College baseball is finally here and despite some some weather delays and postponments, we got a brief look at how the top teams opened the season.
Preseason No. 1 Vanderbilt stayed atop the Cal State Omaha Top 25 despite dropping one loss while out in Arizona.
Much of the top 10 held steady with some minor shuffling. UCLA and Texas Tech flip flopped spots while LSU dropped two places due to their cowardly scheduling.
Stanford jumped four spots while Louisville tumbled eight spots mustering one win this past weekend. UC Santa Barbara fell out while Southern Miss debuts at No. 25.
Records are through games completed February 18th.
1. Vanderbilt: 2-1 (preseason 1)
Despite pitching woes at the MLB4 tournament, (gave up 28 runs and 32 hits while walking 17 and plunking four) the Vandy Boys passed the eye test out in Arizona.
2. UCLA: 3-0 (preseason 3)
Bruins swept St. John’s with the final two games winning going away.
3. Texas Tech: 2-1 (preseason 2)
The Red Raiders: played an improved Oregon squad and split the series with the final game canceled due to weather.
4. East Carolina: 3-0 (preseason 5)
Pirates delivered in the opening weekend sweeping Radford including a double header to open the season on Friday.
5. Michigan: 3-0 (preseason 6)
The Wolverines took down Binghamton on a neutral site Port St. Lucie, FL with a combined score of 27-6.
6. LSU: 3-0 (preseason 4)
The Tigers went undefeated in their round-robin tournament held in Baton Rouge hosting UL Monroe, Army and Air Force. It didn’t resemble a mini-Omaha like other tournaments this past weekend. Despite going undefeated, LSU takes a hit for taking a page from the Alabama football team and scheduling preseason cupcakes to pad their win total… at home no less.
7. Florida State: 4-0 (preseason 8)
The Seminoles look determined to give Mike Martin the send off into the sunset he has been seeking. FSU went 4-0 vs Maine including a combined no-hitter to open the season on Feb. 15th.
8. Florida: 3-0 (preseason 9)
The Gators hosted Long Beach State and put to rest the questions about their unproven pitching. Sunday’s 3-1 vistory was No. 500 for Florida’s head man Kevin O’Sullivan.
9. Cal State Fullerton: 2-1 (preseason 7)
The Titans took two games at the MLB4 tournament with their only loss coming to No. 1 Vandy. Fullerton now has some big bats to compliment their traditional strong corps of arms.
10. TCU: 2-1 (preseason 11)
Take down the No. 1 team in the land will earn you a bump in the Cal State Omaha rankings. Frogs look like their stumble last year was an anomaly.
11. Oregon State: 4-0 (preseason 12)
The Beavs made quick work out in Surprise, Arizona at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic beating New Mexico twice, Gonzaga and a very good Minnesota team to open the season undefeated.
12. North Carolina: 3-0 (preseason 12)
The Diamond Heels took care of business vs. Xavier to open up undefeated.
13. Oklahoma State: 2-1 (preseason 10)
Kudos to the Cowboys for going on the road at UT Rio Grande Valley, but not coming home with the sweep drops OSU a few notches.
14. Georgia: 3-0 (preseason 16)
The Bulldogs took care of business vs. Dayton including a double header to avoid impending weather.
15. Stanford: 4-0 (preseason 19)
The Cardinal looked good at the Angels College Classic in Tempe, AZ going 4-0 vs. Ball State, Wichita State, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon.
16. Ole Miss: 1-1 (preseason 14)
Splitting two games with Wright State was not the way Rebel fans were looking to start but with such a small sample size due to the third game getting canceled due to weather, we won’t penalize Ole Miss too much.
17. Clemson: 3-1 (preseason 17)
Clemson lost a heart breaker to South Alabama after winning the first two.
18. Georgia Tech: 2-1 (preseason 18)
Jackets played in the Atlanta Challenge going 2-1 and hold steady at 18.
19. Arkansas: 3-0 (preseason 20)
The Omahogs swept Eastern Illinois in their own yard as expected.
20. Duke: 3-0 (preseason 21)
The Blue Devils exited the opening weekend undefeated after beating Lehigh for a combined 19-4 differential.
21. Tennessee: 3-0 (preseason 24)
The Vols showed their arms are up for the challenge shutting out Appalachian State all three games.
22. Coastal Carolina: 3-0 (preseason 22)
The Chants hosted the Brittain Resorts Invitational and beat VCU, Maryland and Campbell to open the season 3-0.
23. Louisville: 1-2 (preseason 15)
The Cards dropped two games to UConn in Lakeland, FL and drop the most of any team in our poll.
24. Arizona: 4-0 (preseason 25)
The Wildcats bashed their way to an impressive 4-0 start taking UMass Lowell apart to the tune of 69-19 combined runs totals.
25. Southern Miss: 4-0 (preseason unranked)
Sweeping Purdue to open the season gets the Eagles in at No. 25. Will stay in or move up after next weekend’s series in Starkville vs. Mississippi State?
Dropped out:
23. UC Santa Barbara: 1-1 (preseason 23)
Uncharacteristic rains forced the series vs. Loyola Marymount to be moved to Los Angeles with the Gauchos splitting the remaining games.
Others on the verge of breaking in. (Alphabetical order)
Arizona State (3-0), Baylor (4-0), Illinois (3-0), Miami, Fla. (3-0), Mississippi State (4-0), NC State (4-0), Texas A&M (3-0), UC Irvine (2-1), UConn (2-1)