USA TODAY releases baseball coaches preseason poll. Where does Arkansas baseball rank?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas baseball team can add another top-five ranking to its ledger with Opening Day rapidly approaching.
The Razorbacks will begin the 2024 season ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 preseason poll, which is voted on by 31 college baseball coaches across the country.
Wake Forest is ranked No. 1, with LSU, Florida and TCU rounding out the top five. The Horned Frogs eliminated Arkansas from last year's NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas will face seven of the preseason Top-25 teams this season, and there are eight SEC teams ranked in the initial USA TODAY poll. Four more conference rivals received votes.
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The Hogs went 43-18 in 2023, winning the SEC West, sharing the overall conference title with Florida and hosting a Regional.
Arkansas returns key contributors from last year's team like left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith and outfielder Kendall Diggs, while bringing in the top-ranked high school class and the sixth-ranked transfer class, according to D1Baseball.
The Razorbacks will open their season on Feb. 16 with a four-game series at home against James Madison. Arkansas will travel to Arlington, Texas the following weekend to compete in the Kubota College Baseball Series. The Razorbacks will face No. 7 Oregon State, Oklahoma State and Michigan.
Arkansas fans are blessed with a terrific home schedule in 2024. No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida and No. 22 Texas Tech are all coming to Fayetteville in 2024.
Here is the full USA TODAY Sports Top 25 baseball coaches preseason poll:
Rank | School | Points (First-Place Votes) | Final Rank in 2023 |
1 | Wake Forest (54-12) | 751 (15) | 3 |
2 | LSU (53-17) | 731 (11) | 1 |
3 | Florida (54-16) | 727 (5) | 2 |
4 | Arkansas (43-18) | 672 | 11 |
5 | TCU (44-24) | 643 | 7 |
6 | Vanderbilt (42-20) | 576 | 15 |
7 | Oregon State (41-20) | 543 | 25 |
8 | Tennessee (44-22) | 529 | 4 |
9 | Clemson (44-19) | 484 | 18 |
10 | Texas A&M (38-27) | 468 | NR |
11 | Virginia (50-15) | 431 | 6 |
12 | East Carolina (47-19) | 391 | 23 |
13 | Texas (42-22) | 381 | 12 |
14 | Duke (39-24) | 351 | 16 |
15 | North Carolina (36-24) | 342 | NR |
16 | N.C. State (36-21) | 289 | NR |
17 | Alabama (43-21) | 197 | 17 |
18 | UC Santa Barbara (35-20) | 187 | NR |
18 | Coastal Carolina (42-21) | 187 | 20 |
20 | Iowa (44-16) | 186 | NR |
21 | South Carolina (42-21) | 169 | 10 |
22 | Texas Tech (41-23) | 157 | NR |
23 | Stanford (43-20) | 121 | 5 |
24 | UCLA (28-24-1) | 80 | NR |
25 | Northeastern (44-16) | 71 | NR |
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Where does Arkansas baseball rank in USA TODAY coaches preseason poll?
