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College  | Story | 1/10/2018

2018 Preseason College Top 25

Photo: Courtney Culbreath




Preseason All-American Team | 2018 College Baseball Preview Index

Welcome to the first Top 25 team rankings for the 2018 college baseball season and thanks to our friends at Rawlings for presenting our 2018 college baseball content. Listed below are the Top 25 teams, a list assembled by Perfect Game's Patrick Ebert and Mike Rooney.

In the previous three seasons the preseason No. 1 team has been somewhat of a slam dunk, even if none of those three teams (Vanderbilt, Florida and TCU) emerged as the champion during those respective seasons. That isn't brought up to suggest that the Florida Gators weren't an easy pick for the top spot of this year's preseason Top 25, but there was more discussion about which teams were deserving of consideration to open the season No. 1.

While Oregon State, TCU, Texas Tech and Florida State are all returning an impressive amount of talent from already strong 2017 teams, in the end we couldn't steer away from the defending champs. Not surprisingly it starts with their pitching staff, with Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar and Tyler Dyson all back in the fold to form the weekend starting staff. Closer Michael Byrne is also back, as are numerous key position players including J.J. Schwarz, Jonathan India and Nelson Maldonado. In addition to a strong freshman class, their sophomore class – led by Dyson and outfielder Austin Langworthy – is poised to take a significant step forward.

Should the Gators return to Omaha it will continue what has been a rather remarkable run for Kevin O'Sullivan's squad, as they will have made it to the College World Series four years in a row and seven times in nine years. Jeff Dahn will have a feature on the No. 1-ranked Florida Gators on Thursday.

The top five teams are all very strong with the aforementioned return of talent. Oregon State did lose some impact players, but their starting lineup, outside of K.J. Harrison, should look almost the same with the best middle infield tandem in the nation (Nick Madrigal and Cadyn Grenier). The starting staffs for both TCU and Texas Tech could give Florida a run for their money, while Florida State returns their entire weekend starting staff and several big bats from a potent lineup.

Two more teams separated themselves from the rest of the field during the Top 25 deliberations: No. 6 Arkansas and No. 7 North Carolina. Arkansas is a little top heavy when it comes to pitching but they should have no problem scoring runs, while North Carolina is going to be a serious CWS contender each of the next two seasons with arguably the most talented sophomore class in the nation.

Seven of the teams in the Preseason Top 25 did not finish among the ranked teams to close out the 2017 season. Ole Miss, NC State and Oklahoma all were in the Top 25 at some point during the spring. Miami, at No. 9, is the highest ranked of three Top 25 teams that didn't make the postseason a year ago as they return with incredible pitching depth and one of the best newcomer groups in the nation.

We will make more sense of the Top 25 next Tuesday (Jan. 16) when we will follow up the ranking with detailed capsules of each of the 25 teams. The day after that (Wed., Jan. 17) we will provide the teams ranked 26-40 along with a brief synopsis of each program.

Breakdown by conference:

SEC: 7 teams (Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State)
ACC: 7 teams (Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, NC State, Louisville, Duke, Clemson)
Big 12: 4 teams (Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas)
Pac-12: 3 teams (Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA)
American Athletic: 1 team (Houston)
Big Ten: 1 team (Indiana)
Big West: 1 team (Cal State Fullerton)
Southland: 1 team (Sam Houston State)

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 Team '17 Record '17 Rk
2017 Finish
1

 Florida
52-19 1 College World Series Champion
2
 Oregon State
56-6 3 College World Series
3
 Texas Christian
50-18 4 College World Series
4
 Texas Tech
45-17 7 Lubbock Regional
5
 Florida State
46-23 9 College World Series
6
 Arkansas
45-19 18 Fayetteville Regional
7
 North Carolina
49-14 6 Chapel Hill Regional
8
 Kentucky
43-23 11 Louisville Super Regional
9
 Miami
32-27 NR Did not make postseason
10
 Stanford
42-16 14
Stanford Regional
11
 Mississippi
32-25 NR Did not make postseason
12
 Louisiana State
52-20 2
College World Series Runner-up
13
 NC State
36-25 NR Lexington Regional
14
 Louisville
53-12 5 College World Series
15
 Texas A&M
41-23 12 College World Series
16
 UCLA
30-27 NR Long Beach Regional
17
 Indiana
34-24-2 NR Lexington Regional
18
 Oklahoma
35-24 NR Louisville Regional
19
 Cal State Fullerton
39-24 8 College World Series
20
 Duke
30-28 NR Did not make postseason
21
 Houston
42-21 20 Houston Regional
22
 Sam Houston State
44-23 22 Tallahassee Super Regional
23
 Texas
39-24 23 Long Beach Regional
24
 Clemson
42-21 21 Clemson Regional
25
 Mississippi State
40-27 15 Baton Rouge Super Regional

Others receiving consideration: UCF, Auburn, West Virginia, Southern Miss, Vanderbilt



College | Story | 6/11/2026

Collegiate Freshman All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Postseason Awards | Collegiate All Americans First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Alonzo Alvarez Miami FR 0.341 0.439 0.551 40 57 13 2 6 32 3 1B Ethin Bingaman Auburn FR 0.330 0.415 0.581 60 71 9 0 15 50 4 2B Ethan Ball Virginia Tech FR 0.310 0.420 0.660 43 63 18 1 17 52 3 3B Nico Partida Texas A&M FR 0.306 0.408 0.550 45 55 8 0 12 43 4 SS Jett Kenady California FR 0.320 0.350 0.573 36 66 17 1 11 34 1 IF Linkin Garcia Texas Tech FR 0.338 0.387 0.489 53 78 21 1 4 59 1 OF Angel Laya Oregon FR 0.296 0.396 0.538 49 66 10 1 14 47 5 OF Anthony Pack Jr. Texas FR 0.359 0.485 0.597 58 74 16 0 11 52 20 OF Jacob Parker* Mississippi State FR 0.339 0.449 0.732 51 57 10 1 18 62 7 OF Teddy Tokheim Stanford FR 0.352 0.414 0.704 40 70 19 0 17 47 0 UT Drew Grego Nebraska FR 0.326 0.417 0.531 33 57 13 1 7 44 5 DH Enzo Infelise Cincinnati FR 0.374...
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Coastal Region Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Alyssa Golden
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A seven-run first inning gave Top Tier Roos American Red 2027 all the momentum they needed Sunday morning, but the road to a Florida World Series championship was far from straightforward.  After jumping out to an early lead against WBC 17u, Top Tier endured a 3 ½-hour rain delay before returning to finish off a 9-1 victory at Lee Health Sports Complex.  The championship game, which began at 8 a.m. and did not conclude until nearly 1 p.m., ended in the bottom of the fifth inning under Perfect Game’s mercy-rule format. Top Tier’s dominant performance was powered by a complete-game effort from Christian Davis and an offense that erupted for seven runs in the first inning.  Not even hours of uncertainty and lightning delays could keep Top Tier from finishing what they started.  Davis started on the mound for Top Tier and remained the entire five...
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Erica Beach
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PG Super Regionals Dripping Springs, Texas June 6-7, 2026     DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX- The weather was nice, the Longhorns JUST won a national championship, and Perfect Game brought it’s first softball event to Dripping Springs. It was a weekend packed with college coaches, quality softball, and a great softball atmosphere. Over the course of the six-game guarantee event, our scout saw some amazing athletes. Below she highlights some of the athletes who caught her eye.   Destiny Sidiropoulos (2028, Houston, TX) of the Impact Gold HTX 16U was an incredible spark plug at the top of their lineup all weekend. She is a true triple threat who has great speed on the basepaths. She can soft and power slap, drop a sneaky bunt, and hit away with pop. Her barrel control is next level, and she is fun to watch pick apart defenses. On defense, she is versatile and athletic. She gets...
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UBC West Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Steve Fiorindo
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Nash McCarthy (2030, Camas, WA) was outstanding in his start on day two of the UBC West for NW Baum Bat, working six-innings allowing four-hits, no walks and struck out seven.  Standing at 6-foot, 170-pounds with athleticism and room to add.  Effortless mover down the bump with a low effort, up-tempo operation that produced a fastball that was up to 84.  He showed feel for the secondary offerings mixing in a firm breaking ball at 71-74 with 11-5 shape with depth.  Controlled the zone and the tempo throughout the outing, moving the ball around to all four-quadrants.  Projectable arm speed with advanced feel for the spin and strike zone.  Dylan D'Oyen (2030, Cerritos, CA) got the start for 5 Star 2030 in their opening game of the tournament and impressed over six innings of work.  Athletic mover down the mound with balance and repeats the delivery. ...
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UBC South Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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Quintin Blackwell (2030, Hercules, California) has, literally, been unstoppable this weekend for Premier Banditos Deleon. In six plate appearances, he has a walk and five hits. Doing it all with a double and two triples, while stealing three bags. Plenty of coil on the front side. Hands work through zone and the barrel stays on plane for a long time. High upside bat that makes an already deep Banditos lineup even deeper. Kenson Buth (2027, Trophy Club, Texas) has been an absolute weapon on both ends for Stix 2027 Scout. At the plate, he’s 6-9 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Linear approach with a ton of bat speed. Plenty of impact at the bottom of the zone and showing some ability to do serious damage in the middle of the field. On the mound, he went four quality innings, punching out three. The fastball lived 86-90 with carry. Good feel for the slider in the mid 70s....
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WWBA East Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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Sawyer Pettit (‘27 MS) Has shown extremely well to start the summer of 2026. Its a physical left-handed hitting corner profile with big muscle mass. Will pass the eye test off the bus at the next level. The swing is clean with controlled violence and big in-air power that has shown up frequently. Good mover for the size and plays the game hard. Candidate for a big frosh season at LSU-Eunice in 2028. Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) Pair of barrels tied together here. Innate feel to hit with fast hands. Line drive approach that gets to pull side power in the air. Excellent athlete that will stick at a premium spot. #LaTech commit.#WWBAEast pic.twitter.com/xeintVTMil — PG Deep South (@PG_DeepSouth) June 12, 2026 Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) The Louisiana Tech commit just does not stop hitting. Left the yard to the pull side yesterday and followed it up with a 3-4 day with a...
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Emily Hicks
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13/14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
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13u & 14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Tucker Richardson (2030, Mobile, Ala.) has already made a name for himself and he continued to play at the expected high level during his time in Hoover, finishing the tournament with a robust .700 average, collecting at least one base hit in each of his team’s games. Now the No. 10 ranked prospect in the country, Richardson more than once showed the ability to read and react to spin out of the pitcher’s hand, barreling up baseballs for a couple of his hits on the tournament. As much as the bat stands out, the defensive actions in the dirt are even better as he’s arguably the best defender in the class, making the most difficult plays look routing, including one where he charged hard on a slow roller with momentum taking him towards the third base dugout but thanks to the big arm, he was able to make the play look second...
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