Duplantis, Cabrera named preseason first-team All-SEC by coaches

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU senior outfielder Antoine Duplantis and sophomore outfielder Daniel Cabrera were named Thursday to the 2019 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team. Both players were second-team All-SEC selections.

The coaches selected LSU as the favorite to win the SEC Western Division title, and the Tigers finished second behind Vanderbilt as the coaches’ choice to win the overall league title.

Duplantis, a Lafayette, La., native, batted a team-high .328 (89-for-271) in 2018 with 13 doubles, six triples, two homers, 48 RBI, 55 runs and 19 stolen bases. He was first in the SEC in triples, third in stolen bases and fourth in base hits.

He was named to the 2018 SEC All-Tournament team after hitting .370 in six games with two doubles, one triple, five RBI and eight runs.

Duplantis has 268 career hits at LSU and needs 85 more to become the all-time hits leader in SEC history. Former LSU first baseman Eddy Furniss is the all-time SEC hits leader with 352 from 1995-98.

Cabrera, a 2018 Freshman All-America selection, batted .315 last season with 18 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 54 RBI. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors, and he finished seventh in the league in doubles and eighth in RBI.

The Baton Rouge, La., product played last summer as a starting outfielder for the United States Collegiate National Team, batting .300 in 14 games with one double, a team-high two homers and six RBI.

He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on May 14 after he enjoyed an incredible week in leading LSU to three wins in four games, including an SEC series victory over Alabama. Cabrera hit .769 (10-for-13) in four games (May 9-13) with two doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI.

2019 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll
Eastern Division
1. Vanderbilt (9) – 87
2. Florida (4) – 81
3. Georgia (1) – 68
4. South Carolina – 53
5. Tennessee – 40
6. Kentucky – 30
7. Missouri – 26

Western Division
1. LSU (10) – 88
2. Ole Miss (1) – 65
3. Arkansas (1) – 59
4. Auburn (1) – 57
5. Texas A&M (1) – 48
6. Mississippi State – 47
7. Alabama – 21

() – First place votes
SEC Champion: Vanderbilt (6), LSU (5), Florida (2), Arkansas (1)

2019 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team
First Team
C: Philip Clarke, Vanderbilt
1B: Cole Zabowski, Ole Miss
2B: Austin Martin, Vanderbilt*
2B: Noah Campbell, South Carolina*
3B: Aaron Schunk, Georgia
SS: Casey Martin, Arkansas
OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas
OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas
OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: T.J. Collett, Kentucky
SP: Tanner Burns, Auburn
SP: Zack Thompson, Kentucky
RP: Matt Cronin, Arkansas

Second Team
C: Mason Meadows, Georgia
1B: Tanner Allen, Mississippi State
2B: LJ Talley, Georgia
3B: Tyler Keenan, Ole Miss
SS: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M
OF: JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt
OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU
OF: Daniel Cabrera, LSU
DH/UTL: Aaron Schunk, Georgia*
DH/UTL: Chase Cockrell, Ole Miss*
SP: John Doxakis, Texas A&M
SP: Tyler Dyson, Florida
RP: Parker Caracci, Ole Miss

*Tie (ties are not broken)