THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
College  | Rankings | 1/6/2022

Preseason Division I Top 25

Photo: Perfect Game
College Preview Content: Perfect Game/Rawlings Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

College preview content is already underway as the world turns the calendar over from 2021 to 2022. Preseason All-Americans were released yesterday and next week we will rank the top seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, respectively, in Division-I. Perfect Game will be your ultimate home for all things college baseball as we’ll also have conference previews for every Division-I conference along with previews and breakdowns for Division-II, Division-III, NAIA, and JUCO baseball.
 
This was one of the more difficult years in choosing a preseason No. 1 as, legitimately, every team in the current top-10 was considered for the No. 1 spot at some point in the process. Vanderbilt opens the 2022 season as the No. 1 team in the country given their pedigree in recent years, returning starters on what should be a potent offense, and the talent of the pitching staff, some of which will be expected to take jumps in their second or third season. The Commodores featured a team high of three All-American selections with Dominic Keegan on the first team, Enrique Bradfield Jr. on the second team, and Nick Maldonado on the third team. There will be a full feature on Friday, Jan. 7 from Blake Dowson on Tim Corbin and the No. 1 Commodores.
 
The rest of the top-5 rounds out with two Omaha participants in 2021 with Texas at No. 2 and Stanford at No. 3. Texas returns a ton from an already very dangerous team and there’s experience throughout the Longhorns’ roster, while the Cardinal re-established themselves atop the Pac-12 and return one of the best players in the country in Brock Jones. LSU comes in at No. 4 in Jay Johnson’s first year at the helm in Baton Rouge, while Link Jarrett’s upstart Notre Dame opens at No. 5. LSU might legitimately be the best offense in the country as they’ll be led by transfer Jacob Berry along with Cade Doughty and Gavin Dugas along with super sophomores Dylan Crews, Tre’ Morgan, and Jordan Thompson. Notre Dame only really loses two pieces from what was an Omaha-caliber team and their roster is littered with various third or fourth-year guys who have won before and have a bevy of experience.
 
The defending champion Bulldogs come in at No. 6, which might be low for Mississippi State when looking at season’s end. They’ll need to replace their entire rotation along with some key offensive pieces, but we don’t envision Landon Sims having any trouble transitioning to Friday nights at The Dude. NC State opens at No. 7 eager to get the 2022 season started after a disappointing finish in Omaha, the influx of a strong freshman class along with veteran arms makes them dangerous. TCU opens at No. 8 as they should compete with Texas and Texas Tech for the Big 12. Arkansas is at No. 9 as they’ll need to replace Golden Spikes winner Kevin Kopps, but there’s no absence of talent on the pitching staff and the experienced offense will be led by Robert Moore and Cayden Wallace. Ole Miss rounds out the top-10 at No. 10 as they’ll need to replace weekend starters Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy, though the talent is there and of course captain Tim Elko returns.
 
Next week we will have full team breakdowns for the Top 25 along with blurbs on teams that just missed the cut in the 26-40 range. The rankings will be updated on Mondays following weekend series during the season. Make sure to follow along on Twitter for all things college baseball and Perfect Game.



@PerfectGameUSA | @PGCollegeBall | @vcervinoPG

Top 25 breakdown by conference:
SEC: 7 (Vanderbilt, LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida)
ACC: 5 (Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami)
Big 12: 4 (Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State)
Pac 12: 4 (Stanford, Arizona, UCLA, Oregon)
Big West: 2 (UC Irvine, Long Beach State)
American: 1 (East Carolina)
Big 10: 1 (Nebraska)
ASUN: 1 (Liberty)

Rank Team 2021 Finish 2021 Rec. Conference
1 Vanderbilt 2 (49-18) SEC
2 Texas 3 (50-17) Big 12
3 Stanford 5 (39-17) Pac 12
4 Louisiana State 15 (38-25) SEC
5 Notre Dame 10 (34-13) ACC
6 Mississippi State 1 (50-18) SEC
7 North Carolina State 4 (37-19) ACC
8 TCU 22 (41-19) Big 12
9 Arkansas 9 (50-13) SEC
10 Ole Miss 11 (45-22) SEC
11 Georgia Tech NR (31-25) ACC
12 Texas Tech NR (39-17) Big 12
13 East Carolina 12 (44-17) AAC
14 Arizona 8 (45-18) Pac 12
15 Florida State NR (31-24) ACC
16 Oklahoma State NR (36-19-1) Big 12
17 UCLA NR (37-20) Pac 12
18 Miami NR (33-21) ACC
19 Oregon 17 (39-16) Pac 12
20 UC Irvine 20 (43-18) Big West
21 Tennessee 7 (50-18) SEC
22 Nebraska 19 (34-14) Big 10
23 Florida NR (38-22) SEC
24 Long Beach State NR (28-15) Big West
25 Liberty 25 (41-16) ASUN

College | Rankings | 3/18/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 18

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
In every major sport, the championship is decided in the postseason. You can lose games all year, get hot at the right time, and walk away with the hardware. The regular season is a rehearsal. The playoffs are the show.  The championship belt changes that. Borrowed from professional wrestling, boxing and ultimate fighting, the belt travels the moment the holder loses — no brackets, no seeding, no second chances. A random Tuesday non-conference game in Milledgeville, Georgia  becomes a title fight. A spring trip to Florida becomes a gauntlet. The defending national champion can lose the belt before February is over.  We’re tracking three belts this season — NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NCAA Division III — each starting with the defending national champion. The results have been exactly as chaotic as you’d expect.  Worth noting along the...
Draft | Rankings | 3/20/2026

2026 Draft Board: Top 300

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The 2026 MLB Draft class is shaping up to be one of the better in recent memory and, potentially, the best class in the last decade. It’s led by UCLA superstar shortstop Roch Cholowsky, a true five-tool prospect who’s the early favorite for 1:1. One of the most popular pieces of industry feedback when constructing this list was some variation of “Roch is too low” or “go up on Roch” and he’s the best college prospect since 2019 when Adley Rutschman (Oregon State, Orioles) was the consensus No. 1 prospect. Similarly to 2019, there’s a superstar Texas prep shortstop at No. 2, in 2019 it was Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage, Royals) and this year it’s Grady Emerson. Both Emerson and Alabama’s Justin Lebron would have been solid 1:1 candidates in years where Roch Cholowsky is not eligible and both have All-Star potential....
Press Release | Press Release | 3/19/2026

PG Teams Up with OZ Ball Tournaments PTY

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES OZ BALL TOURNAMENTS PTY AS OFFICIAL AREA DIRECTOR IN AUSTRALIA, EXPANDING GLOBAL FOOTPRINT   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, March 19, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that it has entered into a new international partnership with Oz Ball Tournaments Pty, naming the organization as an official Perfect Game Area Director in Australia. The agreement establishes Perfect Game-licensed tournaments and showcases across major Australian markets, including Sydney, Brisbane/Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.     Australian events will operate under the Perfect Game brand, delivering the same...
Press Release | Press Release | 3/18/2026

PG Introduces Individual Player Entry

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME INTRODUCES INDIVIDUAL PLAYER ENTRY, EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELITE NATIONAL EVENTS   Athletes Can Now Compete in Select National Tournaments Through Structured ‘Team PG’ Rosters   Sanford, Florida (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the launch of Individual Player Entry, a new initiative designed to provide athletes the opportunity to compete in select national events even if their primary team is not attending.   Through the program, players can now register individually and be placed on a structured “Team PG” roster, allowing them to participate fully in...
Juco | Rankings | 3/18/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 18

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
This week brings a new top team to the rankings as Johnson County (KS), on the strength of 10 consecutive wins and a 26-2 record, claims the overall number 1 spot. The Cavaliers have made 3 consecutive trips to the JUCO World Series and have the talent to make it back there again this spring. Florida Southwestern and Chipola have seemingly separated themselves as the most consistent teams in Florida. Welcome to the top 5 to the Gaston Rhinos who will be one of the first teams to 30 wins this spring. Pearl River stays as the top NJCAA D2 team and Fresno City stays as the top Juco team in California; both are coming off undefeated 2 week stretches. Welcome back to the top 25 to John A. Logan who is now 20-7 overall and have played one of the toughest schedules of anyone. And for the first time in several years welcome to the top 25 to the College of Southern Idaho, the Golden Eagles have...
High School | General | 3/18/2026

Class of 2026: Preseason HS All-Americans

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
High School | Rankings | 3/17/2026

High School Top 50 Update: March 17

Tyler Russo
Article Image
We have another update to the National Top-50 after two weeks of even more games being played in the southern states along with seasons just starting to kick off across the country. We’re quickly approaching another stellar high school event, the NHSI in Cary, and with that will come even more movement in these rankings. St. John Bosco (CA) continues to hold firm at the No. 1 position after a 4-0 start to their season. Venice (FL) has been rolling throughout the early portion of the year and jumps up to No. 2 in the country. One of the biggest movers in this update is The Bennett School (TX) jumping from unranked to No. 8 in the country after beating a handful of top ranked programs to start the year. Some other big movers inside the top-10 are Barbe (LA), who jumps from No. 18 to No. 5 in this update as well as Aledo (TX) who jumps from No. 20 to No. 9. The rest of the top-10...
College | Story | 3/17/2026

College Players of the Week: March 17

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
March 17th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17-3) came into the season with the highest external expectations in decades based on the anticipation of their offensive potential. To this point they have not only met those lofty expectations, but twenty games in they may have exceeded them. While there are plenty of high-level prospects up and down the lineup, with all that star power Vahn Lackey has stood out. Sure to be one of the first catchers selected in this year’s MLB Draft with his comprehensive skillset, he projects well as an everyday backstop at the next level. However, his overall athleticism stands out as we saw this week when he had a game where he played every defensive position on the field except pitcher. At the plate over four games including a series victory at Clemson last week, he went 9 for 15, scoring...
College | Rankings | 3/16/2026

College Top 25: March 16

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Collegiate Player Report Database As each week of the college baseball season passes, we continue to be entertained at an incredible level with high level drama at every turn.  Conference play is under way and the national landscape is starting to make a bit more sense.  The development and strength of individual players is on full-display and there continue to be upsets on occasion that sends the message no team can relax for one moment.  For the most part, the Top 10 remains unchanged with some reshuffling as No. 1 UCLA (17-2) holds on to the top spot with yet another perfect (4-0) week after sweeping Michigan.  The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (18-1) did drop their first game of the season in Game 1 of SEC play but won the series against Ole Miss and finished the week with a (3-1) record.  The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (17-3) passed their first real road test of the...
Draft | Story | 3/13/2026

PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps As the spring season gets underway, the showcase circuit and early high-level tournaments have already provided our scouts with some intriguing first looks at this year’s crop of prospects. At the same time, we’ve been tracking the buzz among team evaluators, listening closely to the names that keep coming up in conversations and the players clubs are making sure they get eyes on this spring. Every year, a handful of prospects quietly slip beneath the radar during the fall and winter months, only to reemerge once the games start counting again. Sometimes it’s the result of a productive offseason in the weight room, a noticeable jump in velocity, or a step forward in skill development. Other times, it’s simply a player finally getting the opportunity and the stage to show what’s been building behind the scenes. The spring has a...
Loading more articles...