Defending Champion LSU enters this season looking to defend their national title, and they appear to have the talent to do so despite having some holes to fill. Among the players they have returining they have senior slugger Blake Dean and junior pitcher Anthony Ranaudo. The Tigers will have stiff competition as they will face an SEC field with five teams in the top 25 in the Rivals.com Baseball Poll.
Speaking of the SEC, Florida looks like solid candidate to challenge LSU in conference play, as they check in at #8 in the Rivals.com poll, as they bring back a team full of pitching and hitting, and as a team that went to the super regionals, look to be a strong candidate to represent in Omaha.
The Gators not only face a strong field in the SEC, but in state as well. Florida State, which checks in at #7 in the Rivals.com poll also returns a veteran team with a strong weekend pitching rotation as well as a lineup full of bats that can score runs. The Noles also advanced to the Super Regionals in 2009 and look to return to Omaha for the first time since 2008.
Texas appears to be one of the favorites to not only get to Omaha, but also to win it all. Texas is joined by in state rival Rice in the top 10 as they start off at #6. The state of California should be well represented in post season as two teams appear in the top 10 (Cal State Fullerton and UC-Irvine) and three teams in the top 25 as San Diego checks in at #18.
The ACC and SEC lead all conferences with teams in the top 25 Rivals.com poll with six each. The Big 12, C-USA, Pac 10 and Big West have two schools in the top 25. The WCC, Big East, Big 10, Big South and Big West are represented by one team in the poll.
Here is my top 10 teams (preseason).
1. LSU
2. Texas
3. UVA
4. Cal State Fullerton
5. UC-Irvine
6. Florida State
7. Florida
8. Rice
9. Arizona State
10. Georgia Tech
Omaha Predictions:
LSU
Texas
UVA
Cal-State Fullerton
FSU
UF
UNC
Rice
