DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 27th year with its 2024 weekly surveys, and Wake Forest rates No. 1 in the preseason poll ahead of No. 2 LSU (defending champion) and No. 3 Florida.
This is the first time the Deacons to have received the NCBWA’s preseason nod for No. 1. LSU was the writers’ choice in pre-2023 and then won the NCAA championship. The Tigers downed No. 2 Florida in the ’23 NCAA World Series title round. Wake Forest has one NCAA crown to its name in 1955.
Some of the other traditional powers among the Top 10 are No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 TCU, No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 9 Texas and No. 10 Texas A&M.
Other previous No. 1 entries on the preseason NCBWA rankings have been LSU (1998, 2001, 2023), Southern California (1999), Miami (2000), Stanford (2002), Texas (2003, '06, '10, 22) Rice (2004, '07), 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).
There are 10 conferences represented in the first 35-team survey with the Southeastern Conference leading the way with nine among 305 schools competing in NCAA Division I. The Atlantic Coast Conference is next with six schools. Last year, there were 15 different conferences with teams in the poll along with a NCBWA-record 19 conferences represented in 2019 surveys.
There were 59 schools and 16 conferences rated or receiving votes among the first Top-30 survey in ‘24, and the poll will continue with Top 25 teams on Monday, Feb. 19. The final NCBWA poll will be released after the completion of the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 14-23.
| 2024 NCBWA DIVISION I PRESEASON POLL (FEB. 1) | ||||
| Rk. | School | Conference | Record | Pvs. |
| 1. | Wake Forest | ACC | 54-12 | 3 |
| 2. | LSU | SEC | 54-17 | 1 |
| 3. | Florida | SEC | 54-17 | 2 |
| 4. | Arkansas | SEC | 43-18 | 17 |
| 5. | Tennessee | SEC | 44-22 | 5 |
| 6. | TCU | Big 12 | 44-24 | 4 |
| 7. | Vanderbilt | SEC | 42-20 | 19 |
| 8. | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 41-20 | 26 |
| 9. | Texas | Big 12 | 42-22 | 11 |
| 10. | Texas A&M | SEC | 38-27 | 25 |
| 11. | Virginia | ACC | 50-15 | 7 |
| 12. | Clemson | ACC | 44-19 | 18 |
| 13. | East Carolina | American Athletic | 47-19 | 22 |
| 14. | Duke | ACC | 39-24 | 15 |
| 15. | South Carolina | SEC | 42-21 | 13 |
| 16. | North Carolina | ACC | 36-24 | NR |
| 17. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 44-20 | 8 |
| 18. | NC State | ACC | 36-21 | NR |
| 19. | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 42-21 | 24 |
| 20. | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 41-23 | 28 |
| 21. | Iowa | Big Ten | 40-16 | NR |
| 22. | UCLA | Pac-12 | 28-24-1 | NR |
| 23. | Alabama | SEC | 43-21 | 16 |
| 24. | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 35-20 | NR |
| 25. | Auburn | SEC | 34-23-1 | NR |
| 26. | Oral Roberts | Summit League | 52-14 | 6 |
| 27. | Kansas State | Big 12 | 35-24 | NR |
| 28. | Northeastern | CAA | 44-16 | NR |
| 29. | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 41-20 | 27 |
| 30. | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 46-20 | 10 |
| Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama State (41-18), Arizona (33-26), Arizona State (32-23), Bethune-Cookman (33-27), Campbell (46-15), Connecticut (44-17), DBU (47-16), Florida State (23-31), Gonzaga (18-34), Grand Canyon (37-21), Indiana (43-20), Indiana State (45-17), Kansas (25-32), Kentucky (40-21), Louisiana (41-24), Maryland (42-21), Miami, Fla. (42-21), Mississippi State (27-26), Oklahoma (32-28), Ole Miss (25-29), Oregon (41-22), Texas State (36-23), Troy (40-22), UC Irvine (38-17), UNCW (34-23). USC (34-23-1), West Virginia (40-20), Washington (35-20), Xavier (39-25). | ||||
| By conference: SEC 9, ACC 6, Big 12 5, Pac-12 3, Sun Belt 2, AAC 1, Big Ten 1, Big West 1, CAA 1, Summit 1. | ||||
| Records are from the 2023 season | ||||
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.