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College  | Rankings | 1/8/2026

2026 Preseason Top 25

With an interesting and action-packed fall behind us, a new college season is just around the corner. The college game continues to prove it is alive and well as the Division 1 team count has now ballooned to 308 teams for the 2026 season. With new legislation allowing teams 5-weeks to prepare for opening day, many student athletes have returned to campus and will begin skill related workouts soon. Opening Day, as usual, will fall on Valentine’s Day weekend and it is just six weeks away. After a fall of evaluation and months of research and discussion, we are ready to release our annual Perfect Game pre-season Top 25 poll.

After winning 53-games, hosting the NCAA Regional and Super Region, and sweeping their way through the College World, the LSU Tigers will debut the 2026 season as our No.1 ranked team. Head coach, Jay Johnson, has now led the Tigers to two national titles in the last three season and it was the program’s 8th overall. They wasted no time reloading for the 2026 season as they landed 13 of Perfect Game’s top 100 high school prospects on campus this fall and crushed the transfer portal as well. All of that will supplement an incredible returning roster of 13 heavy contributors from ’25, headlined by reigning SEC Freshman of the Year and potential first round pick, Derek Curiel. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets make a splash for first year head coach, James Ramsey, as they will open the season at No. 2 in the poll. The Rambling Wreck may very well have the nations deepest and most dangerous offense to go with a much-upgraded pitching staff. Another first-time head coach, Josh Elander, will have the spotlight directly on him as he leads the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers into the new season. The Vols will have a new look with longtime head coach Tony Vitello taking his personality to San Francisco as the new skipper of the Giants, but the cupboard is packed with talent in Knoxville. Coming off another heartbreaking run in Omaha, Dave Van Horn and the Arkansas Razorbacks will start the year at No. 4 in the rankings. They will field one of the most talented and balanced rosters in the nation and look like a national title contender. Rounding out the Top 5 will be the resurgent UCLA Bruins, as John Savage returns the best junior class in the nation and have another run to Omaha in their sights. Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky enters the ’26 season as the favorite to go 1:1 in this year’s MLB Amateur Draft and will set the pace for the Bruins high-octane offense.



The SEC once again leads the poll with a total of 9 members on the pre-season list, with 3 of the top 5 and 6 of the top 10 coming from the league. The ACC is right behind them with 8 teams while the Big 10, and Sun Belt both have 2 teams represented. After that the Big West and the American Athletic Conference have a team and Oregon State is in with another year as an Independent.

Rank
Team
Conference
Head Coach
25 Finish
25 Record
1
LSU
SEC
Jay Johnson
CWS Champions
(53-15)
2
Georgia Tech
ACC
James Ramsey
Oxford Regional
(41-19)
3
Tennessee
SEC
Josh Elander
Fayetteville Super Regional
(46-19)
4
Arkansas
SEC
Dave Van Horn
College World Series
(50-15)
5
UCLA
Big 10
John Savage
College World Series
(48-18)
6
Mississippi State
SEC
Brian O'Connor
Tallahassee Regional
(36-23)
7
Oregon State
Independent
Mitch Canham
College World Series
(48-16-1)
8
Texas
SEC
Jim Schlossnagle
Austin Regional
(44-14)
9
Florida State
ACC
Link Jarrett
Corvallis Super Regional
(42-16)
10
Auburn
SEC
Butch Thompson
Auburn Super Regional
(41-20)
11
TCU
Big 12
Kirk Saarloos
Corvallis Regional
(39-20)
12
Florida
SEC
Kevin O'Sullivan
Conway Regional
(39-22)
13
Oregon
Big 10
Mark Wasikowski
Eugene Regional
(42-16)
14
Virginia
ACC
Chris Pollard
No Postseason
(32-18)
15
Georgia
SEC
Wes Johnson
Athens Regional
(43-17)
16
Louisville
ACC
Dan McDonnell
College World Series
(42-24)
17
Coastal Carolina
Sun Belt
Kevin Schnall
CWS Runner-Up
(56-13)
18
North Carolina
ACC
Scott Forbes
Chapel Hill Super Regional
(46-15)
19
Vanderbilt
SEC
Tim Corbin
Nashville Regional
(43-18)
20
Clemson
ACC
Erik Bakich
Clemson Regional
(45-18)
21
UC Santa Barbara
Big West
Andrew Checketts
No Postseason
(36-18)
22
NC State
ACC
Elliot Avent
Auburn Regional
(35-21)
23
Southern Miss
Sun Belt
Christian Ostrander
Hattiesburg Regional
(47-16)
24
Miami
ACC
JD Arteaga
Louisville Super Regional
(35-27)
25
East Carolina
American
Cliff Godwin
Conway Regional
(35-27)
 

College | Story | 1/28/2026

Conference Preview: WCC

Steve Doherty
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Gonzaga  26  25 16 8  Loyola Marymount  27  27 14  10 Pacific  20  36 8  16  Pepperdine  12  42 7  17  Portland  22  29 13  11  Saint Mary's  36  26 15  9  San Diego  26  29 19  5  San Francisco  26  30 9  15  Santa Clara  20  30 7  17  Seattle U  20  32 8 16 Preseason All-Conference...
Press Release | Press Release | 1/28/2026

2026 Pacific Baseball Championship Set

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 ANNOUNCES VENUES, DATES FOR   2026 PACIFIC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP    Elite global talent converges in Southern California, December 26-29, 2026, at the Dodgers’ new ONT Field Stadium and October Empire Complex    Ontario, California (Wednesday, January 28, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced additional details surrounding the 2026 Perfect Game Pacific Baseball Championship (PBC), including official venues, dates and the various nations that players will be coming from,...
Press Release | Press Release | 1/27/2026

Believe In Baseball Event Adds Stars

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    JAY LENO, NIKKI GLASER, TIFFANY HADDISH, DUSTIN YBARRA AND GARY CANNON ADDED TO PERFECT GAME   BELIEVE IN BASEBALL CHARITY EVENT     Laugh Factory hosts an all-star comedy lineup for Perfect Game’s charity gala    Los Angeles, California (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) - The Perfect Game Believe in Baseball Foundation today announced an all-star comedy lineup for its first-ever “In the Spirit of the Game” charity awards dinner and auction, taking place this Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the world-famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood to benefit youth...
College | Story | 1/27/2026

Conf. Preview: Conference USA

Geoff Billock
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L DBU 41 18 21 6 Delaware 28 25 12 15 FIU 31 27 13 13 Jax State 37 25 15 12 Kennesaw State 31 27 17 9 LA Tech 32 25 14 12 Liberty 30 27 10 17 Missouri State 30 25 17 8 MTSU 23 32 8 19 NM State 23 33 11 15 Sam Houston 12 43 6 21 WKU 46 14 18 9 Preseason All-Conference Team   Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Grayson Ashe Jax State .318/.435/.574; CUSA All-Conference Second Team honors last year. Highly productive offensive catcher who led team in average and home...
High School | General | 1/27/2026

High School Top 50: 40-31

Cam McElwaney
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High School Preview Index Top 50 Breakdown: 50-41 40. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Tx.) 2025 Record: 25-5 Head Coach: James Vilade Notable Prospect(s): RHP Savion Sims (Oklahoma), RHP Trent Vilade (Texas A&M), OF Austin Smith, C Cruz Banuelas, RHP Harrison Hilliard, OF Lash Henderson (Texas A&M), SS Max Bachmann, SS Frantz Guignard, 3B Aiden Moffitt, C Chance Kidd Prestonwood Christian is coming off a successful season a year ago that saw them rattle off 25 wins, but they come up just short of a state title, losing 2-0 in the championship game. They lose a pair of senior power arms but also bring back one of the top right-handers in the state in Trent Vilade as well as adding one of the top flamethrowers in the nation in Savion Sims. Junior outfielder Lash Henderson, a Texas A&M commit and a top-25 talent in the class, headlines the group of position players along with...
High School | Blog | 1/26/2026

High School Content Index

Tyler Russo
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With the High School season about to pick up and kick off in the warmer states in the not-so-distant future, make sure to bookmark this index with all the dates of upcoming content so you can be in the know, beginning with a breakdown of every team in our Top 50 countdown.  Date Content Monday, January 26 HS Team Breakdowns: 50-41 Tuesday, January 27 HS Team Breakdowns: 40-31 Wednesday, January 28 HS Team Breakdowns: 30-21 Thursday, January 29 HS Team Breakdowns: 20-11 Friday, January 30 HS Team Breakdowns: 10-1 Friday, January 30 National High School Top 50 Monday, February 2 HS Top 50 All Prospect Team Monday, February 2 Top Team in Each State Tuesday, February 3 Florida Region Top Teams/Prospects Tuesday, February 3 Florida Region Preview Wednesday, February 4 Georgia Region Top Teams/Prospects Wednesday, February 4 Georgia Region Preview Thursday, February 5 Pacific Region Top...
High School | General | 1/26/2026

High School Top 50: 50-41

Cam McElwaney
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50. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.) 2025 Record: 19-12 Head Coach: Gary Remiker Notable Prospect(s): SS Alex Harrington (Stanford), OF Hunter Harrington (Stanford), RHP Kaden Kuhn (Cornell), OF Xavier Nady (NYU), RHP Shoei Darvishsefat, SS Trey Kotsay (Princeton), OF Nick Ruder (University of Chicago), SS Jonas Nalu (Colorado School of Mines), OF Joshua Priest (Arizona State), LHP Jose Partida (Arizona State), 1B Maxwell Stewart, OF Dj Sweeney Cathedral Catholic has been one of the top programs in the San Diego area over the past handful of years and brings back not only one of the best rosters in their area, but one of the top rosters in the country. Headlining the group is twin brothers Alex and Hunter Harrington, both Stanford commits and bring dynamic athleticism mixed with a good bit of experience. The Dons also return seniors Xavier Nady, Trey Kotsay, Nick Ruder and Jonas...
College | Story | 1/26/2026

Conference Preview: Big South

Blaine Peterson
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Charleston Southern 31 22 14 10 Gardner-Webb 17 36 6 18 High Point 39 19 18 6 Longwood 14 38 8 16 Presbyterian 17 35 9 15 Radford 28 28 13 11 UNC-Asheville 15 35 8 16 USC-Upstate 36 25 19 5 Winthrop 31 29 13 11 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C  Preston Lucas USC Upstate 1st Team All-Big South performer in 2025. Hit .337 with 25 XBH and the 5th most RBI (63) in the conference. 1B Landen Johnson High Point 2nd Team All-Big South...
College | Story | 1/27/2026

Conference Preview: SoCon

Craig Cozart
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Citadel 31 26 12 9 ETSU 41 17 14 7 Mercer 35 25 12 9 UNCG 21 33 9 12 Samford 30 27 13 8 VMI 27 26 6 15 Western Carolina 30 28 10 11 Wofford 33 27 8 13 Preseason All-Conference Team   Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Cade Carr Samford .332/.531/.422, 16 2B, 8 HR, 61 RBI; athletic backstop with complete toolset, advanced offensive approach, cornerstone 1B Grayson Fitzwater VMI .315/.640/.425, 13 2B, 17 HR, 65 RBI; ++ power, professional approach, more BB than Ks,...
College | Story | 1/23/2026

Conference Preview: American

Craig Cozart
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L UBA 24 30 8 19 Charlotte 36 22 18 9 East Carolina 35 27 13 14 Florida Atlantic 37 21 15 12 Memphis 22 33 8 19 Rice 17 40 10 17 South Florida 31 25 16 11 UTSA 47 15 23 4 Tulane 33 25 13 14 Wichita State 19 35 11 16 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Andrew Stucky UTSA .324/.514/.467 with 6 HRs, 40 RBI; durable 6-0/192 backstop with elite defensive skills and a wealth of experience, returning 1st team all-conference member 1B Cody...
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