Ole Miss, MSU, and USM all crack Top 50 in preseason poll

Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss each landed in the Collegiate Baseball preseason Fabulous 50 rankings.

Both the Rebels (No. 5) and the Bulldogs (No. 9) cracked the top 10 while the Golden Eagles (No. 29) are the lone Conference USA team to find themselves in the top 50.

Before the 2020 season was suspended due to COVID-19, all three programs were having great seasons.

Ole Miss, who finished the shortened season at 16-1, was one of college baseball’s hottest teams, riding on a 16-game winning streak heading into SEC play.

Mississippi State’s season ended with a 12-4 record, which was good enough to place them at No. 17 in D1Baseball.com’s final rankings.

Southern Miss, on the other hand, was not ranked when the 2020 season abruptly ended, however, it seemed as if the Golden Eagles were heading that way. Sitting at 12-4, the Golden Eagles barely lost to a then No. 13 Rebels squad on February 25 after giving up a late one-run lead.

Roster-wise, Mississippi State and Ole Miss saw a combined five players get drafted, while Southern Miss’ main departure was redshirt senior second baseman Matthew Guidry who has decided against pursuing a career in professional baseball.

While the losses of Anthony Servideo and Tyler Keenan for the Rebels and J.T. Ginn, Justin Foscue, and Jordan Westburg for the Bulldogs will be difficult to overcome, years of consistent recruiting should be enough to keep the two schools among the nation’s best.

Find the full rankings from Collegiate Baseball newspaper, the oldest college baseball poll in the nation, below:

  1. Florida
  2. Vanderbilt
  3. UCLA
  4. Texas Tech
  5. Ole Miss
  6. Miami (FL)
  7. LSU
  8. U.C. Santa Barbara
  9. Mississippi State
  10. Arizona
  11. Louisville
  12. Georgia
  13. N.C. State
  14. Virginia
  15. Arizona State
  16. East Carolina
  17. Oklahoma State
  18. Michigan
  19. TCU
  20. Texas
  21. South Carolina
  22. Arkansas
  23. Coastal Carolina
  24. Dallas Baptist
  25. Clemson
  26. Texas A&M
  27. Alabama
  28. Florida State
  29. Southern Miss
  30. Texas State
  31. Stetson
  32. Central Florida
  33. Pepperdine
  34. Georgia Tech
  35. Tennessee
  36. Duke
  37. Auburn
  38. Central Michigan
  39. Indiana
  40. Winthrop
  41. Oklahoma
  42. U.C. Irvine
  43. Tulane
  44. Long Beach State
  45. Wichita State
  46. Minnesota
  47. Notre Dame
  48. Houston
  49. Oregon State
  50. Stanford

 

 

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