LAFAYETTE — A pair of Ragin’ Cajuns earned spots on the 2018 Preseason All-Southland Conference football teams which were released on Friday.

UL Lafayette junior offensive lineman Kevin Dotson was named to the first team while redshirt sophomore running back Trey Ragas was named to the second team. 

Dotson, a former star at Plaquemine High and son of Cajuns letterman Kelcy Dotson, started 12 games last season at right guard and helped the team finish with the third-best rushing attack in the conference. Dotson earned second-team All-SBC honors in 2017.

Ragas, a native of New Orleans and former star at Archbishop Shaw High, is coming off a season where he rushed for team-high 813 yards and scored a team-high nine rushing touchdowns. That earned him third-team All-SBC honors in 2017.

The two selections are the lowest number of pre-season honorees for the Cajuns since the program had only three players earn pre-season honors back in 2013 when the conference released only a first team. In the years since, the Cajuns had 10 players earn preseason SBC honors in 2014, seven in 2015, and then six both in 2016 and 2017.

Defending SBC co-champion Troy received the most selections this year with 11, followed by runner-up Arkansas State with nine and co-champion Appalachian State with seven. Georgia Southern, meanwhile, had six players earn honors, South Alabama had five, UL Monroe and Georgia State each had four, while Texas State had two receive honors and Coastal Carolina had one selection.

Arkansas State’s Justice Hansen continues to rack up honors as he was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Hansen who threw for 3,967 yards and 37 touchdowns last year for the Red Wolves was the 2017 SBC Offensive Player of the Year.

Appalachian State’s Clifton Duck was tabbed as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and is coming off his second straight season of earning All-Sun Belt First-Team honors after leading the conference with six interceptions in 2017.

The preseason teams were voted upon by the league’s 10 head coaches and selected media representatives.

The Cajuns also were picked to finish fourth out of five teams in the SBC West Division.

Arkansas State was picked to win the SBC West followed by UL Monroe, South Alabama, the Cajuns and then Texas State. Appalachian State was picked to win the SBC East followed by Troy, Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.

Arkansas State was picked to win the inaugural SBC Championship Game which will be held Saturday,  Dec. 1.

The Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day will take place on Monday inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.