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TIFWIW, the Top 100 Programs per D1 Baseball.com.......only snippets of each article have been posted.
100-91
100. Wichita State
99. Kansas State
98. Saint Louis
97. Stony Brook
96. Creighton
95. Florida International
94. Florida Gulf Coast
93. BYU
92. Georgia Southern
91. Louisiana Tech
90-81
90. Utah
89. Michigan State
88. Notre Dame
87. Ohio State
86. Georgia
2015 Rank: 70. The Bulldogs have all the infrastructure in place to be a top 20 program — and if these rankings were conducted in 2009, they’d be safely inside the top 20. After all, Georgia made four Omaha trips between 2001-08 and reached the CWS Finals in 2008, giving a glimpse of this program’s potential. And Georgia has even better facilities now than it did last decade, thanks to a $12 million renovation project in 2015, giving the Bulldogs a truly beautiful ballpark to go along with its pretty setting and its desirable college town location. But the program has been stuck in the mud since its last regional appearance in 2011, finishing with a losing overall record in each of the last five years, including all four years of the Scott Stricklin era. When Stricklin was hired in the summer of 2013, a year after he led Kent State to Omaha, we all expected him to do great things at Georgia, where he has recruiting roots from his days on the staff at Georgia Tech. It’s tough to figure out why it’s taken so long for him to get the program rolling again, other than the brutal reality of how difficult it is to make headway in the rough-and-tumble SEC. But Georgia has an incredible supply of high-end talent in its home state, and the HOPE Scholarship program gives it a major advantage when it comes to building a roster in a sport with just 11.7 athletic scholarships, so there’s really no reason Georgia can’t become an elite program in college baseball. Perhaps the addition of Sean Kenney as pitching coach this summer will help jumpstart the Bulldogs, who sorely need to make a postseason run to get the program back on track.
85. Missouri
2015 Rank: 66. Like Georgia, Mizzou faces an uphill battle trying to gain traction in the SEC East, which it shares with superpowers Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina plus emerging Kentucky. The Tigers have not made a regional since joining the SEC in 2013, though they did win the conference tournament in their Big 12 swan song in 2012, giving them a shorter NCAA tourney drought than Georgia or Tennessee. And it’s worth noting that the Tigers have gotten closer than Georgia or Tennessee to earning an at-large bid in two of the last three years, finishing with a winning overall record, an RPI inside the top 60 and at least 14 SEC wins in 2015 and 2017. After replacing longtime coach Tim Jamieson with the up-and-coming Steve Bieser in the summer of 2016, Mizzou was one of the country’s big surprises this past spring, when it won 36 games (its most since 2008) and fell just short of at-large position at season’s end. So the Tigers have proven they can compete in the SEC, even though they are the Northernmost team in the conference and their facilities rank at the bottom of the league. On the other hand, they are well-positioned to recruit academic-minded players across the Midwest who are interested in playing in the nation’s premier baseball conference. It will be fascinating to see what Bieser can do with this program over the next half-decade.
84. Southern California
83. Saint Mary’s
82. Duke
81. Liberty
80-71
80. Bethune-Cookman
79. Old Dominion
78. Gonzaga
77. VCU
76. Mercer
75. Fresno State
74. Cal Poly
73. West Virginia
72. Minnesota
71. San Diego
60-51
60. Tulane
59. UCF
58. South Florida
57. Connecticut
56. New Mexico
55. Southeastern Louisiana
54. Washington
53. Michigan
52. Alabama
2015 Ranking: 28. If there’s a program that would welcome a little luck, it’s Alabama. The Crimson Tide have experienced some serious drama over the past two seasons. Two summers ago, the Tide parted ways with long-time head coach Mitch Gaspard, who guided the program to NCAA postseason appearances in 2011, ’13 and ’14. The Tide opted to hire Louisiana Tech’s Greg Goff from the mid-major ranks. Goff wasn’t a great fit for the Tide and it showed last season, going 19-34 overall, while also tallying an ugly 5-24 mark in the SEC. Goff was fired because of that and an off the field saga this past summer. Now, the Tide turns to a former Auburn assistant – Brad Bohannon – to right the ship. As Tennessee, Georgia and others have shown over the years, it’s difficult to gain traction in the SEC. However, Bohannon knows what needs to be done from his previous stints. Alabama has a solid recruiting base, along with one of the nation’s premier facilities and a national brand name.
51. Florida Atlantic
50-49
should be released tomorrow or Monday, each day D1 Baseball has been releasing groups of 10.
100-91
100. Wichita State
99. Kansas State
98. Saint Louis
97. Stony Brook
96. Creighton
95. Florida International
94. Florida Gulf Coast
93. BYU
92. Georgia Southern
91. Louisiana Tech
90-81
90. Utah
89. Michigan State
88. Notre Dame
87. Ohio State
86. Georgia
2015 Rank: 70. The Bulldogs have all the infrastructure in place to be a top 20 program — and if these rankings were conducted in 2009, they’d be safely inside the top 20. After all, Georgia made four Omaha trips between 2001-08 and reached the CWS Finals in 2008, giving a glimpse of this program’s potential. And Georgia has even better facilities now than it did last decade, thanks to a $12 million renovation project in 2015, giving the Bulldogs a truly beautiful ballpark to go along with its pretty setting and its desirable college town location. But the program has been stuck in the mud since its last regional appearance in 2011, finishing with a losing overall record in each of the last five years, including all four years of the Scott Stricklin era. When Stricklin was hired in the summer of 2013, a year after he led Kent State to Omaha, we all expected him to do great things at Georgia, where he has recruiting roots from his days on the staff at Georgia Tech. It’s tough to figure out why it’s taken so long for him to get the program rolling again, other than the brutal reality of how difficult it is to make headway in the rough-and-tumble SEC. But Georgia has an incredible supply of high-end talent in its home state, and the HOPE Scholarship program gives it a major advantage when it comes to building a roster in a sport with just 11.7 athletic scholarships, so there’s really no reason Georgia can’t become an elite program in college baseball. Perhaps the addition of Sean Kenney as pitching coach this summer will help jumpstart the Bulldogs, who sorely need to make a postseason run to get the program back on track.
85. Missouri
2015 Rank: 66. Like Georgia, Mizzou faces an uphill battle trying to gain traction in the SEC East, which it shares with superpowers Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina plus emerging Kentucky. The Tigers have not made a regional since joining the SEC in 2013, though they did win the conference tournament in their Big 12 swan song in 2012, giving them a shorter NCAA tourney drought than Georgia or Tennessee. And it’s worth noting that the Tigers have gotten closer than Georgia or Tennessee to earning an at-large bid in two of the last three years, finishing with a winning overall record, an RPI inside the top 60 and at least 14 SEC wins in 2015 and 2017. After replacing longtime coach Tim Jamieson with the up-and-coming Steve Bieser in the summer of 2016, Mizzou was one of the country’s big surprises this past spring, when it won 36 games (its most since 2008) and fell just short of at-large position at season’s end. So the Tigers have proven they can compete in the SEC, even though they are the Northernmost team in the conference and their facilities rank at the bottom of the league. On the other hand, they are well-positioned to recruit academic-minded players across the Midwest who are interested in playing in the nation’s premier baseball conference. It will be fascinating to see what Bieser can do with this program over the next half-decade.
84. Southern California
83. Saint Mary’s
82. Duke
81. Liberty
80-71
80. Bethune-Cookman
79. Old Dominion
78. Gonzaga
77. VCU
76. Mercer
75. Fresno State
74. Cal Poly
73. West Virginia
72. Minnesota
71. San Diego
60-51
60. Tulane
59. UCF
58. South Florida
57. Connecticut
56. New Mexico
55. Southeastern Louisiana
54. Washington
53. Michigan
52. Alabama
2015 Ranking: 28. If there’s a program that would welcome a little luck, it’s Alabama. The Crimson Tide have experienced some serious drama over the past two seasons. Two summers ago, the Tide parted ways with long-time head coach Mitch Gaspard, who guided the program to NCAA postseason appearances in 2011, ’13 and ’14. The Tide opted to hire Louisiana Tech’s Greg Goff from the mid-major ranks. Goff wasn’t a great fit for the Tide and it showed last season, going 19-34 overall, while also tallying an ugly 5-24 mark in the SEC. Goff was fired because of that and an off the field saga this past summer. Now, the Tide turns to a former Auburn assistant – Brad Bohannon – to right the ship. As Tennessee, Georgia and others have shown over the years, it’s difficult to gain traction in the SEC. However, Bohannon knows what needs to be done from his previous stints. Alabama has a solid recruiting base, along with one of the nation’s premier facilities and a national brand name.
51. Florida Atlantic
50-49
should be released tomorrow or Monday, each day D1 Baseball has been releasing groups of 10.
