HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana slides in as the No.3-ranked team in the 2021 Southland Conference Preseason Baseball Poll presented by Ready Nutrition, the league office announced Thursday.
 
The Lions fall in line behind top-ranked Sam Houston and second-place McNeese. The Bearkats received 16 first-place and 278 votes overall. McNeese's seven first-place and 256 overall votes put them just ahead of Southeastern (234 overall votes).
 
Led by Preseason All-Southland players Trey Shaffer, Preston Faulkner and Will Warren, Southeastern comes in one spot higher this season than the 2020 poll.
 
Following the Cowboys and Lions are Central Arkansas (221) and Northwestern State (213). The Lions, Bears and Demons each tallied one first-place vote.
 
New Orleans rounded out the top six with 145 points, and UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tied for the No. 7 spot with 133 points apiece.
 
Nicholls is picked to finish ninth, and the No. 10-12 teams were separated by just seven points in Abilene Christian (93), Stephen F. Austin (92) and Lamar (86). Houston Baptist rounded out the preseason poll with 37 points.
 
Southland preseason polls are voted on by each program's head coach and sports information director. Individuals rank the conference's other 12 teams in predicted order of regular season finish, with first-place votes worth 12 points, second-place votes worth 11 points and so on to one point for 12th place.
 
UP NEXT 
Southeastern opens the 2021 season Friday, February 19 at home as part of the Hammond, America Classic at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. The Lions are slated to face Mississippi Valley State, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m., South Alabama, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. and Mississippi Valley State once again, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m.
 
Mississippi Valley State and South Alabama are also slated to face each other twice, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. and Feb. 21 at 5 p.m., to round out the Hammond, America Classic.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary method for securing tickets during the 2020-21 school year. Tickets will be available via email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet. 
 
PARKING INFORMATION
Gameday parking for Southeastern baseball during the 2021 season is $5 per day. A season pass ($105) and reserved parking ($185) may be purchased in advance by completing the form at www.LionSports.net/Parking and submitting it to the Lion Athletics Association.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
 
LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.
 
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

Pl.	School (First-place votes)	Total
1.	Sam Houston State (16)	278
2.	McNeese (7)	256
3.	Southeastern Louisiana (1)	234
4.	Central Arkansas (1)	221
5.	Northwestern State (1)	213
6.	New Orleans	145
t-7.	UIW	133
t-7.	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	133
9.	Nicholls	107
10.	Abilene Christian	93
11.	Stephen F. Austin	92
12.	Lamar	86
13.	Houston Baptist	37