JACKSON, Miss. | Jackson State was picked to finish third in the preseason poll and three players were selected Preseason All-Conference, released by the Southwestern Atheltic Conference (SWAC) on Monday morning.

Jordan McCladdie was named the Preseason Player of the Year after he finished second on the team in hitting and eighth in the SWAC (102nd in the nation) at .364 last season. He led the conference (94th in the NCAA) in hits with 82 and in hits per game at 1.49 (64th in the nation). He scored 71 runs on the season to finish third in the conference (29th in the nation), and averaged 1.29 runs per game to finish fourth in the conference (19th in the nation). McCladdie finished second in the conference in triple (11th in the country) with six and third in triples per game (0.11) and 17th in the nation. He was also fifth in the conference in stolen bases with 40 (fifth in the nation) and 0.73 stolen bases per game (0.73), and he was second in the conference in triples with six (11th in the nation) and third in the conference in triples per game at 0.11 (17th in the nation). 

He was joined on the first team by fellow outfielder Joseph Eichelberger who led the team in hitting with .375 batting average, placing him sixth in the SWAC and 68th in the nation. He was third in the conference in hits per game (1.42) and 124th in the nation, and recorded 75 hits on the season (second on the team) including 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs. Eichelberger scored 75 runs and knocked in another 53, and recorded five sacrifice flies which was good for seventh in the SWAC (125th in the nation). He also recorded 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts, and recorded multi-hit games 21 times, including a pair of four-hit games.

Sophomore Robert Tate Jr. was named to the second team as a shortstop after third on the team in hitting with a .352 batting average good for 12th in the SWAC and 167th in the country. He recorded 56 hits as a true freshman including collecting six doubles and two triples. Tate finished sixth in the SWAC (27th in the nation) in sacrifice bunts and fifth in the SWAC (25th in the nation) in sacrifice bunts per game at 0.21, while also recording eight stolen bases in nine attempts.

The Tigers were picked to finish third in the preseason behind defending champion Grambling State (156) and Bethune-Cookman (150) with 146 points. They were picked to finish ahead of Alabama State (142), Florida A&M (140), and Southern (119). 

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