DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 25th year with its 2023 weekly surveys.
LSU was selected as preseason No. 1 by NCBWA pollsters and maintained that status for four months before Wake Forest (the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship) gained the No. 1 slot on May 8. The Tigers (54-17) overall then outlasted runner-up Florida 4-3 (11 innings) and 18-4 in Games 1 and 3 of the championship round of the NCAA World Series on June 24 and 26, while falling 24-4 in the middle game of that hard-fought trio. The Gators finished with an identical 54-17 overall mark with LSU.
The Tigers entered NCAA Super Regional activity at 45-16 overall and then staved off elimination three times in Omaha before outscoring the Gators and closing the year with nine wins in 10 contests.
The somewhat-inexact science of NCBWA NCAA Division I poll voting and selection has included NCBWA preseason selections of LSU in the 1998, 2001 and 2023 polls, Southern California (1999), Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Rice (2004, 07), Texas in 2003, ’06, ’10, and ’22, Cal State Fullerton (2005, 14), Arizona State (2008), North Carolina (2009), TCU (2011, 17), Florida (2012, 18, 21), Arkansas (2013), and Vanderbilt (2015, 19, 20).
No. 1 teams from that NCBWA pre-campaign survey that eventually won the NCAA crown now have been LSU in 2009 (the Tigers most recent NCAA title before ’23) and 2023 and Vanderbilt in 2019. This also was the 24th year since 1999 that the NCAA baseball championship’s No. 1 seed did not take the title. Miami (Fla.) was the last to accomplish this in ‘99, and 2023 top seed Wake Forest tied TCU for third in the 2023 CWS. The 2020 CWS was cancelled due to COVID-19 conditions.
Some of the big poll movers from Week 17 to the final survey are Oral Roberts from No. 14 to 6, Indiana State from No. 12 to 9, Kentucky from No. 15 to tied for 11, Texas from No. 16 to tied for 11, and East Carolina from No. 26 to 22, among others.
There have been 15 conferences (with 12 in this week’s survey) represented in the 18 standings of 2023, and there were 14 different conferences in both the 2021 and ’22 NCBWA polls.
The final DI poll caps a two-week celebration of NCBWA honors – the 2023 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear to LSU pitcher Paul Skenes, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year to Cade Denton of Oral Roberts and the NCBWA Mike Martin Coach of the Year to Ryan Folmar – the first time a stopper and coach from the same school nabbed NCBWA honors in the same season.
The 2023 poll voters come from among 35 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. The ’23 season features 305 NCAA Division I baseball-playing schools, and for more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to ncbwa.com.
| 2022 NCBWA DIVISION I POLL (FINAL: JUNE 27) | ||||
| Rk. | School | Conference | Record | Pvs. |
| 1. | LSU | SEC | 54-17 | 3 |
| 2. | Florida | SEC | 54-17 | 2 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | ACC | 54-12 | 1 |
| 4. | TCU | Big 12 | 44-24 | 9 |
| 5. | Tennessee | SEC | 44-22 | 6 |
| 6. | Oral Roberts | The Summit League | 52-14 | 14 |
| 7. | Virginia | ACC | 50-15 | 5 |
| 8. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 44-20 | 4 |
| 9. | Indiana State | Missouri Valley | 45-17 | 12 |
| 10. | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 46-20 | 10 |
| t11. | Kentucky | SEC | 40-21 | 15 |
| t11. | Texas | Big 12 | 42-22 | 16 |
| 13. | South Carolina | SEC | 42-21 | 7 |
| 14. | Oregon | Pac-12 | 41-22 | 11 |
| 15. | Duke | ACC | 39-24 | 13 |
| 16. | Alabama | SEC | 43-21 | 8 |
| 17. | Arkansas | SEC | 43-18 | 17 |
| 18. | Clemson | ACC | 44-19 | 19 |
| 19. | Vanderbilt | SEC | 42-20 | 18 |
| t20. | DBU | Conference USA | 47-16 | 22 |
| t20. | Miami | ACC | 42-21 | 20 |
| 22. | East Carolina | American Athletic | 47-19 | 26 |
| 23. | Campbell | Big South | 46-15 | 24 |
| 24. | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 42-21 | 21 |
| 25. | Texas A&M | SEC | 38-27 | 25 |
| 26. | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 41-20 | 23 |
| 27. | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 41-20 | 30 |
| t28 | Connecticut | Big East | 44-17 | 27 |
| t28. | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 41-23 | 29 |
| 30. | Indiana | Big Ten | 43-20 | 28 |
| Others receiving votes: Alabama State (41-18), Arizona (33-26), Auburn (34-23-1), Bethune-Cookman (33-27), Boston College (37-20), Cal State Fullerton (32-24), Florida A&M (29-30), George Mason (36-27), Iowa (40-16), Maryland (42-21), North Carolina (36-24), Oklahoma (32-28), Penn (34-16), Santa Clara (36-20), West Virginia (40-20), Wright State (39-23), Xavier, OH (39-25). | ||||
| Dropped out: None. | ||||
| By conference: SEC 9, ACC 5, Big 12 4, Pac-12 3, Sun Belt 2, American Athletic 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, Conference USA 1, Missouri Valley 1, The Summit League 1. | ||||
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Trophy, Regional Players of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors Division I Players of the Week, the Stopper of the Year, and publication and writing contests.