2026 College Baseball Preseason Top 25

Less than 40 days separate us from the glorious return of college baseball.

With Opening Day quickly approaching, the crew at College Baseball Now refreshed our Preseason 2026 College Baseball Top 25, and we’re excited to present it to you.

Right off the bat, a few trends stand out—chief among them, the SEC’s continued grip on the sport. Nine teams (36%) of our Top 25 represent the Southeastern Conference, including four of the Top Five. Defending national champion LSU justifiably sits at Number 1, but fellow powerhouses Arkansas and Tennessee, alongside transfer-loaded squads Texas and Georgia, firmly occupy the sport’s upper echelon in our rankings.

Representation and reputation precede the Southeastern Conference nowadays, though, and this naturally places a target on SEC programs, particularly in early-season tournaments and midweek matchups. With expectations so high, the margin for error is razor thin—conference game or not.

While the SEC leads the way, the ACC’s depth here is undeniable, with seven teams (28%) appearing in our Top 25. Still though, conference pedigree alone no longer guarantees credibility or ranking, and mid-major standouts UC Santa Barbara and reigning CWS finalist Coastal Carolina are proof of it. Talent is more widely distributed than ever, and the modern landscape reflects this spread across the nation.

Postseason performance also weighed heavily in our evaluations. Beyond LSU’s Omaha triumph and Coastal’s stinging defeat, teams like Louisville, Oregon State, Coastal Carolina, and UCLA—all 2025 College World Series participants—are represented. Others, including Florida State, Auburn, North Carolina, and Tennessee, return with recent Super Regional experience still fresh. As a group, we aimed to look beyond pure MLB Draft upside, instead focusing on how programs handled the postseason grind and how much of their core returns in 2026.

As with any rankings, there will be questions abound; predictably, some will wonder where their favorite teams fell in our mix…

Oklahoma got four votes and Josh ranked them 23rd. NC State also had four votes, with JB having the Wolfpack highest at 21. Troy got love from all four of us, Josh had them highest at 25. Two of our four rankers – Josh and JB – had the Miami Hurricanes ranked 27th, though all four gave them a nod. I had Arizona ranked 27th and all four of us voted for them in some regard. Meanwhile, I also gave my 29th spot to Stanford. (Cardinal fans, remember who loves you.)

We hope you enjoy our preseason rankings. Let us know which spot surprised you most or where your favorite team landed in the comments or by reaching out to the gang on X.

Rank
Team
Conference
Head Coach
2025 Finish
2025 Record

1
LSU
SEC
Jay Johnson
College World Series Champion
53-15

2
Texas
SEC
Jim Schlossnagle
Austin Regional Finals
44-14

3
UCLA
Big 10
John Savage
College World Series
48-18

4
Arkansas
SEC
Dave Van Horn
College World Series
50-15

5
Tennessee
SEC
Josh Elander
Fayetteville Super Regional
46-19

6
Georgia
SEC
Wes Johnson
Athens Regional
43-17

7
Florida State
ACC
Link Jarrett
Corvallis Super Regional
42-16

8
TCU
Big 12
Kirk Sarloos
Corvallis Regional
39-20

9
North Carolina
ACC
Scott Forbes
Chapel Hill Super Regional
46-15

10
Texas A&M
SEC
Michael Earley
SEC Tournament – Round 3
30-26

11
Florida
SEC
Kevin O’Sullivan
Conway Regional
39-22

12
Georgia Tech
ACC
James Ramsey
Oxford Regional
41-19

13
Mississippi State
SEC
Brian O’Connor
Tallahassee Regional Finals
36-23

14
Virginia
ACC
Chris Pollard
ACC Tournament – Round 2
32-18

15
Auburn
SEC
Butch Thompson
Auburn Super Regional
41-20

16
Vanderbilt
SEC
Tim Corbin
Nashville Regional
43-18

17
Clemson
ACC
Erik Bakich
Clemson Regional
45-18

18
Louisville
ACC
Dan McDonnell
College World Series
40-22

19
Oregon State
Independent
Mitch Canham
College World Series
48-16-1

20
Oregon
Big 10
Mark Wasikowski
Eugene Regional
42-16

21
Oklahoma State
Big 12
Josh Holliday
Athens Regional Finals
30-25

22
Arizona State
Big 12
Willie Bloomquist
Los Angeles Regional
36-24

23
Wake Forest
ACC
Tom Walter
Knoxville Regional Finals
39-22

24
Coastal Carolina
Sun Belt
Kevin Schnall
College World Series Finals
56-13

25
UC Santa Barbara
Big West
Andrew Checketts
Big West Tournament – Round 1
36-18

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Director of Amateur Scouting, proud to lead and share the team’s work. | Check out Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live and College Baseball Now everywhere! | Grateful for family, the Vols, and everyone who reads Prospects Live. | For His Glory.