Ragin' Cajuns Picked Second in the West, Cantrelle Earns Preseason Honor

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana Baseball has been picked to finish second in the West Division in the Sun Belt Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll, while junior shortstop Hayden Cantrelle has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team, the league announced on Thursday morning.

Louisiana finished with five first-place votes, the second most in the conference. This is the first time since 2013 the team has not been picked to win its division or the league as a whole.

Cantrelle, who earned Sun Belt Conference First Team honors at shortstop last season, was named a Cape Cod League All-Star over the summer, named the 56^th-best draft prospect by MLB Pipeline and earned Preseason All-American Third Team status by Perfectgame.

Last year, Cantrelle recorded terrific numbers after slashing .309/.426/.504 and leading Louisiana with a .930 OPS. Out of all Division I players last season, Cantrelle is just one of six members to record at least 25 extra base hits and 25 stolen bases.

He also paced the Sun Belt Conference in stolen bases with 28 and owned a 14-game hitting streak where he went 25-for-53 (.471) during that stretch, tallying six home runs, 12 RBI and a whopping 24 runs.

Louisiana opens its season on Feb. 14 against Southeastern Louisiana with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. To purchase season tickets click, here.

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2020 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses

EAST DIVISION
1. South Alabama (6) - 62 pts
2. Coastal Carolina (4) - 61 pts
3. Georgia Southern (2) - 50 pts
4. Troy - 41 pts
5. Appalachian State - 23 pts
6. Georgia State - 15 pts

WEST DIVISION
1. UT Arlington (3) - 58 pts
2. Louisiana (5) - 57 pts
3. Texas State (3) - 55 pts
4. Little Rock (1) - 39 pts
5. ULM - 25 pts
6. Arkansas State - 18 pts

2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Baseball Team
Drake Nightengale, South Alabama (Senior, Starting Pitcher, Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Zach McCambley, Coastal Carolina (Junior, Starting Pitcher, Mount Pocono, Pa.)
Levi Thomas, Troy (Senior, Starting Pitcher, Cullman, Ala.)
Andrew Papp, Appalachian State (Senior, Relief Pitcher, Raleigh, N.C.)
Jack Jumper, Arkansas State (Senior, Relief Pitcher, Benton, Ark.)
Kale Emshoff, Little Rock (RS-Senior, Catcher, Robstown, Texas)
Kaleb DeLatorre, South Alabama (Senior, First Base, Fort Scott, Kan.)
Luke Drumheller, Appalachian State (Sophomore, Second Base, Charlotte, N.C.)
Hayden Cantrelle, Louisiana (Junior, Shortstop, Lafayette, La.)
Garrett Scott, Little Rock (RS-Senior, Third Base, Spring, Texas)
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern (Senior, Outfielder, Cumming, Ga.)
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Sophomore, Outfielder, Andalusia, Ala.)
Rigsby Mosley, Troy (Junior, Outfielder, Maitland, Fla.)
Will Hollis, Texas State (Senior, Designated Hitter, McKinney, Texas)
Andrew Beesley, ULM (Senior, Utility, Natchez, Miss.)

2020 Preseason Player of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Sophomore, Outfielder, Andalusia, Ala.)

2020 Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Drake Nightengale, South Alabama (Senior, Starting Pitcher, Hattiesburg, Miss.)

Ragin' Cajuns Picked Second in the West, Cantrelle Earns Preseason Honor

Players Mentioned

Hayden Cantrelle

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