NCAA Baseball 2024: Pre-season college baseball rankings and teams to watch

Here we are, after a long winter, on College Opening Day Eve. With a massive ground shift in the NCAA landscape after last year’s bumper senior draft class, we need to reassess the lay of the land across college baseball.

Both LSU and Tennessee were senior-heavy in their runs toward Omaha and have been, to a certain extent, stripped for parts. Not that they are hurting in the pre-season standings, but things are far less clear cut than they were just 12 months ago.

Of course, the teams to watch are the ones on everyone’s lips: Wake Forest, LSU, TCU, Florida, Arkansas. But there are a few sleepers coming into the 2024 season that could come up big as Omaha draws closer.

Florida State could be set for a comeback, having missed the playoffs for the first time in 44 years last season. Coach Link Jarrett was taken on for his ability to squeeze wins out of the unlikeliest of squads, and if you had to put money on the Seminoles making the playoffs, that would be a safe bet.

Another team that could storm the season is Oregon State. The highest ranked team out west, the Beavers come into this season loaded. Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana is a potential number one draft pick for the MLB. They will push into Omaha no doubt, and could well scoop the National Championship title.

The SEC and ACC top the polls and probably will do right to the very end of the College World Series. Here is the top 25 just as we head into Opening Day.