NEW ORLEANS – The Texas State baseball team was picked to finish second in the West Division of the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the league Wednesday morning.
 
The Bobcats totaled 55 points to land in the runner-up position of the division. Louisiana was chosen to win the West with 11 of the 12 first-place votes and 71 points. Little Rock landed the final first-place selection for the division and was slotted for third after picking up 48 points. Rounding out the West Division is UTA (36 points), Arkansas State (24 points) and ULM (18 points).
 
Coastal Carolina was a unanimous pick to take the East Division crown with all 12 first-place votes for 72 points. South Alabama edged out Troy for second in the division with 52 points to the Trojans' 48. Topping the bottom half of the East was Georgia Southern with 43 points followed by Georgia State (24 points) and Appalachian State (13 points), respectively.
 
TXST is coming off a 30-28-1 season that saw the squad finish second in the West Division with a 16-14 record. The Bobcats season concluded in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Championship for the second straight year.
 
A strength entering the season for Texas State will be the pitching staff that returns 11 pitchers that took the mound in 2018, who accounted for 82.7 percent of the innings pitched. All three weekend starters (Nicholas Fraze, Zachary Leigh and Connor Reich) are back along with bullpen stalwarts Kyle Bradford, Anthony Pagano and Brayden Theriot.
 
The Bobcats open the season by hosting the Texas State Tournament from Feb. 15-17 at Bobcat Ballpark. They will open with Utah at 6 p.m. on the 15th, followed by Nevada (16th) and Missouri State (17th).
 
Season ticket renewals and new purchases are on sale now with the deadline for renewals being Feb. 1. Mini-plans of three, five and 10 games are currently available for purchase. Single-game tickets will be made available for purchase on Feb. 5 for all games except for Texas, which will go on sale April 2.
 
Patrons can purchase their tickets at the TXST Athletic Ticket Office located at Bobcat Stadium, by calling the office at 512-245-2272 or by logging into their account on TXStateBobcats.com/tickets.
 
2019 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
West Division
1.    Louisiana (11) - 71
2.    Texas State - 55
3.    Little Rock (1) - 48
4.    UTA - 36
5.    Arkansas State - 24
6.    ULM - 18
 
East Division
1.    Coastal Carolina (12) - 72
2.    South Alabama - 52
3.    Troy - 48
4.    Georgia Southern - 43
5.    Georgia State - 24
6.    Appalachian State - 13