According to the preseason polls, the Mississippi State baseball team should be right in the thick of the SEC West race in 2019.
College baseball is a big deal to the fans of the Mississippi State baseball program. After the team made their miraculous run to the College World Series in 2018, fans are eagerly anticipating another season in the hopes of seeing the team back in Omaha for a second consecutive year.
They are definitely considered to be in contention according to the preseason polls released by the numerous publications which cover the sport. There are five polls that most people follow, and each of those polls has the Mississippi State baseball team ranked in their poll.
Here is how the Mississippi State baseball team ranks in each of those five polls.
D1 Baseball Top 25
- Ranking: 14th
- Where they fall among SEC West teams: 3rd
- Where they fall among all SEC teams: 6th
Baseball America Top 25
- Ranking: 9th
- Where they fall among SEC West teams: 2nd
- Where they fall among all SEC teams: 4th
USA Today Baseball Coaches Top 25
- Ranking: 15th
- Where they fall among SEC West teams: 4th
- Where they fall among all SEC teams: 7th
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25
- Ranking: 13th
- Where they fall among SEC West teams: 3rd
- Where they fall among all SEC teams: 6th
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25
- Ranking: 27th
- Where they fall among SEC West teams: 5th
- Where they fall among all SEC teams: 8th
The average between all five rankings for the Mississippi State baseball team is 15.6 Their average position in the SEC West is 3.4 and overall in the SEC is 6.2
The numbers are skewed a little bit because of where Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has the Mississippi State baseball team. No other ranking has them below 15, but the CBN has the Bulldogs all the way down at 27. If you took it away, the average goes up to 12.75 which is probably about right.
Obviously, rankings aren’t all that important, especially in baseball since there are so many. Most of these should get pretty close together as the season plays out. But for future reference, when I refer to a set of rankings from here on out, I’ll use D1 Baseball’s rankings. I’ve always found them to be the most accurate.