The start of the 2026 Division I college baseball season is nearly upon us, as opening weekend matchups are set to get underway beginning Friday, Feb. 13.
To get ready for the new season, Baseball America’s annual college preview features our preseason Top 25 rankings, tournament predictions, Omaha sleepers, conference breakdowns and lots more.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add to our preview coverage ahead of the start of games.
Crystal Ball Predictions
We gaze into our crystal ball to make key predictions for the upcoming season, including Player of the Year, tournament teams and the 2026 national champion.
National Champion
UCLA is the favorite to win the national championship. Not by a landslide. Not with the same unanimity Texas A&M carried a year ago. But enough.
It starts with Roch Cholowsky. The UCLA shortstop enters the season as the top college draft prospect since Adley Rutschman in 2019 and is coming off a historic sophomore year that made him just the sixth non-draft-eligible player to win College Player of the Year. He opens the spring as the favorite to win the award again.
But this isn’t a one-man show for the Bruins. Beyond Cholowsky, UCLA is brimming with returning talent, from first baseman Mulivai Levu to outfielder Dean West to third baseman Roman Martin. The Bruins were also calculated and selective in the transfer portal, adding San Diego righthander Logan Reddemann and Texas outfielder Will Gasparino. They supplemented that group with a strong freshman class that includes righthander Angel Cervantes (a Pirates second-round pick in 2025) and infielder Dominic Cadiz.
There’s also the path to consider. Unlike Texas A&M a year ago, UCLA won’t have to survive an SEC gauntlet just to get to June. The Big Ten schedule gives the Bruins a much cleaner runway to position themselves at the top of the sport and stay there.
If last year’s Texas A&M snafu makes you hesitant to buy in, we asked 54 Division I coaches who they’d pick to win it all, with one rule: They couldn’t choose their own team. UCLA ran away with the poll.
NCAA Tournament Predictions & Omaha Sleepers
Before the first pitch of the season is even thrown, all eyes are on Omaha. Which programs will hear their names called on Selection Monday? And who could be this year’s Cinderella sleeper making an unexpected run to the College World Series? Here’s everything to know:
Preseason Player Of The Year
Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
The overwhelming expectation is for history to be made in Westwood this season, as Cholowsky enters the most highly anticipated draft year for a college player in years. The unanimous top prospect in the 2026 draft class, Cholowsky is the favorite to repeat as POY—a feat no player has accomplished in the award’s nearly half-century history.
Preseason Pitcher Of The Year
Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Flukey announced himself to those unfamiliar last June when he helped Coastal Carolina reach the national championship, throwing 10 innings with 12 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA in the College World Series. It capped an outstanding season in which the hard-throwing righthander posted a 3.19 ERA and team-best 118 strikeouts against just 24 walks over 101.2 innings. Flukey enters his junior season as a candidate to be the first pitcher off the board in the 2026 draft. He is Baseball America’s top-ranked pitcher in the cycle.
Preseason Freshman Of The Year
Jack Bauer, LHP, Mississippi State
Bauer made history twice last year by becoming the hardest-throwing prep lefthander on record when he touched 102 mph with a searing fastball, then later becoming the hardest-throwing prep pitcher, regardless of handedness, to reach the college level. He lived up to that billing during his first collegiate fall and is now expected to take on a contributing workload for a loaded Mississippi State roster. Bauer was the No. 44 overall prospect in the 2025 draft, making him the highest-ranked high schooler to make it to campus.
Rankings & Awards
We break down the top teams and players who will help write the story of the college baseball season in 2026.
Preseason Top 25 Capsules
Dive deeper into BA’s Top 25 with individual team capsules for each program featuring projected lineups, strengths, weaknesses and more.
Conference Previews
We break down each key conference before the 2026 season, featuring projected order of finish, top 2026 draft prospects and conference award picks.
Features & Analysis To Read
Led by Jacob Rudner, BA’s year-round college baseball reporting and analysis gets fans up to speed on everything to know heading into the 2026 season.
Podcasts To Listen To