D1Baseball releases preseason top 25 rankings as the regular season nears

Jonathan Wagner

After what felt like a long wait, the page is finally turning back towards college baseball. Opening day is right around a month away, the the 2024 road to Omaha is about to get underway. With that, D1Baseball has released their long-awaited preseason top 25 rankings.

The 2024 season will be a bittersweet one. It looks to be shaping up as an entertaining year, but it’s also the final one with the landscape as we currently know it. Conference realignment has struck again, and many teams will be shifting conferences after this season.

Oregon State and Washington State are the two that seem to be left behind, with uncertainty around where they’ll fit in the picture moving forward.

For now, though, another year of college baseball is here, preseason rankings are rolling in, and fans are beginning to prepare for taking in opening day in mid-February. And these top 25 rankings from D1Baseball are just the beginning.

1. Wake Forest

Jun 22, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; The Wake Forest Demon Deacons dugout cheer action against the LSU Tigers at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, Wake Forest went 54-12 overall and 22-7 in the ACC, winning the regular season ACC title before hosting and winning regional and super regionals, advancing to the College World Series in Omaha.

This season, expectations remain sky-high. With some high upside arms coming in as part of the Demon Deacons’ freshman class, paired with a very impressive transfer class headlined by Tennessee transfer pitcher Chase Burns, Wake Forest is likely to be one of the best teams in college baseball yet again.

2. Florida

Jun 25, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators first baseman Jac Caglianone (14) celebrates hitting a home run against the LSU Tigers in the eighth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Florida should again be one of college baseball’s best teams in 2024, and they have a case for the top spot in the preseason rankings. The Gators were the SEC co-champions in 2023 and went on to reach Omaha before losing to LSU in the CWS Finals in three games.

Two-way star Jac Caglianone returns, and Florida also brings in a good transfer class which includes sluggers Colby Shelton from Alabama and Brody Donay from Virginia Tech, and veteran catcher Tanner Garrison, among others.

3. Arkansas

Arkansas went 43-18 last season and finished as SEC co-champions alongside Florida with a 20-10 league record. Unfortunately for Dave Van Horn’s squad, the Razorbacks were unable to continue that success into the postseason, falling at home in their own regional to TCU.

The Razorbacks bring in an impressive transfer class, led by Texas Tech transfer pitcher Mason Molina and former Sacramento State shortstop Wehiwa Aloy.

4. LSU

Jun 26, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Jay Johnson holds up the national championship trophy at the awards ceremony after the win against the Florida Gators at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

LSU won the College World Series last year, and then lost a lot of talent to the MLB Draft, including top two picks Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. Despite losing two cornerstone players, Jay Johnson has his team right there at the top yet again.

With a top transfer class led by former Alabama pitcher Luke Holman, former UCLA pitcher Gage Jump and Arizona transfer outfielder Mac Bingham, the Tigers are unsurprisingly ranked highly in D1Baseball’s top 25, and are perhaps poised for another deep run in Omaha, in 2024.

5. TCU

Jun 21, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Kirk Saarloos points to the bullpen during the ninth inning against the Florida Gators at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

After winning the Big 12 Tournament last season, TCU was red-hot entering the postseason and it showed. The Horned Frogs won the Fayetteville Regional, topping Arkansas, and went on to host and win the Fort Worth Super Regional against Indiana State.

After losing their first game in Omaha, TCU responded with two straight wins, but ultimately fell to Florida to end their run. But last year showed that TCU is a contender, and that reflects in this year’s preseason college baseball rankings.

6. Vanderbilt

There were some ups and downs through the 2023 regular season for Vanderbilt, but the Commodores finished 42-20 and 19-11 in the SEC regular season. After winning the SEC Tournament, Vandy won the first two games of the Nashville Regional, before eventually falling to Xavier.

Notably, Vanderbilt lost Parker Noland through the portal to South Carolina. And while it was a relatively quiet offseason in terms of portal additions, the Commodores have a strong team with a top ten freshman class incoming, and they should be in contention in 2024.

7. Oregon State

This season matters a lot for Oregon State, with uncertainty about what’s coming after this season thanks to the Pac-12 breaking apart. A consistently strong baseball program, Oregon State had a good 2023 campaign, winning 41 games before going 0-2 in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Beavers then went to the Baton Rouge Regional, eventually losing to LSU.

Oregon State struck in the portal, adding shortstop Elijah Hainline from Washington State, who had a breakout 2023 season, hitting .337 with 12 home runs. The Beavers will look to live up to their spot in the preseason D1Baseball top 25, and achieve even more in the postseason.

8. Texas A&M

Jun 19, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle watches late game action against the Texas Longhorns at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Texas A&M lost in the Stanford Regional after winning their first two games of the postseason, and that’s after a run to the SEC Tournament championship game. Expectations are high yet again for the Aggies this year, largely due to the extremely impressive incoming class.

Former Stanford two-way star Braden Montgomery was the star of the transfer portal in the offseason, and he’s now playing in College Station. Joined by shortstop Ali Camarillo and a few talented arms, Texas A&M could be poised for a big year, and perhaps a trip to Omaha.

9. Tennessee

Tennessee surely had some highs and lows last year, but it ultimately paid off. The Vols were one-and-done in the SEC Tournament after a 44-20 overall, and 16-14 league record in the regular season, but then went on a postseason run. Winning the Clemson Regional and Hattiesburg Super Regional, Tennessee advanced to Omaha before falling to LSU.

Even after losing Chase Burns to the portal, Tennessee struck big. The Vols added Clemson star transfer Billy Amick, who hit .413 last season, and former NC State catcher Cannon Peebles, who hit .352 last year. Paired with an arguably top ten freshman recruiting class, the Vols expect to win a lot in 2024.

10. Clemson

Clemson emerged as a strong team last season, winning 44 games. The Tigers went on to win the ACC Tournament under head coach Erik Bakich, moving on to host a regional.

The run ended there after winning the opening game, eventually being eliminated by Charlotte with Tennessee winning the regional. But Clemson is in a great position again heading into the 2024 campaign and holds the last spot in the top ten in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings. Clemson does bring in borderline top 25 freshman and transfer classes.

Rest of D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings

11. East Carolina
12. Duke
13. NC State
14. Virginia
15. North Carolina
16. Texas
17. UC Santa Barbara
18. Coastal Carolina
19. Alabama
20. Iowa
21. Texas Tech
22. UCLA
23. Northeastern
24. Kansas State
25. South Carolina