For the second consecutive season, defending SWAC Baseball Tournament Champion Alabama State (74 points,14 first place votes) has been pegged to win the Eastern division. ASU, which is coming off a historic 2016 season where the Hornets went a perfect 24-0 in SWAC play, returns the majority of what was a dominant offense last year. Jackson State was picked to finish second with 58 points, Alcorn State (41 points), Alabama A&M (35 points) and Mississippi Valley State (17 points) rounded out the projections for the eastern division.
The Western division is predicted to be very close this season. Arkansas Pine Bluff earned 58 points and was chosen as the preseason favorite. Grambling State and Texas Southern were predicted to each finish in second with 53 points, Southern (37 points) and Prairie View A&M (24 points) followed in the projected order of finish.
Sothern’s Harris, Grambling State’s O’Bear and Drain Earn Individual Accolades
Southern outfielder Dondrayas Harris was selected by the league's coaches and sports information directors as the preseason favorite for player of the year. The Panama City, Fla. native hit .346 last season, while racking up 47 hits, totaling 30 RBIs.
Grambling State had two players chosen for preseason individual honors. Pitcher Issac O’Bear was selected as the preseason favorite for pitcher of the year, and infielder Wesley Drain was pegged for the preseason defensive player of the year. O’Bear went 7-3 on the mound for the Tigers last season, while striking out 61 batters and totaling a 4.85 ERA.
Drain had a .263 batting average a season ago, while totaling 50 hits and 31 RBIs for the Tigers. The entire 2017 preseason awards list is below:
| PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Dondrayas Harris, Outfielder, Southern |
| PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR |
| Issac O'Bear, Pitcher, Grambling State |
| PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Wesley Drain, Infielder, Grambling State |
PRESEASON ALL SWAC BASEBALL - FIRST TEAM
| |
1B
| Chris Biocic (Alabama State) |
2B
| Eriq White (Alabama State) |
3B
| Ray Hernandez (Alabama State) |
SS
| Cornelius Copeland (Jackson State) |
OF
| Carlos Ocasio (Alabama State) |
OF
| Dondrayas Harris (Southern) |
OF
| Yamil Pagan (Alabama State) |
OF
| CJ Newsome (Jackson State) |
C
| Hunter Allen (Alabama State) |
DH
| Diandre Amion (Alabama State) |
SP
| Tyler Howe (Alabama State) |
SP
| Issac O'Bear (Grambling State) |
SP
| Miguel Yrigoyen (Jackson State) |
RP
| Brandon Marsonek (Alabama A&M) |
PRESEASON ALL SWAC BASEBALL - SECOND TEAM
| |
1B
| Jesus Santana (Jackson State) |
2B
| Wallace Rios (Alcorn State) |
2B
| Richard Alamo (Texas Southern) |
3B
| Daniel Barnett (Grambling State) |
SS
| Wesley Drain (Grambling State) |
OF
| Kamren Dukes (Texas Southern) |
OF
| Jaqueese Moore (Arkansas Pine Bluff) |
OF
| Bryce Brown (Jackson State) |
OF
| Cody Den Beste (Prairie View A&M) |
C
| Johan Majica (Grambling State) |
DH
| Julian Jones (Arkansas Pine Bluff) |
DH
| Sam Campbell (Jackson State) |
SP
| Seth Oliver (Texas Southern) |
SP
| Brandon Caples (Alabama State) |
RP
| Austin Bizzle (Alabama State) |
RP
| Conrado Skepple (Alcorn State) |
East Division
|
Points (first-place)
|
West Division
|
Points (first-place)
|
Alabama State
|
74 (14)
|
Arkansas Pine Bluff
|
58 (7)
|
Jackson State
|
58 (1)
|
Grambling State
|
53 (3)
|
Alcorn State
|
41
|
Texas Southern
|
53 (3)
|
Alabama A&M
|
35
|
Southern
|
37 (1)
|
Mississippi Valley State
|
17
|
Prairie View A&M
|
24 (1)
|
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