The SEC enters 2026 as college baseball’s deepest and most unforgiving league, pairing national championship pedigree with unmatched draft impact.

With a familiar heavyweight at the top, a crowded middle capable of real damage and elite talent spread throughout the conference, the race once again figures to be as volatile as it is loaded.

Baseball America subscribers can find our complete 2026 SEC preview below, featuring projected order of finish, top 2026 MLB Draft prospects and conference award picks.

Projected SEC Standings

Note: Records are from 2025

LSU (53-15; 19-11 SEC)

Mississippi State (36-23; 15-15)

Auburn (41-20; 17-13)

Georgia (43-17; 18-12)

Texas (44-14; 22-8)

Arkansas (50-15; 20-10)

Tennessee (46-19; 16-14)

Ole Miss (43-21; 16-14)

Vanderbilt (43-18; 19-11)

Oklahoma (38-22; 14-16)

Florida (39-22; 15-15)

Texas A&M (30-26; 11-19)

Kentucky (31-26; 13-17)

Alabama (41-18; 16-14)

South Carolina (28-29; 6-24)

Missouri (16-39; 3-27)

Top 10 SEC Draft Prospects For 2026

Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama

Derek Curiel, OF, LSU

Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida

Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State

Chris Hacopian, 3B, Texas A&M

Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky

Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn

Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas

Gavin Grahovac, 3B, Texas A&M

Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M

Want more draft rankings? You can find BA’s Top 200 board here.

SEC Team To Beat: LSU

LSU’s success under head coach Jay Johnson has made the Tigers not just the team to beat in the SEC, but the nation. They’ve won two of the last three national titles and were the only team other than UCLA to receive at least five predictive votes from current Division I head coaches to win the 2026 title. LSU lost a deep chunk of its 2025 talent via the draft, including the strikeout-mongering duo of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, but reloaded aggressively via the portal and high school recruiting, layering that talent atop an already strong foundation highlighted by righthander Casan Evans, outfielder Derek Curiel and shortstop Steven Milam. Betting against the juggernaut Johnson built would be a fool’s errand. As such, the Tigers open 2026 as favorites to win their league and major contenders to be the last team standing in Omaha.

SEC Player Of The Year

Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State

Reese was at the center of offseason transfer portal rumors after the Bulldogs hired longtime Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor to lead the program. Had he entered the portal, the slugging corner infielder would have instantly become the most sought-after player on the market. Instead, Reese stayed put in Starkville, remaining the face of the franchise and positioning himself at the center of Mississippi State’s renewed national title hopes. Reese was a hard-hit machine in 2025, posting a 91 mph average exit velocity while demonstrating a knack for pulling the ball in the air. He makes an impressive amount of contact for an aggressive hitter and finished his sophomore season hitting .352/.422/.718 with 21 home runs and 18 doubles.

SEC Pitcher Of The Year

Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida

Two years of refinement have led Peterson into his draft season as the top-ranked starting pitcher in the country, a distinction he is aware of and does not take lightly. The 6-foot-5 righty is armed with a fastball that tickles triple digits and explodes out of his uniquely high 6-foot-7 release point. His slider, changeup and curveball all flash plus, and he added a two-seam variant this offseason to challenge righthanders—an addition inspired by former Gator and current Atlanta Brave Hurston Waldrep. If Peterson can live around the strike zone in 2026, he will be a tough act to top at the national level, not just in the SEC.

SEC Freshman of the Year

Jack Bauer, LHP, Mississippi State

Eyebrows reached the hairline as the early rounds of the 2025 draft came and went without mention of Bauer, the flamethrowing prep lefty who became one of just five prep players ever to throw a verified 102 mph pitch. Bauer opted for college and enrolled at Mississippi State, where his historic heat immediately made an impression as he dominated hitters throughout his first collegiate fall and positioned himself to contribute out of the gate.

Notable SEC Storylines

LSU’s 2025 national title trimmed the SEC’s deficit to one in the all-time race for winningest baseball conference. The league now trails the currently inactive Pac-12 (18) with 17 national titles, including each of the last six dating back to 2019, an NCAA record for consecutive championships produced by one conference. Though UCLA enters the year as the favorite to hoist the 2026 trophy, the SEC has the best odds of producing a seventh straight winner, as the league will almost certainly claim the most NCAA Tournament bids. Last year, the league broke its own record with 13 bids, the same number Baseball America projects for it in 2026.

The SEC’s dominance extends well beyond the college game and into the very top of the MLB Draft. For three straight years dating back to 2023, the league has produced at least two of the top five selections, a run most recently continued by pitchers Kade Anderson and Liam Doyle. The pipeline shows no signs of slowing. Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, LSU outfielder Derek Curiel and Florida righthander Liam Peterson headline a group of 2026-eligible talents capable of keeping the streak alive. Notably, recent SEC products selected near the top of the draft have reached the major leagues with historic speed, reinforcing the league’s reputation as baseball’s most reliable finishing school.