AUGUSTA, Ga. | The Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll for baseball has been released.
 
Georgia College & State University has been picked to finish fifth in the league.
 
Columbus State University, which received five first-place votes and 89 points, was the top choice and was followed by the University of North Georgia (86 points, two first-place votes) and Lander University (83 points, four first-place votes). which won both the PBC regular season and tournament titles in 2025. Georgia Southwestern State University was voted fourth with 71 points.

GCSU was fifth with 62 points. The Bobcats return 19 players from last year's team that went 30-24 overall and finished in third place in the Peach Belt with a 19-8 ledger. GCSU's senior outfielder Carson Phillips was named to preseason All-PBC team. Phillips, who is from St. Simons Island, Georgia,  started 53 games for the Bobcats in 2025 and batted .320 (66-of-206) with 13 doubles, a triple and three home runs. Phillips, who was named to the All-PBC Tournament team last year, drove in 43 runs, while scoring 45 times. Phillips, who slugged .409 and had a .396 on-base percentage, was a perfect 14-of-14 in stolen bases.

Flagler College was picked sixth with 58 points and was followed by the University of South Carolina-Aiken (54), Augusta University (37), Middle Georgia State University (32), the University of South Carolina-Beaufort (23) and Claflin University (10).

GCSU opens its 2026 season at John Kurtz Field Friday (Jan. 30) with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against two-time defending NCAA Division II national champions University of Tampa, which is picked No. 1 in the preseason American Baseball Coaches Association Division II poll.

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.