By Hunt Palmer
The defending national champions don’t top D1Baseball’s preseason poll.
LSU claimed the No. 2 spot behind UCLA in Monday’s release.
2026 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 📈
Who’s too high? Who’s too low?
🔗 https://t.co/rvky6c1EQb pic.twitter.com/ugHpAwPLaG
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) January 12, 2026
UCLA returns the vast majority of the core that reached Omaha last summer.
LSU lost some star power in pitchers Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson and slugger Jared Jones, but key pieces like Casan Evans, Derek Curiel, Jake Brown and Steven Milam return along with an influx of talent from the transfer portal.
LSU begins full squad workouts on Monday. Opening Day is Friday February 13.
2026 Preseason Top 25
| Ranking | Team | 2025 Record | Final 2025 Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | 48-18 | 5 |
| 2 | LSU | 53-15 | 1 |
| 3 | Texas | 44-14 | 17 |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 36-23 | NR |
| 5 | Georgia Tech | 41-19 | 24 |
| 6 | Coastal Carolina | 56-13 | 2 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 50-15 | 3 |
| 8 | Louisville | 42-24 | 6 |
| 9 | Auburn | 41-20 | 11 |
| 10 | TCU | 39-20 | NR |
| 11 | North Carolina | 46-15 | 9 |
| 12 | Oregon State | 48-16-1 | 4 |
| 13 | Florida | 39-22 | NR |
| 14 | Tennessee | 46-19 | 12 |
| 15 | Georgia | 43-17 | 19 |
| 16 | Florida State | 42-16 | 10 |
| 17 | NC State | 35-21 | NR |
| 18 | Kentucky | 31-26 | NR |
| 19 | Clemson | 45-18 | 23 |
| 20 | Southern Miss | 47-16 | 22 |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 39-22 | NR |
| 22 | Miami | 35-27 | 16 |
| 23 | Vanderbilt | 43-18 | 18 |
| 24 | Arizona | 44-21 | 7 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 30-26 | NR |
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