Gamecocks No. 35 in Collegiate Baseball preseason poll
South Carolina is ranked No. 35 in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40, it was announced Monday morning.
South Carolina is one of nine SEC schools to be ranked in the preseason poll. Also ranked is Florida (No. 1), Vanderbilt (No. 3), Texas A&M (No. 5), LSU (No. 7), Mississippi State (No. 11), Arkansas (No. 24), Kentucky (No. 29) and Missouri (No. 34).
The Gamecocks’ incoming recruiting class was ranked No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball. USC returns five position starters, 13 pitchers and 23 letterwinners from last year’s team.
The Gamecocks begin the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19 hosting Albany at Founders Park.
Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40
Rank/Team | 2015 record | Points |
1. Florida | 52-18 | 495 |
2. Louisville | 47-18 | 492 |
3. Vanderbilt | 51-21 | 489 |
4. Miami, Fla. | 50-17 | 487 |
5. Texas A&M | 50-14 | 484 |
6. Louisiana-Lafayette | 42-23 | 483 |
7. LSU | 54-12 | 481 |
8. Oregon St. | 39-18-1 | 480 |
9. Virginia | 44-24 | 475 |
10. UCLA | 45-16 | 473 |
11. Mississippi St. | 24-30 | 469 |
12. Cal. St. Fullerton | 39-25 | 467 |
13. California | 36-21 | 466 |
14. Oregon | 38-25 | 463 |
15. Texas Christian | 51-15 | 461 |
16. Florida St. | 44-21 | 460 |
17. Missouri St. | 49-12 | 457 |
18. Houston | 43-20 | 455 |
19. Tulane | 35-25 | 453 |
20. Rice | 37-22 | 451 |
21. Georgia Tech | 32-23 | 449 |
22. North Carolina | 34-24 | 446 |
23. Michigan | 39-25 | 444 |
24. Arkansas | 40-25 | 443 |
25. Oklahoma St. | 38-20 | 438 |
26. Stony Brook | 35-16-1 | 436 |
27. Notre Dame | 37-23 | 434 |
28. Maryland | 42-24 | 432 |
29. Kentucky | 30-25 | 430 |
30. Pepperdine | 32-29 | 427 |
31. Dallas Baptist | 46-15 | 425 |
32. College of Charleston | 45-15 | 423 |
33. Coastal Carolina | 39-21 | 421 |
34. Missouri | 30-28 | 419 |
35. South Carolina | 32-25 | 417 |
36. San Diego St. | 41-23 | 414 |
37. South Alabama | 37-20 | 411 |
38. Winthrop | 40-19 | 409 |
39. Texas Tech | 31-24 | 407 |
40. Texas | 30-27 | 405 |
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Southern California (39-21), Southeastern Louisiana (42-17), Arizona St. (35-23), Florida Atlantic (42-19), Arizona (31-24), Oklahoma (34-27), Stanford (24-32), Auburn (36-26), Mississippi (30-28), Tennessee (24-26), Alabama (32-28), Georgia (26-28), San Diego (33-22), Iowa (41-18), Clemson (32-29), U.C. Irvine (33-23), Long Beach St. (28-26), U.C. Santa Barbara (40-17-1), Kent St. (31-22), Creighton (32-19), North Florida (45-16), Southern Mississippi (36-18-1), Nevada (41-15), Illinois (50-10-1), East Carolina (40-22), Wichita St. (26-33), New Mexico (32-27), Grand Canyon (32-22), Gonzaga (24-28), Loyola Marymount (33-21-1), Troy (30-25), Texas St. (24-32-1), Oral Roberts (41-16), Sam Houston St. (31-28), Wofford (39-22), Mercer (35-22), Samford (32-26), Central Florida (31-27), South Florida (34-26-1), Southeast Missouri (36-23), Bryant (29-25), Fresno St. (31-28), Central Michigan (35-22), Ball St. (33-25), Wright St. (43-17), N.C. Wilmington (41-18), Indiana (35-24), Radford (45-16), Liberty (33-23), St. John’s (41-16), Seton Hall (25-25), St. Louis (35-21), Stetson (29-30), Florida Gulf Coast (30-26-1), Lipscomb (39-20), Wake Forest (27-26), N.C. State (36-23), Connecticut (35-25).
The pre-season poll factors in voting by NCAA Division I coaches across the nation, how a team finished last season nationally, returning position player starters and pitchers, potential draft picks along with the quality of its recruiting class last fall.
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Gamecocks No. 35 in Collegiate Baseball preseason poll."