Brown, Georgia Southern
OF: Max Ryerson, Georgia State
OF: Carson Paetow, Southern Miss
OF: Jose Gonzalez, Texas State
DH: Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern
UT: Cameron Jones, Georgia State
SP: Tanner Hall, Southern Miss
SP: Levi Wells, Texas State
SP: Zeke Wood, Texas State
RP: Triston Dixon, Texas State
Voucher Books!
The 2022-23 Old Dominion voucher book is available for sale on ynottix.com. Each voucher book contains 25 tickets and is priced at $50. Vouchers can be used for any regular season home game played at the Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium and can be presented at the gate for admission. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to purchase the 2022-23 ODU voucher book.
ODU Baseball Picked to Finish Seventh in Sun Belt Preseason Poll
