The 2024 college baseball season really isn’t far from getting underway and that means we’re going to get to watch one of the best sports on the planet soon enough.
College baseball is fantastic and has one of the best postseasons in all of sports. The other is college softball, which is using the exact same format as college baseball.
Both sports are perfect. You should watch them both.
Speaking of perfect games, Perfect Game USA decided to release their top 25 college baseball rankings. Here’s what you need to know:
Table of Contents
2024 Top 25 preseason college baseball rankings
At the top, Perfect Game has ranked the Wake Forest Demon Deacons #1 overall. Wake Forest, who managed to win more than 50 games and make it to the College World Series, has a fascinating roster and is set to be a fun team to watch again this season.
Dave Van Horn and his Arkansas Razorbacks take the second spot in these preseason rankings and that seems to be a pretty solid ranking. Arkansas always has a ton of talent and though they sometimes underachieve in the postseason, they’re a great team to watch throughout the regular season.
The LSU Tigers, the defending national champs, take the third spot while the Florida Gators, last year’s runner up, end up in #4. One team that intrigues me ahead of this season, the TCU Horned Frogs, manage to round out the top 5.
Take a look below at the full breakdown of the top 25:
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- LSU Tigers
- Florida Gators
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Texas Longhorns
- Oregon State Beavers
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Stanford Cardinal
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Auburn Tigers
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- East Carolina Pirates
- UCLA Bruins
- NC State Wolfpack
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Clemson Tigers
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Duke Blue Devils
- UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
- Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
And now let’s go over some thought here.
3 teams that might be ranked too high
Look, it’s hard to tell, to be completely honest. There’s a lot that changes each and every postseason and this is just a bunch of guesswork on my part and the part of others right now.
And I also want to be transparent in saying that I plan on doing my own weekly rankings and that there are going to be plenty of teams that deserve more recognition than I’m able to give on a regular basis.
So, with that in mind, here are some teams I’m a bit hesitant of (or at least am concerned about them being ranked right where they are) right now:
- Auburn Tigers – I think Butch Thompson is a phenomenal coach and I find myself consistently impressed with all that he’s able to accomplish each and every season. I’m sure there’s something that I’m missing here, but I just don’t necessarily see Auburn as the 15th best team in the country right now. I’d probably have them as a top 20 team and when I wrap my rankings up, they’re probably going to be a bit lower than where they are right now.
- UCLA Bruins – UCLA had a rough year last in 2023 and while I believe there’s a ton of talent on that roster, it’s sometimes hard to make huge leaps after barely breaking over .500. But, if any program over the past decade has shown resiliency and the ability to rebound after a rough year, it’s UCLA. Maybe the Bruins can do that again.
- Texas A&M Aggies – I suspect Texas A&M is going to be a force to be reckoned with once more. The Aggies, at their best under Jim Schlossnagle, have shown that they can be a fascinating force to watch and a program that can truly make it to the College World Series in a very fun way. Last year was a bit of a step back and I think we’ll see A&M make it beyond a regional this year, but I’m not convinced that they’re going to be a top 10 team right now. Top 15? Probably. Just move them a few spots down and we’re good.
3 teams that might be ranked too low
Let’s go on the flip side of it all. Which teams should be ranked a bit higher than they are right now? Who deserves a bit more respect than what they’ve received up to this point?
(Again, I’ll have my own rankings soon, and the folks over at Perfect Game USA do good work, so don’t blame them for having a slightly different opinion than what I’ve got).
- Stanford Cardinal – Over the past few years, Stanford has been a team that consistently fascinates me. I don’t really know just how much potential the Cardinal has this season, but I’ll be watching to find out.
- LSU Tigers – I don’t think I’d bet against Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers. They’re too good a team to really overlook and I was shocked at just how dominant they could be at times last season. It honestly wouldn’t shock me if LSU won another College World Series title again this season.
- Florida Gators – The Florida Gators are good at baseball, by the way. Kevin O’Sullivan’s group looked strong down the stretch last season. I don’t know how far this team will go, we’ve seen some Florida teams underachieve relative to talent in years past, but I’d love to watch the Gators make another run in the SEC this season.
Final takeaways
Of all the conference to watch this season, I think the Big 12 might be one of the most interesting to me right now. Kansas State, in particular, is an intriguing team to have ranked where they are. I don’t know enough about the Wildcats baseball team, but I intend to keep my eyes on Manhattan this season.
Beyond the Big 12, it’ll be fun to see how the Big Ten shapes up and if Iowa is able to take control of the Midwest this season. Right now Iowa is the only Big Ten team that happens to be ranked and that is definitely something to watch for this season.
And over in the SEC, well there’s just a lot of good talent and you should expect like four of those teams in Omaha. I don’t know if they’ll pull that off, but there’s just a ton of talent there.
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