2019 Preseason College Top 25

Patrick Ebert

Mike Rooney

Photo: Zack Hess (LSU Athletics)

Preseason All-American Team

With the release of the Preseason All-America teams, and now the Preseason Top 25, you know the 2019 college baseball season isn’t far away. Listed below is our first crack of the Top 25 teams, a list assembled by Perfect Game’s Patrick Ebert and Mike Rooney.

Selecting the No. 1 team this year wasn’t as easy as it had been in the past. From 2015-17, Vanderbilt, Florida and TCU were relatively easy choices, determined early in the process as the programs that would open the year on top. Last year there were a handful of programs that stood out, with the decision ultimately coming down to either eventual Preseason No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Oregon State, who of course went on to claim the national championship in Omaha.

This year there was a clear split between LSU and Oregon State, but in the end it was determined that the coaching consistency and the return of so many impact players created an ever-so-slight separation between the two clubs.

LSU is guided by Paul Mainieri, whose Tigers finished as the runner-up just two years ago with several familiar faces. Outfielders Antoine Duplantis and Zach Watson and staff ace Zack Hess were all drafted yet returned for another season. Shortstop Josh Smith and another starting pitcher, Eric Walker, missed most or all of the 2018 season due to injuries and appear to be ready to return healthy and strong.

Add in still-developing young talent and another strong wave of incoming freshmen and you have one of the deepest rosters in college baseball.

In addition to moving forward without Pat Casey, Oregon State had three of their players from a year ago – Nick Madrigal, Trevor Larnach and Cadyn Grenier – drafted in the first round in addition to losing several other key contributors. The lineup, outside of catcher Adley Rutschman, is mostly going to have a new look. However, led by CWS hero Kevin Abel, three-year starter Bryce Fehmel and closer Jake Mulholland, the pitching staff will be largely intact.

A case for the No. 1 team was made for each of the top nine programs. In addition to LSU, Vanderbilt and Florida return talented teams in the always-competitive SEC. The Pac-12 boasts three teams in the top seven with No. 4 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford joining Oregon State, as the West Coast in particular should be fun to follow during the 2019 season. North Carolina and Louisville (Nos. 6 and 8) and Texas Tech (No. 5) represent the ACC and Big 12 with Omaha-caliber clubs.

Of the teams that represent the Top 25 three did not make the postseason a year ago: No. 16 TCU, No. 19 Michigan and No. 23 UC Irvine. Look for each of those teams to enjoy significantly more success this year.

Stay tuned to Perfect Game leading up to the 2019 season for more detailed breakdowns of each of the Top 25-ranked teams as well as a look at the programs that just missed.

Breakdown by conference:

SEC: 8 teams (Louisiana State, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Georgia)
ACC: 5 teams (North Carolina, Louisville, Florida State, NC State, Clemson)
Big 12: 4 teams (Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas Christian, Oklahoma State)
Pac-12: 3 teams (Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford)
American Athletic: 2 teams (East Carolina, Connecticut)
Big Ten: 1 team (Michigan)
Big West: 1 team (UC Irvine)
Sun Belt: 1 team (Coastal Carolina)

Similar to past years we will update the Top 25 team rankings every Monday morning during the regular season. Stay tuned to Perfect Game and be sure to Like Perfect Game's College Baseball page on Facebook and follow PG on Twitter for all of the latest information:

@PGCollegeBall | @PGPatrickEbert | @Mike_Rooney

Rk		'18 Record	'18 Rk	2018 Finish
1	Louisiana State	39-27	NR	Corvallis Regional
2	Oregon State	55-12-1	1	College World Series Champions
3	Vanderbilt	35-27	24	Nashville Super Regional
4	UCLA	38-21	NR	Minneapolis Regional
5	Texas Tech	45-20	5	College World Series
6	North Carolina	44-20	4	College World Series
7	Stanford	46-12	10	Stanford Regional
8	Louisville	45-19	NR	Lubbock Regional
9	Florida	49-21	3	College World Series
10	Mississippi	48-17	9	Oxford Regional
11	East Carolina	44-18	21	Greenville Regional
12	Baylor	37-21	NR	Stanford Regional
13	Arkansas	48-21	2	College World Series Runner-up
14	Florida State	43-19	17	Tallahassee Regional
15	Auburn	43-23	15	Gainesville Super Regional
16	Texas Christian	33-23	NR	Did not make postseason
17	Mississippi State	39-29	7	College World Series
18	Oklahoma State	31-26-1	NR	Deland Regional
19	Michigan	33-21	NR	Did not make postseason
20	Connecticut	37-22-1	22	Conway Regional
21	NC State	42-18	20	Raleigh Regional
22	Georgia	39-21	19	Athens Regional
23	UC Irvine	32-24	NR	Did not make postseason
24	Clemson	47-16	12	Clemson Regional
25	Coastal Carolina	43-19	NR	Conway Regional