SEC Baseball Preseason Power Rankings: Tough road ahead for Kentucky

While Big Blue Nation is swept up in the chaos of Kentucky men’s basketball’s decimation of Tennessee, baseball season looms.

On Feb. 18, Kentucky begins its 2022 campaign in Jacksonville, Alabama for a three-game series against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

The Wildcats will then return to Lexington to host Southeast Missouri State, kicking off a 14-game homestand, leading Kentucky into yet another daunting SEC schedule.

Finishing with six teams in the Top 25 at the end of last season, including four in the top ten, one of which being national champions Mississippi State, the SEC once again reigned supreme in the world of collegiate baseball.

Kentucky finished the 2021 season with a 29-23 record, good enough for just sixth place in the SEC East, beating out only Missouri. UK went 12-18 in conference play, the eleventh best in the SEC.

The offseason has come and gone and February is right around the corner. Where does Kentucky stand amongst a conference full of national championship contenders?

1. Vanderbilt

Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll has the Commodores as the No. 2 team in the nation, and for good reason.

Vandy returns four players who were ranked inside baseball’s Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects, including infielder Carter Young and utility men Spencer Jones and Dominic Keegan.

The Commodores have built a dynasty in Nashville over the last decade, advancing to five College World Series and winning two national titles along the way. With the talent that’s once again on hand for head coach Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt will likely be near the top of the rankings all season long.

2. Mississippi State

After capturing the 2021 national title, Mississippi State will be poised to make it back-to-back in 2022.

Head coach Chris Lemonis returns after leading the Bulldogs to an impressive 114-37 record over his first three seasons at the helm. A bulk of his starting lineup will be welcomed back to Starkville in 2022 as well.

Returning six starters, junior catcher Logan Tanner and third baseman Kamren James will lead the way for the Bulldogs. Tanner and James both played in 67 of 68 games last season for State.

With a majority of their key players from the championship-winning team returning, the Bulldogs will have the firepower necessary to make another run for glory in Omaha.

3. Arkansas

Fresh off of a 2021 SEC regular-season title and tournament championship, the Razorbacks will look to build off of one of the more dominant regular seasons in recent history.

Arkansas had to say goodbye to a huge portion of why they were so successful last season, as Kevin Kopps, Christian Franklin and Casey Opitz among others will not be returning to Fayetteville.

The Hogs are going to rely on the production of freshmen such as Peyton Stovall and Kendall Digs, but the big bats will still carry Arkansas towards a top finish in 2022.

4. LSU

Incoming head coach Jay Johnson will have a bulk of talent to work with during his first year in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers return seven starters to the 2022 lineup, including right fielder Dylan Crews and first baseman Tre’ Morgan, both of whom hit over .350 last season.

Top arms in Landon Marceaux and AJ Labas are gone, but Ma’Khail Hilliard will slot into the ace role after compiling a 6-0 win-loss record last season.

Coach Johnson may have to adjust to life in the SEC, but he will have the team around him to make life a little more comfortable.

5. Florida

Despite losing Jacob Young to the 2021 MLB Draft, the Gators outfield in 2022 is one to be reckoned with.

Jud Fabian turned down a second-round draft selection and seven-figure contract from the Boston Red Sox to return to Gainesville for another season in the outfield along with Sterlin Thompson and Michael Robertson.

The Gators will have to replace a ton of pitching, with Hunter Barco being the lone returning arm of the usual six used by UF in SEC play last season.

Behind star-power and a veteran group, Florida will once again sniff around the top of the conference standings.

6. Ole Miss

Mike Bianco is back for season No. 22 as the head coach in Oxford, returning a majority of his 2021 lineup.

Five Rebels who hit .300. or better return for the 2022 campaign, including shortstop Jacob Gonzalez (.355) and left fielder Kevin Graham.

There will be a new-look pitching rotation for Ole Miss, however, as the loss of starters Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund as well as closer Taylor Broadway will cause some growing pains at first for Bianco.

If the Rebels play their cards right, another Super Regional could be in store in 2022.

7. Tennessee

2021 saw Tennessee reach the College World Series for the first time in 16 seasons.

The Volunteers will now try to not become one-hit wonders as they look to duplicate the magic of last season.

Pete Derkay, Jackson Greer and Will Heflin will not be a part of Rocky Top’s run for Omaha in 2022. The Vols will have to rely on the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation to pan out along with some key returners such as Trey Lipscomb.

8. Georgia

Following a ho-hum 31-25 season for Georgia in 2021, the Bulldogs will look to separate from the middle pack in the upcoming season.

Outfielder Connor Tate, who hit .344 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI’s last year, highlights the group of returnees for the Dawgs. Jaden Woods and Luke Wagner highlight a lackluster pitching rotation.

Barring a quick turnaround, 2022 will likely be another year of being average for head coach Scott Stricklin and Georgia.

9. Alabama

The Crimson Tide reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last season. If coach Brad Bohannon wants to duplicate his team’s 2021 performance, it will have to happen through a huge turnover in talent.

After losing five players to the draft, five to the transfer portal and three to graduation, the Tide will rely on their incoming players such as Tommy Seidl and Eric Foggo to pick up the slack left by last year’s team.

With nothing being certain in Tuscaloosa, anything could happen to Alabama in the upcoming season.

10. South Carolina

The Gamecocks will juggle losing a decent amount of talent with a mix of 18 newcomers in the 2022 season.

Pitcher Will Sanders, who is expected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, highlights the returnees for SC alongside outfielders Andrew Eyster and Josiah Sightler.

The meshing of new talent, added in with the loss of some important pieces, could spell for a bottom-half finish for South Carolina in 2022.

11. Auburn

Head coach Butch Thompson has attempted to turn Auburn into a perennial contender in SEC play. While the Tigers have improved, it just hasn’t been enough to compete in the gauntlet that is the Southeastern Conference.

The Tigers lost their top three leaders in batting average, including All-American Ryan Bliss.

Brody Moore and Cam Hill will attempt to do the heavy lifting down on the plains, but an NCAA Tournament berth does not seem certain for Auburn in 2022

12. Kentucky

Last season was a little bit struggle for head coach Nick Mingione and the ‘Cats.

A horrid end to SEC play ruined any chances of Kentucky making the NCAA Tournament. Following the season, a huge number of transfers have filed in and out of Lexington, meaning there will be a new-look team in Kentucky Proud Park come February.

Oraj Anu and Ryan Ritter highlight the returning group for UK, while transfers John Thrasher and Hunter Jump will spruce up the batting averages towards the top of the order.

Replacing T.J. Collett and Austin Schultz is going to be hard on the ‘Cats, amongst other things, including playing top 10 opponents on a weekly basis.

The trajectory of the season is up in the air as February rolls around, but it feels safe to say that UK will have a tough time competing with the best of the best in the conference in 2022.

13. Texas A&M

An overhauled lineup will likely lead to the struggles that Texas A&M will face this season.

Just two starting position players from last year’s group, shortstop Kalae Harrison and outfielder Austin Bost return to College Station in 2022.

21 newcomers, including 11 transfers will makeup the Aggies lineup and rotation that will be full of question marks, awaiting to be attended to once the season commences. Conference play will be a doozie in Aggieland.

14. Missouri

Mizzou was by far the worst team in the conference last season, and it doesn’t appear that that will change come this season.

Multiple starters from last season have departed the team, leaving the Tigers with many more questions than answers coming into the 2022 season.

Getting over the hump in Columbia is going to be quite the challenge for Steve Beiser and Co., but it will be hard to do worse than the 2021 record of 15-36.