CLINTON, Miss. --- Fresh off being named the preseason favorite in a vote by the Gulf South Conference Head Coaches on Wednesday, Jan. 23, the Mississippi College baseball team was selected third in the Preseason National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Division II South Region Rankings.
 
MC, the defending GSC Champions, are the top GSC team in the NCBWA South Region Rankings.
 
Billy Cameron and Blaine Crim were named to the Preseason All-South Region First Team. The duo are among 27 players across the region to earn the honor and are two of nine from the GSC. Earlier Wednesday, the pair were selected to the GSC All-Preseason Team. Crim was listed as a preseason All-American by the Collegiate Baseball News while Cameron was tabbed a player to watch in the region by the publication.
 
Crim finished the 2018 season as an ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region selection, GSC Most Outstanding Player in the GSC Tournament and a Google Cloud Academic All-American. The Mobile, Ala., native led the Choctaws in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, runs batted in, home runs and total bases during the 2018 campaign. Crim also registered in the top five in runs, doubles, triples and walks.
 
Cameron was named to the all-tournament team. The Mendenhall, Miss., product ranked second on the team in batting average, RBI, home runs and total bases and listed in the top five in slugging percentage, runs, hits and doubles last season.
 
The University of Tampa was tabbed for the top of the rankings and claimed all 10 first place votes. The Spartans finished the 2018 campaign with a 42-11 record and were the South Region runner-ups. Florida Southern College, the defending regional champions, were picked second as the Mocs finished last season with a 45-11-1 mark and fell one game shy of the national championship game.
 
Mississippi College opens the 2019 campaign on Saturday, Feb. 2 as it travels to Searcy, Ark., to face Harding University in a three-game series. First pitch of the Saturday twinbill is slated for 1 p.m. The series finale is slated for Sunday, Feb. 3 with a 1 p.m. start.
 
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.
 
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.