Texas, coming off a season that saw it win the Big 12 title and reach the bracket finals of the College World Series, opens the 2022 season ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25. Texas went 50-17 in 2021 and went 3-2 in Omaha, losing a pair of one-run games to eventual national champion Mississippi State.
The Longhorns return much of that team, combining impressive talent and experience around the diamond. Texas enters the season as the top-ranked team in the country for the first time since 2010. It is the seventh time in the 42-year history of BA Top 25 that the Longhorns rank No. 1 in the preseason.
Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, who met in last year’s CWS finals, follow Texas at Nos. 2 and 3. Notre Dame and Virginia round out the top five. It is the Fighting Irish’s highest-ever appearance in the Preseason Top 25, while the Cavaliers enter the season ranked No. 5 for the second year in a row.
Led by Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, the SEC has eight teams in the Preseason Top 25, the most of any conference. The ACC follows with six ranked teams.
The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings:
- Texas – Big 12
- Vanderbilt – SEC
- Mississippi State – SEC
- Notre Dame – ACC
- Virginia – ACC
- Florida – SEC
- Stanford – Pac-12
- Arkansas – SEC
- Mississippi – SEC
- Louisiana State – SEC
- Oregon State – Pac-12
- Florida State – ACC
- Arizona – Pac-12
- Georgia – SEC
- East Carolina – AAC
- North Carolina State – ACC
- Tennessee – SEC
- UC Irvine – Big West
- Oklahoma State – Big 12
- Nebraska – Big Ten
- Georgia Tech – ACC
- UCLA – Pac-12
- Texas Tech – Big 12
- Old Dominion – Conference USA
- Miami – ACC
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
