DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 26th year with its 2023 inaugural and weekly surveys, and the LSU Tigers (40-22 in 2022) rate No. 1 in the preseason poll ahead of No. 2 Tennessee and No. 3 Stanford.
This is the third time for the Tigers to receive the NCBWA’s preseason nod for pre-campaign No. 1 along with the first NCBWA preseason poll in 1998 and in 2001.
Ole Miss, coming off the school’s first NCAA men’s championship in any sport at Omaha in 2022, is No. 7 in the initial survey. Some of the other traditional powers among the Top 10 are No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 9 Vanderbilt, and No. 10 Louisville.
At the end of ’22 the Rebels also became the 19th different team to finish No. 1 in the NCBWA survey since the writers’ group first made selections in 1998.
Other previous No. 1 entries on the preseason NCBWA rankings have been Southern California (1999), Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Texas (2003, '06, '10, '22) Rice (2004, '07), Cal State Fullerton (2005, '14), Arizona State (2008), North Carolina (2009), TCU (2011, '17), Florida (2012, '18, '21), Arkansas (2013), and Vanderbilt (2015, '19, '20).
There are eight conferences represented in the first 35-team survey with the Southeastern leading the way with 11 squads among 305 schools competing in NCAA Division I. The Atlantic Coast Conference is next with nine schools in the 2023 preseason poll. Last year there were 14 different conferences with teams in the poll, and a record 19 conferences were represented in 2019 surveys.
There were 75 schools rated or receiving votes among the first Top 35 in ‘23, and the poll will continue with Top 30 teams on Monday, Feb. 20 through the completion of the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., in late June. Last February, an NCBWA preseason record 83 schools nabbed votes in the first survey.
| 2022 NCBWA DIVISION I PRESEASON POLL (JAN. 31) | ||||
| Rk. | School | Conference | Record | Pvs. |
| 1. | LSU | SEC | 40-22 | 21 |
| 2. | Tennessee | SEC | 57-9 | 9 |
| 3. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 47-18 | 7 |
| 4. | Florida | SEC | 42-24 | 22 |
| 5. | Texas A&M | SEC | 44-20 | 4 |
| 6. | Arkansas | SEC | 46-21 | 3 |
| 7. | Ole Miss | SEC | 42-23 | 1 |
| 8. | Wake Forest | ACC | 41-19-1 | RV |
| 9. | Vanderbilt | SEC | 39-23 | 24 |
| 10. | Louisville | ACC | 42-21-1 | 12 |
| 11. | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 42-22 | 17 |
| 12. | East Carolina | American Athletic | 46-21 | 14 |
| 13. | North Carolina | ACC | 42-22 | 15 |
| 14. | UCLA | Pac-12 | 40-24 | 27 |
| 15. | Maryland | Big Ten | 48-14 | 19 |
| 16. | TCU | Big 12 | 38-22 | 25 |
| 17. | Miami | ACC | 40-20 | 20 |
| 18. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 45-14 | 13 |
| 19. | Virginia | ACC | 39-19 | 30 |
| 20. | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 47-19 | 11 |
| 21. | Oregon | Pac-12 | 36-25 | RV |
| 22. | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 39-22 | 23 |
| 23. | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 48-18 | 10 |
| 24. | N.C. State | ACC | 36-21 | RV |
| 25. | Alabama | SEC | 31-27 | - |
| 26. | Texas | Big 12 | 47-22 | 8 |
| 27. | Auburn | SEC | 43-22 | 6 |
| 28. | South Carolina | SEC | 27-28 | - |
| 29. | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 44-14 | 28 |
| 30. | Connecticut | American Athletic | 50-16 | 16 |
| 31. | Mississippi State | SEC | 26-30 | - |
| 32. | Florida State | ACC | 34-25 | RV |
| 33. | Arizona | Pac-12 | 39-25 | RV |
| 34. | Notre Dame | ACC | 41-17 | 5 |
| 35. | Rutgers | Big Ten | 44-15 | - |
| Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama State (34-25), Arizona State (26-32), California Baptist (36-20), Campbell (41-19), Central Michigan (42-19), Clemson (35-23), Coastal Carolina (39-20-1), Coppin State (24-30), Creighton (31-18), Dallas Baptist (34-24-1), Davidson (43-13), Evansville (32-24), Georgia (36-23), Georgia Southern (41-20), Georgia Tech (36-24), Gonzaga (37-19), Grand Canyon (41-21), Houston (37-24), Illinois (30-22), Indiana (27-32), Kennesaw State (36-28), Kentucky (33-26), Liberty (37-23), Long Island (37-21), Louisiana (37-23), Louisiana Tech (43-21), Michigan (34-28), Oklahoma (45-24), Old Dominion (41-17), Oral Roberts (38-20), Prairie View A&M (25-27), San Diego (37-20), San Diego State (18-38), Seattle University (15-33), Texas State (47-14), Troy (32-24), UC Irvine (32-24), UNLV (36-22), Utah (26-27-1), Wright State (30-27). | ||||
| By conference: SEC 11, ACC 9, Pac-12 5, Big 12 4, American Athletic 2, Big Ten 2, Big West 1, Sun Belt 1. | ||||
| Records are from the 2022 season | ||||
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Trophy, Regional Players of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors Division I Players of the Week, the Stopper of the Year, and publication and writing contests.