UCLA leads the D1Baseball preseason top 25 rankings

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For the first time in the 12-year history of the rankings, UCLA is No. 1 in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25. Led by 2025 D1Baseball Player of the Year Roch Cholowsky, the Bruins return eight everyday regulars and 10 of their top 12 innings leaders on the mound from a team that won 48 games and reached the College World Series last year. And they further bolstered their roster with two high-profile transfers (righthander Logan Reddemann and outfielder Will Gasparino), along with one of the nation’s top incoming freshman arms (Angel Cervantes).

The Bruins’ previous high preseason ranking was No. 2 in 2021. They last topped the rankings heading into the 2019 NCAA tournament.

Reigning national champion LSU is right behind at No. 2 in the rankings, the fourth straight year the Tigers have begun the season ranked in the top five. LSU has not entered the season ranked lower than 16th in any of the 12 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 rankings.

The Tigers lead a group of five SEC teams in the top 10. Reigning SEC champion Texas checks in at No. 3, and Mississippi State enters the Brian O’Connor era ranked fourth. Arkansas is No. 7, the sixth straight preseason top-10 ranking for the Razorbacks. And Auburn is No. 9, its highest preseason mark since 2020 (No. 8).

Georgia Tech, under first-year head coach James Ramsey, is ranked fifth — the highest preseason ranking for the Yellow Jackets in the 12-year history of the rankings. The Jackets last garnered a preseason ranking in 2022 (No. 21). Last year’s national runner-up, Coastal Carolina, follows at No. 6, while No. 8 Louisville and No. 10 TCU round out the top 10. It is the highest-ever preseason ranking for the Chanticleers in the D1Baseball Top 25.

Two pitching-rich teams with new-look lineups check in at No. 11 (North Carolina) and No. 12 (Oregon State). They are followed by three more SEC powers: No. 13 Florida, No. 14 Tennessee and No. 15 Georgia. Three more ACC teams fit into the 16-20 range: No. 16 Florida State, No. 17 NC State and No. 19 Clemson. No. 18 Kentucky and No. 20 Southern Miss round out the top 20.

The final group of five features two more ACC clubs in No. 21 Wake Forest and No. 22 Miami, along with last year’s No. 1 overall NCAA tournament seed in No. 23 Vanderbilt. Arizona, an Omaha team a year ago, checks in at No. 24, and Texas A&M closes the rankings at No. 25.

The SEC leads all conferences with 11 teams in the Top 25, followed by the ACC (eight teams), Big 12 and Sun Belt (two apiece). UCLA is the lone representative from the Big Ten. Oregon State remains a Division I independent.

The D1Baseball staff determines the Top 25 rankings.