Post by notdpb on Jan 21, 2015 1:35:59 GMT -5
Defending national champion Vanderbilt tops the inaugural D1Baseball preseason Top 25 rankings. The Commodores have unrivaled firepower on the mound and a deep, athletic lineup, making them favorites to repeat as College World Series champions this June.
Vandy is one of three SEC Eastern Division teams in the top five of the rankings, as defending SEC regular-season champion Florida checks in at No. 2, and South Carolina enters the season ranked No. 5. The SEC leads all conferences with eight Top 25 teams overall, followed by the ACC (five), Big 12 (four), Pac-12 (three) and Big Ten (two).
Virginia, the 2014 national runner-up, welcomes back a stellar pitching staff of its own and enters the season ranked No. 3. UCLA, the 2013 national champion, looks primed to rebound from its injury-ravaged 2014 season and checks in at No. 4 heading into this spring.
Seven of last year’s eight Omaha teams crack the preseason rankings, as Vanderbilt and Virginia are joined by No. 8 TCU, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Louisville, No. 16 Texas Tech and No. 18 Ole Miss. Only UC Irvine enters the season unranked after playing in the 2014 CWS.
Preseason Top 25
The D1Baseball Top 25 rankings are released every Monday morning during the season. The D1Baseball staff determines the Top 25.
Rank Team 2014 record Conference
1 Vanderbilt 51-21 SEC
2 Florida 40-23 SEC
3 Virginia 53-16 ACC
4 UCLA 25-30 Pac-12
5 South Carolina 44-18 SEC
6 North Carolina 35-27 ACC
7 Houston 48-18 American
8 TCU 48-18 Big 12
9 LSU 46-16 SEC
10 Texas 46-21 Big 12
11 Louisville 50-17 ACC
12 Oklahoma State 48-18 Big 12
13 Rice 42-20 C-USA
14 Maryland 40-23 Big Ten
15 Miami 44-19 ACC
16 Texas Tech 45-21 Big 12
17 Texas A&M 36-26 SEC
18 Ole Miss 48-21 SEC
19 Cal State Fullerton 34-24 Big West
20 Alabama 37-24 SEC
21 Florida State 43-17 ACC
22 Oregon 44-20 Pac-12
23 Nebraska 41-21 Big Ten
24 Arizona State 33-24 Pac-12
25 Tennessee 31-23 SEC
Vandy is one of three SEC Eastern Division teams in the top five of the rankings, as defending SEC regular-season champion Florida checks in at No. 2, and South Carolina enters the season ranked No. 5. The SEC leads all conferences with eight Top 25 teams overall, followed by the ACC (five), Big 12 (four), Pac-12 (three) and Big Ten (two).
Virginia, the 2014 national runner-up, welcomes back a stellar pitching staff of its own and enters the season ranked No. 3. UCLA, the 2013 national champion, looks primed to rebound from its injury-ravaged 2014 season and checks in at No. 4 heading into this spring.
Seven of last year’s eight Omaha teams crack the preseason rankings, as Vanderbilt and Virginia are joined by No. 8 TCU, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Louisville, No. 16 Texas Tech and No. 18 Ole Miss. Only UC Irvine enters the season unranked after playing in the 2014 CWS.
Preseason Top 25
The D1Baseball Top 25 rankings are released every Monday morning during the season. The D1Baseball staff determines the Top 25.
Rank Team 2014 record Conference
1 Vanderbilt 51-21 SEC
2 Florida 40-23 SEC
3 Virginia 53-16 ACC
4 UCLA 25-30 Pac-12
5 South Carolina 44-18 SEC
6 North Carolina 35-27 ACC
7 Houston 48-18 American
8 TCU 48-18 Big 12
9 LSU 46-16 SEC
10 Texas 46-21 Big 12
11 Louisville 50-17 ACC
12 Oklahoma State 48-18 Big 12
13 Rice 42-20 C-USA
14 Maryland 40-23 Big Ten
15 Miami 44-19 ACC
16 Texas Tech 45-21 Big 12
17 Texas A&M 36-26 SEC
18 Ole Miss 48-21 SEC
19 Cal State Fullerton 34-24 Big West
20 Alabama 37-24 SEC
21 Florida State 43-17 ACC
22 Oregon 44-20 Pac-12
23 Nebraska 41-21 Big Ten
24 Arizona State 33-24 Pac-12
25 Tennessee 31-23 SEC