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College | Story | 2/19/2021

Weekend Preview: 2021 Kickoff

Vincent Cervino

Photo: Josh Rivera (Tim Casey)

Preseason All-Americans | College Content Preview Index | PG Staff Predictions

There’s no debating that we are on the precipice of one of the most anticipated college seasons in recent memory and Perfect Game has you covered in terms of preview content. In the links above you’ll find conference previews on every college conference playing this spring along with the picks by members of our scouting staff. Also at the top is our preseason top 25 and the preseason All-Americans.

There’s no underscoring the impact that the cancelation of the 2020 season had across the sport along with the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting our lives. This baseball season was sorely wanted by fans, players, and coaches alike and the 2021 season finally gets underway today. With the pandemic ensuing, along with a massive snowstorm affecting the southern part of the country, there have already been cancelations or postponements for the opening weekend. With that being said, games are underway so let’s take a look at the action.

Top 25 in Action

Rank	Team		Opponent	Location
1		Florida	home vs. No. 7 Miami	Gainesville, Fla.
2		Louisville	home vs. Bellarmine	Louisville, Ky.
3		Texas Tech	vs. No. 20 Arkansas, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 12 Mississippi State	Arlington, Texas
4		UCLA	home vs. San Francisco	Los Angeles, Calif.
5		Mississippi	vs. No. 20 Arkansas, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 12 Mississippi State	Arlington, Texas
6		Vanderbilt	home vs. Wright State	Nashville, Tenn.
7		Miami	at No. 1 Florida	Gainesville, Fla.
8		LSU	home vs. Air Force, Louisiana Tech	Baton Rouge, La.
9		Virginia	home vs. UCONN	Charlottesville, Va.
10		UC Santa Barbara	home vs. Santa Clara	Santa Barbara, Calif.
11		Arizona	home vs. Ball State	Tucson, Ariz.
12		Mississippi State	vs. No. 22 Texas, TCU, No. 3 Texas Tech	Arlington, Texas
13		East Carolina	home vs. Rhode Island	Greenville, N.C.
14		Indiana	Season Starts 3/5	N/A
15		Arizona State	home vs. Sacramento State	Phoenix, Ariz.
16		North Carolina State	home vs. VMI	Raleigh, N.C.
17		Auburn	home vs. Presbyterian	Auburn, Ala.
18		Michigan	Season Starts 3/5	N/A
19		Georgia Tech	home vs. Eastern Kentucky	Atlanta, Ga.
20		Arkansas	vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 22 Texas, TCU	Arlington, Texas
21		Florida State	home vs. North Florida	Tallahassee, Fla.
22		Texas	vs. No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 5 Mississippi	Arlington, Texas
23		Ohio State	Season Starts 3/5	N/A
24		Georgia	home vs. Evansville	Athens, Ga.
25		UCF	home/away vs. FAU	Orlando & Boca Raton, Fla.

State Farm College Baseball Showdown

The opening weekend tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas features an absolutely loaded slate with the SEC matching up against the Big 12. Five out of six teams participating are ranked in the preseason top 25, all six if you include No. 26 TCU, as the rest of the participants are No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 20 Arkansas, and No. 22 Texas. Ole Miss against Texas Tech marks our first top five matchup of the season and the event on the whole is loaded with star power. Ten players in the top 100 of our Top 400 MLB Draft prospects will be out there including countless more that will be participating.

Ole Miss and Texas Tech look like national title contenders with the Rebels boasting one of the best one-two punches in the entire country with Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund. The depth of the lineup is boastful for both teams as there’s a good chance that the Red Raiders will be the top offense in the conference starting with player of the year favorite Dylan Neuse. Both clubs have national championship aspirations and a strong weekend showing would be just the right start for both clubs.

Arkansas and Mississippi State should be competing in the SEC West all year and both have opportunities to assert themselves at the top of the conference. Star Christian Franklin leads the way for the Razorbacks who have a deep and talented lineup with Zebulon Vermillion, Peyton Pallette, and Lael Lockhart getting the starts on the weekend. They’ll matchup against an experienced lineup and a high octane starting staff for the Bulldogs in Christian MacLeod, Will Bednar, and Eric Cerantola.

Texas and TCU are two uber-talented squads that have the potential to make some massive gains in the rankings as the season unfolds, and big weekends against three ranked opponents is a good place to start. The Longhorns have a strong pitching staff highlighted by Ty Madden and Pete Hansen at the top while there are some impact transfers and veteran defenders that will keep the foundation of the team. TCU is filled with seniors and talented freshmen which makes for the perfect balance of a winning club.

Series Cancellations

A number of opening weekend series’ have already been canceled due to either COVID-related factors affecting teams or due to weather related hardships in some southern states. The latter is likely to not affect the sport throughout the spring while the former adds in a new wrinkle to challenges that teams and coaches will have to face. Postponements, cancelations, and missing swaths of players at a time are going to affect almost every team in the country at some point or another. This is where depth and coaching is going to be absolutely crucial as teams will potentially have to go through large portions of time without playing or go through a conference series at less than 100%. The health and safety of the players, coaches, and fans should be the goal, full stop, but as we saw with the college football season in the fall, things are likely to get dicey when it comes to logistics and scheduling throughout the rest of the season.

SEC Aims to Break Regional Record

For the past two postseasons in college baseball, 2019 and 2018, the SEC has put ten teams into Regional play and this year the conference has the chance to break the record for most teams in postseason play if they get to 11. An SEC team has won the national title approximately half of the time in the last ten years as past winners include Florida, South Carolina (2), and the current defending champion Vanderbilt (2). The conference has established itself as tops in the sport and the amount of talent in the conference is often staggering, especially this year given the status of the 2020 five round MLB Draft. Teams throughout the conference have a breadth of talent in the form of their recruiting classes and returnees to campus so if there was any year the SEC would set the record, 2021 seems to have lined up nicely for the conference where “it just means more.”

-Vinnie Cervino

Top 10 Matchup in the Sunshine State

Not only do the Florida Gators begin the 2021 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, but they’ll also open the gates to the Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field for the very first time and it’s a party the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes hope to crash. With equally loaded lineups coming out of both dugouts, each team led by a superstar in Florida’s Jud Fabian and Miami’s Adrian Del Castillo, this series is sure to match and exceed all expectations set forth by college baseball fans and professional scouts alike.

The visiting Canes will have a new look to their weekend rotation and we’ll immediately see how their arms step up against the formidable task at hand, with experienced hurler Daniel Federman leading the way on Friday followed by a pair of electric freshmen in Alejandro Rosario and Victor Mederos. That said, this Miami offense is one of the most potent you’ll find coast-to-coast, led by the duo of Del Castillo and Alex Toral who form arguably the most dangerous middle of the order in the country. Athleticism, experience and depth riddle this lineup and you can bet the Canes aren’t looking just for a series win, but a sweep of the weekend.

Through outstanding recruiting, both from the prep and JUCO ranks, the Gators simply rebuild year in and year out and the 2021 version of the Gators are no different. While true freshmen are expected to start immediately, it’s the returners who’ll make the club go this spring, whether it be potential No. 1 overall pick Jud Fabian or shortstop Josh Rivera who are equally dynamic on both sides of the ball. With the COVID waiver allowing players an extra year of eligibly, alongside the shortened 2020 MLB Draft, the pitching staff is primed and ready to go as Friday night ace Tommy Mace, hard throwing Jack Leftwich and JUCO transfer Franco Aleman are all back in the Swamp.

Vandy Still Defending Champs

After an 8-2 win over Michigan on June 26, 2019, the Vanderbilt Commodores were crowned the champions of college baseball and it’s a title they’ve yet to relinquish after the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID. With their first game of the 2021 season postponed, the Head Coach Tim Corbin and his club look to defend their title Saturday afternoon against Wright State, opening the year as the No. 6 ranked team in the country. The combination of Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter may be the best 1-2 punch in all of college baseball and they enter the spring with high expectations and first round grades for the upcoming MLB Draft. Replacing the production of Austin Martin is no easy task, but Isaiah Thomas continues to elevate his game and will be at the forefront of the offense alongside Cooper Davis and shortstop Carter Young.

Depth, Depth, Depth

Baseball fans are in for a treat throughout the 2021 season as the rosters are as loaded as they’ve ever been following the 2020 season which saw a condensed MLB Draft, an extra year of eligibility and transfers who look to make an immediate impact. From fourth-year plus to true freshmen, the level of talent in college baseball is one that’ll be talked about for years to come. And it’s not just the Power 5 programs with talent laden rosters, meaning the level of competition across the board is up and should make for an exciting regular season as well as an action packed Omaha in route to crowning a college baseball champion.

-Jheremy Brown

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Weekend Preview: 2021 Kickoff

Conference Preview: Ohio Valley

California Region Top Teams

California All Region & Top Tools

Conference Preview: Atlantic 10

Georgia Region Top Teams

PG Draft: Mid-Major Picks to Click

Georgia HS All Region & Top Tools

Nash Embraces All Things Perfect Game

Florida Region Top Teams

Conference Preview: Northeast