Arkansas Tech will have to prove league coaches wrong if it is to make its first appearance in the Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament since 2007.
The Wonder Boys are picked to finish sixth in the GSC West Division during the 2010 season in a preseason poll of league head baseball coaches.
Only the top four teams in the GSC West will make it to Millington, Tenn., for the GSC Tournament May 1-5.
Arkansas Tech will be under the direction of first-year head coach Dave Dawson (photographed). He inherits a program that was 22-30 overall and 9-12 in GSC play in 2009.
The Wonder Boys have six returning position players and five returning pitchers. Among the returnees are 2010 preseason All-GSC West Division selections Jeremy Houchin and Clint Stroud.
Houchin and Stroud played mostly in the outfield in 2009, but Stroud made the move to first base in the offseason and Houchin is a candidate to help Tech at designated hitter in 2010.
Southern Arkansas is a unanimous favorite to win the 2010 GSC West Division title, and the Muleriders are also the coaches’ choice to win the 2010 GSC Tournament.
Valdosta State is the pick to win the GSC East division championship.
The Wonder Boys will begin their 2010 season with 10 consecutive home games. The first two of those will come in a doubleheader against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday, Feb. 5. First pitch at Tech Field is set for 1 p.m.
Click here to view the complete 2010 preseason baseball release from the GSC.
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