Alabama baseball begins its season next week as a top-25 team but predicted to finish in the bottom half of the SEC.

The Tide was picked fifth in the SEC western division by coaches in the league’s preseason poll, receiving 34 voting points that were tied with Kentucky as the 10th-most in the conference.

LSU was predicted to win both the division and the conference championship by coaches.

Alabama had no players chosen to either the coaches’ preseason All-SEC first team or second team.

The Tide finished sixth in the SEC western division last season at 12-17 and 31-27 overall. It upset Georgia and Arkansas at the SEC tournament but was not selected to the NCAA tournament, which it made in 2021 for the first time since 2014.

Alabama is ranked nationally in multiple preseason polls this year. It was voted No. 25 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and No. 20 by D1Baseball.com.

Alabama opens its season with a three-game home stand against Richmond beginning next Friday. Its SEC opener is March 16 at Florida, and the SEC tournament will be held May 23-28 in Hoover.

Full SEC coaches’ 2023 preseason baseball poll:

Eastern Division

1. Tennessee (12) – 90

2. Florida (2) – 79

3. Vanderbilt – 64

4. South Carolina – 51

5. Georgia – 48

6. Kentucky – 34

7. Missouri – 19

Western Division

1. LSU (12) – 88

2. Texas A&M (1) – 69

3. Arkansas – 68

4. Ole Miss (1) – 64

5. Alabama – 34

6. Auburn – 33

7. Mississippi State – 29

SEC champion: LSU (11), Florida (1), Ole Miss (1), Texas A&M (1)

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.