DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of
NCAA Division I polls for the 25th year with its 2022 inaugural
and weekly surveys, and Texas rates No. 1 in the preseason poll
ahead of No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Mississippi State.
This is the fourth time the Longhorns have received the NCBWA's
preseason nod for pre-campaign No. 1 (2003, '06 and '10) and now
hold the organization's record with four acclamations prior to the
start of the schedule.
Interestingly, MSU won its first NCAA team championship in any
sport by downing Vandy 2-1 in games for the '21 baseball title in
Omaha, Nebraska. The Commodores previously captured NCAA diamond
championships in 2014 and 2019 after receiving preseason top choices
by the NCBWA in 2015, 2019 and 2020.
The Bulldogs also were the 18th 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 LSU (1998, ‘01 and '09), Southern California (1999), Miami
(Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), 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).
Returning teams besides MSU, Vandy and Texas from the 2021 NCAA
College World Series again received high rankings in the pre-2022
Top 35 with Stanford at No. 5, Arizona at No. 10, NC State at No.
11, Tennessee at No. 16 and Virginia at No. 17. Arkansas was No.
1 in the 2021 NCBWA surveys for 12 weeks.
There are 12 conferences represented in the first 35-team survey
with the Southeastern leading the way with eight squads among 301
schools competing in NCAA Division I. The Pac-12 Conference is next
with five schools in the preseason poll. Last year there were 14
conferences with teams in the poll, and a record 19 conferences
were represented in 2019 surveys.
A total of 83 schools (NCBWA poll record) received votes or are
rated among the first Top 35 in ‘22, and 13 of the 14 SEC baseball
teams (all except Missouri) were ranked or received notes.
2022 NCBWA DIVISION I PRESEASON POLL (FEB. 3) |
1. |
Texas [15] |
Big 12 |
50-17 |
4 |
2. |
Vanderbilt [7] |
SEC |
49-18 |
2 |
3. |
Mississippi State [3] |
SEC |
50-18 |
1 |
4. |
Arkansas [5] |
SEC |
50-13 |
9 |
5. |
Stanford [1] |
Pac-12 |
39-17 |
5 |
6. |
Ole Miss [1] |
SEC |
45-22 |
11 |
7. |
Florida |
SEC |
38-22 |
23 |
8. |
LSU |
SEC |
38-25 |
12 |
9. |
Notre Dame |
ACC |
34-13 |
10 |
10. |
Arizona |
Pac-12 |
45-18 |
7 |
11. |
N.C. State |
ACC |
37-19 |
3 |
12. |
East Carolina |
American Athletic |
44-17 |
13 |
13. |
Oklahoma State |
Big 12 |
36-19-1 |
27 |
14. |
Texas Tech |
Big 12 |
39-17 |
15 |
15. |
Florida State |
ACC |
31-24 |
RV |
16. |
Tennessee [1] |
SEC |
50-18 |
8 |
17. |
Virginia |
ACC |
36-27 |
6 |
18. |
Oregon State |
Pac-12 |
37-24 |
26 |
19. |
UC Irvine |
Big West |
43-18 |
21 |
20. |
TCU |
Big 12 |
41-19 |
24 |
21. |
UCLA |
Pac-12 |
37-20 |
19 |
22. |
Georgia |
SEC |
31-25 |
- |
23. |
Dallas Baptist |
Missouri Valley |
41-18 |
14 |
24. |
Georgia Tech |
ACC |
31-25 |
RV |
25. |
Nebraska |
Big Ten |
34-14 |
20 |
26. |
Miami |
ACC |
33-21 |
RV |
27. |
Old Dominion |
Conference USA |
44-16 |
17 |
28. |
Oregon |
Pac-12 |
39-16 |
18 |
29. |
Long Beach State |
Big West |
28-15 |
- |
30. |
Duke |
ACC |
33-22 |
RV |
31. |
Southern Miss |
Conference USA |
40-21 |
25 |
32. |
Louisiana Tech |
Conference USA |
42-20 |
22 |
33. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Big West |
41-20 |
RV |
34. |
Gonzaga |
West Coast |
34-19 |
29 |
35. |
Liberty |
ASUN |
41-16 |
RV |
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically):
Abilene Christian (36-21), Alabama (32-26), Arizona
State (33-22), Auburn (25-27), Baylor (31-20), Cal
Poly (31-25), California (29-26), California Baptist
(40-16), Campbell (37-18), Central Michigan (41-18),
Charlotte (40-21), Clemson (25-27), Coastal Carolina
(27-24), Connecticut (34-19), Creighton (24-15),
Fairfield (39-5), Grand Canyon (39-21-1), Hawaii
(17-26), Indiana (26-18), Indiana State (31-21),
Iowa (26-18), Jackson State (32-9), Kansas State
(34-23), Kentucky (29-23), Louisville (28-22), Maryland
(30-18), Michigan (27-19), Middle Tennessee (24-29-1),
Nevada (25-20), North Carolina (28-27), Northeastern
(36-12), Oklahoma (27-28), Oral Roberts (31-23),
Pepperdine (20-25), South Alabama (36-22), South
Carolina (34-23), Stetson (26-23), Texas A&M
(29-27), Troy (27-26), Tulane (31-24), USF (31-30),
VCU (38-16), Virginia Tech (27-25), Wake Forest
(20-27), Washington State (26-23), West Virginia
(25-27), Wichita State (31-23), Xavier (28-26). |
By conference: SEC 8, ACC 7, Pac-12
5, Big 12 3, Big West 3, Conference USA 3, American
Athletic 1, ASUN 1, Big Ten 1, Mid-American 1, Missouri
Valley 1, West Coast 1. |
Records are from the 2021 season |
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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.
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