Still somewhat frigid Hot Stove got you down? Chins up, people of baseball. Soon enough the winding journey to the College World Series in Omaha begins in earnest, and that -- blessedly -- means meaningful, for-keeps baseball played in February. February!
Yes, the start of the 2018 college baseball season is upon us, and now it's time preview that very thing. So consider this a first look at who might replace defending champ Florida atop the college baseball heap (note: it quite possibly could be Florida). Let's light this candle:
Preseason composite rankings
To get started, let's take a look at some composite rankings. What we've done is taken each of the six major preseason polls (Baseball America, Perfect Game, USA Today coaches' poll, D1Baseball.com, Collegiate Baseball, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association) and assigned "poll points" to each team ranked in the top 25 of each poll. No. 1-ranked teams get 25 points, No. 2-ranked teams get 24 points, all the way down to the No. 25-ranked teams, which get one point. So we add all the points up -- across, again, all six major polls -- and arrive at our composite rankings.
Here are those composite rankings for 2018, with point totals in parentheses:
| Rank | Team | Poll points | Conference | 2017 results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Florida | 150 | SEC | 52-19, National Champions |
2. | Oregon State | 144 | Pac-12 | 56-6, College World Series |
3. | Texas Tech | 133 | Big 12 | 45-17, NCAA Regional |
4. | Florida State | 130 | ACC | 46-23, College World Series |
5. | Arkansas | 127 | SEC | 45-19, NCAA Regional |
6. | TCU | 121 | Big 12 | 50-18, College World Series |
7. | North Carolina | 116 | ACC | 49-14, NCAA Regional |
8. | Kentucky | 108 | SEC | 43-23, NCAA Super Regional |
9. | LSU | 81 | SEC | 52-20, National Runner-up |
10. | UCLA | 76 | Pac-12 | 30-27, NCAA Regional |
T-11. | Cal State Fullerton | 75 | Big West | 39-24, College World Series |
T-11. | Texas A&M | 75 | SEC | 41-23, College World Series |
13. | Stanford | 71 | Pac-12 | 42-16, NCAA Regional |
14. | Vanderbilt | 67 | SEC | 36-25, NCAA Super Regional |
15. | Louisville | 60 | ACC | 53-12, College World Series |
16. | Ole Miss | 59 | SEC | 32-25 |
17. | Mississippi State | 51 | SEC | 40-27, NCAA Super Regional |
18. | Virginia | 44 | ACC | 43-16, NCAA Regional |
19. | Clemson | 39 | ACC | 42-21, NCAA Regional |
20. | Dallas Baptist | 38 | Missouri Valley | 42-21, NCAA Regional |
21. | Texas | 31 | Big 12 | 39-24, NCAA Regional |
22. | Miami (Fla.) | 25 | ACC | 31-27 |
23. | South Alabama | 24 | Sun Belt | 40-21, NCAA Regional |
24. | Indiana | 20 | Big Ten | 34-24-2, NCAA Regional |
25. | NC State | 17 | ACC | 36-25, NCAA Regional |
Others receiving poll points: Houston (12), Southern Mississippi (9), Louisiana-Lafayette (8), Oklahoma (8), Duke (7), South Carolina (7), Central Florida (4), Missouri State (4), Sam Houston State (4), West Virginia (4), St. John's (1)
As indicated by their receiving the maximum 150 poll points, Florida was ranked No. 1 in all six preseason polls. Similarly, Oregon State was ranked No. 2 in every preseason poll. Further down, Kentucky -- in a bit of an oddity -- was ranked eighth in every poll. You'll also note the poll points indicate a major drop-off from Kentucky at eight to LSU at nine.
Since eight teams make it to the College World Series in Omaha, you can consider Florida, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Florida State, Arkansas, TCU, North Carolina, and Kentucky the preseason favorites to make it to college baseball's flagship event.
Conference power rankings
Let's widen our scope a bit and cobble together some preseason "conference power rankings" by adding up all the poll points conference by conference (we'll also include the "others receiving poll points" teams in our tabulations). Here's what comes out of the wash heading into the 2017 season:
| Conference | Preseason poll points |
|---|---|
| SEC | 725 |
| ACC | 438 |
| Big 12 | 297 |
| Pac-12 | 291 |
| Big West | 75 |
| Missouri Valley | 42 |
| Sun Belt | 32 |
| Big Ten | 20 |
| American Athletic | 16 |
| Conference USA | 9 |
| Southland | 4 |
| Big East | 1 |
As is typically the case, the SEC and ACC profile as the strongest conferences in college baseball. The SEC this time around has four teams in the preseason top 10, a total of eight in the top 25, and one more under "others receiving poll points." That's dominance.
Big games
It's not an exhaustive list of high-leverage 2017 contests, but here's a rundown of the scheduled matchups between teams in the top 10 of our composite preseason rankings:
- March 9 - Texas Tech at Kentucky
- March 10 - Texas Tech at Kentucky
- March 10 - TCU at UCLA
- March 11 - Texas Tech at Kentucky
- March 13 - Florida State at Florida
- March 16 - Kentucky at Arkansas
- March 17 - Kentucky at Arkansas
- March 18 - Kentucky at Arkansas
- March 23 - Arkansas at Florida
- March 23 - Florida State at North Carolina
- March 24 - Arkansas at Florida
- March 24 - Florida State at North Carolina
- March 25 - Arkansas at Florida
- March 25 - Florida State at North Carolina
- March 27 - Florida vs. Florida State (in Jacksonville, FL)
- April 10 - Florida at Florida State
- April 19 - Florida at Kentucky
- April 20 - Florida at Kentucky
- April 21 - Florida at Kentucky
- April 24 - Texas Tech at Arkansas
- April 25 - Texas Tech at Arkansas
- April 27 - Texas Tech at TCU
- April 28 - Texas Tech at TCU
- April 29 - Texas Tech at TCU
- May 4 - Arkansas at LSU
- May 5 - Arkansas at LSU
- May 6 - Arkansas at LSU
- May 24 - UCLA at Oregon State
- May 25 - UCLA at Oregon State
- May 26 - UCLA at Oregon State
That's a healthy slate of intra-top 10 clashes right there. You'll note that No. 1-ranked Florida shows up time and again on that list above. In all, the Gators will play 26 games against teams ranked in our preseason top 25 or in the "also receiving poll points" list. That's not to mention the SEC Tournament in late May. If Florida goes wire to wire, then they'll have earned it and then some.
How to watch: The television landscape for college baseball was pretty bleak for a long time. That's changed, though. The WatchESPN platform is definitely the way to go. With streaming access to the usual ESPN channels plus the SEC Network, ACC Network Extra, and the Longhorn Network, you can pretty much always catch a game during the season. This season, you can catch more than 800 games on the ESPN web of networks.
Players to watch
Each year, the Golden Spikes Award goes to the top amateur baseball player in the country. While NAIA and high school players are also eligible to win the hardware, it's almost always a D-I player who wins. Notable past winners include Brendan McKay, Andrew Benintendi, Kris Bryant, Mike Zunino, Trevor Bauer, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, and David Price.
Now here's a look at this year's 55-player preseason watch list for the award:
Chris Acosta-Tapia, OF, Sr., Oklahoma Wesleyan
Johnny Aiello, 3B, Jr., Wake Forest
D.J. Artis, OF, Jr., Liberty
Luken Baker, 1B/DH, Jr., TCU
Joey Bart, C, Jr., Georgia Tech
Seth Beer, 1B/OF, Jr., Clemson
Alec Bohm, 3B, Jr., Wichita State
Kris Bubic, LHP, Jr., Stanford
Michael Byrne, RHP, Jr., Florida
Tim Cate, LHP, Jr., UCONN
Griffin Conine, OF, Jr., Duke
Trey Cumbie, LHP, Jr., Houston
Gianluca Dalatri, RHP, So., North Carolina
Tanner Dodson, UT, Jr., California
Colton Eastman, RHP, Jr., Cal State Fullerton
Jeremy Eierman, SS, Jr., Missouri State
Tyler Frank, SS, Jr., Florida Atlantic
Logan Gilbert, RHP, Jr., Stetson
Steven Gingery, LHP, Jr., Texas Tech
Ethan Hankins, RHP, Sr., Forsyth Central High School (Cumming, Ga.)
Zack Hess, RHP, So., LSU
Sean Hjelle, RHP, Jr., Kentucky
Nico Hoerner, SS, Jr., Stanford
Tyler Holton, LHP/DH, Jr., Florida State
Niko Hulsizer, OF, Jr., Morehead State
Jonathan India, 3B, Jr., Florida
Julian Infante, 1B/DH, Jr., Vanderbilt
Jared Janczak, RHP, Jr., TCU
Greyson Jenista, 1B/OF, Jr., Wichita State
Nolan Kingham, RHP, Jr., Texas
Jackson Kowar, RHP, Jr., Florida
Shea Langeliers, C, So., Baylor
Matthew Liberatore, LHP, Sr., Mountain Ridge High School (Peoria, Ariz.)
Nick Madrigal, 2B, Jr., Oregon State
Jake Mangum, OF, Jr., Mississippi State
Jake McCarthy, OF, Jr., Virginia
Shane McClanahan, LHP, Jr, South Florida
Drew Mendoza, 3B, So., Florida State
Casey Mize, RHP, Jr., Auburn
Konnor Pilkington, LHP, Jr., Mississippi State
Tyler Pittmon, IF, Sr., Antelope Valley
Tristan Pompey, OF, Jr., Kentucky
Patrick Raby, RHP, Jr., Vanderbilt
Cal Raleigh, C, Jr., Florida State
Alfonso Rivas, 1B, Jr., Arizona
Ryan Rolison, LHP, So., Ole Miss
Braden Shewmake, 2B, So., Texas A&M
Brady Singer, RHP, Jr., Florida
Nick Sprengel, LHP, Jr., San Diego
Travis Swaggerty, OF, Jr., South Alabama
Brice Turang, SS, Sr., Santiago High School (Corona, Calif.)
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, So., California
Steele Walker, OF, JR, Oklahoma
Matt Wallner, UT, So., Southern Miss
Zach Watson, OF, So., LSU
You'll note that No. 1-ranked Florida places four players in the preseason watch list. Anyhow, the Golden Spikes Award for 2018 will be handed out on June 28.
Now let's pivot this discussion a bit toward long-term MLB implications. To do that, we'll lean on Rotoworld MLB columnist and draft and prospect expert Chris Crawford (@Crawford_MILB on Twitter), who shared with us his list of top-10 draft-eligible college players for the upcoming season. Forthwith:
1. Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn
2. Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida
3. Travis Swaggerty, OF, South Alabama
4. Griffin Conine, OF, Duke
5. Nick Madrigal, 2B, Oregon State
6. Brady Singer, RHP, Florida
7. Logan Gilbert, RHP, Stetson
8. Jackson Kowar, RHP, Florida
9. Greyson Jenista, OF, Wichita State
10. Seth Beer, 1B, Clemson
In honor of Casey Mize's top ranking, here's some relevant scouting footage ...
A bit of history
In conclusion, let's run down all the past college baseball national champions and runners-up:
| Year | National Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Florida (52-19) | LSU |
| 2016 | Coastal Carolina (55-18) | Arizona |
| 2015 | Virginia (44-24) | Vanderbilt |
| 2014 | Vanderbilt (51-21) | Virginia |
| 2013 | UCLA (49-17) | Mississippi State |
| 2012 | Arizona (48-17) | South Carolina |
| 2011 | South Carolina (55-14) | Florida |
| 2010 | South Carolina (54-16) | UCLA |
| 2009 | LSU (56-17) | Texas |
| 2008 | Fresno State (47-31) | Georgia |
| 2007 | Oregon State (49-18) | North Carolina |
| 2006 | Oregon State (50-16) | North Carolina |
| 2005 | Texas (56-16) | Florida |
| 2004 | Cal State Fullerton (47-22) | Texas |
| 2003 | Rice (58-12) | Stanford |
| 2002 | Texas (57-15) | South Carolina |
| 2001 | Miami (Fla.) (53-12) | Stanford |
| 2000 | LSU (52-17) | Stanford |
| 1999 | Miami (Fla.) (50-13) | Florida State |
| 1998 | Southern California (49-17) | Arizona State |
| 1997 | LSU (57-13) | Alabama |
| 1996 | LSU (52-15) | Miami (Fla.) |
| 1995 | Cal State Fullerton (57-9) | Southern California |
| 1994 | Oklahoma (50-17) | Georgia Tech |
| 1993 | LSU (53-17-1) | Wichita State |
| 1992 | Pepperdine | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1991 | LSU (55-18) | Wichita State |
| 1990 | Georgia (52-19) | Oklahoma State |
| 1989 | Wichita State (68-16) | Texas |
| 1988 | Stanford (46-23) | Arizona State |
| 1987 | Stanford (53-17) | Oklahoma State |
| 1986 | Arizona (49-19) | Florida State |
| 1985 | Miami (Fla.) (64-16) | Texas |
| 1984 | Cal State Fullerton (66-20) | Texas |
| 1983 | Texas (66-14) | Alabama |
| 1982 | Miami (Fla.) (55-17-1) | Wichita State |
| 1981 | Arizona State (55-13) | Oklahoma State |
| 1980 | Arizona (45-21-1) | Hawaii |
| 1979 | Cal State Fullerton (60-14-1) | Arkansas |
| 1978 | Southern California (54-9) | Arizona State |
| 1977 | Arizona State (57-12) | South Carolina |
| 1976 | Arizona (56-17) | Eastern Michigan |
| 1975 | Texas (59-6) | South Carolina |
| 1974 | Southern California (50-20) | Miami (Fla.) |
| 1973 | Southern California (51-11) | Arizona State |
| 1972 | Southern California (47-13-1) | Arizona State |
| 1971 | Southern California (46-11) | Southern Illinois |
| 1970 | Southern California (45-13) | Florida State |
| 1969 | Arizona State (56-11) | Tulsa |
| 1968 | Southern California (43-12-1) | Southern Illinois |
| 1967 | Arizona State (53-12) | Houston |
| 1966 | Ohio State (27-6-1) | Oklahoma State |
| 1965 | Arizona State (54-8) | Ohio State |
| 1964 | Minnesota (31-12) | Missouri |
| 1963 | Southern California (35-10) | Arizona |
| 1962 | Michigan (34-15) | Santa Clara |
| 1961 | Southern California (36-7) | Oklahoma State |
| 1960 | Minnesota (34-7-1) | Southern California |
| 1959 | Oklahoma State (27-5) | Arizona |
| 1958 | Southern California (29-3) | Missouri |
| 1957 | California (35-10) | Penn State |
| 1956 | Minnesota (37-9) | Arizona |
| 1955 | Wake Forest (29-7) | Western Michigan |
| 1954 | Missouri (22-4) | Rollins |
| 1953 | Michigan (21-9) | Texas |
| 1952 | Holy Cross (21-3) | Missouri |
| 1951 | Oklahoma (19-9) | Tennessee |
| 1950 | Texas (27-6) | Washington State |
| 1949 | Texas (23-7) | Wake Forest |
| 1948 | Southern California (26-4) | Yale |
| 1947 | California (31-10) | Yale |
Soon enough, we'll be adding another champ to this list. In the meantime, enjoy the baseball.
