This season, the challenge for UA will be to overcome LSU. The Tigers, as defending champions, are No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll. Texas, an Arkansas rival and fellow SEC team, is No. 3 in the poll. The other two teams ahead of Arkansas in the preseason poll are UCLA at No. 2, with Roch Cholowsky — widely acknowledged as the player most likely to be the No. 1 pick in this summer’s 2026 MLB draft — and Georgia Tech out of the ACC at No. 4.
