D1 Baseball - Top 100 Programs List

#1

TheMookieMonster

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#1
So, I don’t have a subscription, so I can’t speak to the reasoning but I did see we made the list in the #11-#20 section. Seems very fair, and it’s pretty crazy to think how quickly we’ve climbed. 3 years ago we probably aren’t even in the Top 50. A few more seasons like 2021 and 2022 and we probably have a Top 5-10 program on our hands.

 
#2
#2
They have never really shared their criteria or how they ranked the top 100 programs but how can you be top 8 last year and now only #17. It is a pretty good guess that we will be #1 or #2 when next year's polls come out. How do they get that we are only #17? I don't see the logic. If I'm ranking programs it is where they are at right now not where they are for the past 10 years or whatever mindset they are using. Help me understand Mookie how this is a fair ranking.
 
#3
#3
They have never really shared their criteria or how they ranked the top 100 programs but how can you be top 8 last year and now only #17. It is a pretty good guess that we will be #1 or #2 when next year's polls come out. How do they get that we are only #17? I don't see the logic. If I'm ranking programs it is where they are at right now not where they are for the past 10 years or whatever mindset they are using. Help me understand Mookie how this is a fair ranking.

I’m under the impression they are using a mixture of current state of the program with “history”. I’m pretty sure that’s what they said in one of their podcasts. If that’s the case, I get it. We aren’t historically a Top 2-3 program. Our recent run of success has us trending that way if we keep winning and Tony stays here long term.

If you only take into account the last 2-3 years, that’s more like a “poll” and a Top 25 rankings and not really an assessment of the program holistically. So, I get their point.

I’m pretty confident we’ll be Top 10 next time they do this if our trajectory stays the same.
 
#4
#4
I would agree if they are taking the last 10 years or so. I had just never read or heard how this came about. I think the smaller set of years you use the higher we are. I will be intriqued, which is what they want, to see who is top 5. I guessing Vandy, Florida, LSU, and then probably some Pac schools.
 
#5
#5
They have never really shared their criteria or how they ranked the top 100 programs but how can you be top 8 last year and now only #17. It is a pretty good guess that we will be #1 or #2 when next year's polls come out. How do they get that we are only #17? I don't see the logic. If I'm ranking programs it is where they are at right now not where they are for the past 10 years or whatever mindset they are using. Help me understand Mookie how this is a fair ranking.
I chalk it up to all the starters we’re replacing. Same as this time last year, IIRC.
 
#6
#6
I’m under the impression they are using a mixture of current state of the program with “history”. I’m pretty sure that’s what they said in one of their podcasts. If that’s the case, I get it. We aren’t historically a Top 2-3 program. Our recent run of success has us trending that way if we keep winning and Tony stays here long term.

If you only take into account the last 2-3 years, that’s more like a “poll” and a Top 25 rankings and not really an assessment of the program holistically. So, I get their point.

I’m pretty confident we’ll be Top 10 next time they do this if our trajectory stays the same.

Yep, I agree. I believe they are talking historically and recently too. I figure the LSU’s, ASU’s etc… will round out the Top 10. I don’t have a $ubscription.
 
#7
#7
Here is a paraphrased snippet of what they said, in 2019 UT was #69

17. Tennessee
2019 Rank: 69.
Kendal says that no program in college baseball has more helium right now than the Volunteers and that Vitello has a hard-nosed mentality and he has cultivated an incredible fan base and culture in Knoxville and that UT was once a program that had very little fan support and had one of the worst facilities in the SEC. Now, we have have one of the more passionate fan bases….and that the school is about to spend upwards to $40 million on stadium renovations. That’s how much things have changed, and a large part of that credit goes to Vitello. Kendall all says that It also helps that Vitello has a star-studded staff that includes pitching coach Frank Anderson and rising superstar Josh Elander. The Vols have created a brand on the recruiting trail, and with the administration going all-in on baseball, they’re only getting started..….

There is some more however this paragraph pretty much sums it up.

Edit: for what its worth, Kendal Rogers really likes Vitello and UT, on the other hand Aaron Fitt can’t stand Vitello…..it’s obvious if you ever listen to thier weekly podcasts
 
#8
#8
Here is the qualifying data for thier Top 100 and what they are trying to accomplish with the lists……

In the fall of 2015, we presented our inaugural Top 100 Programs rankings, which we described as an attempt to asses the overall health of each program in the current era. A lot can change quickly in college baseball, so we decided to make this a biennial exercise. We updated the Top 100 in 2017 and again in 2019. But after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, we decided to push the 2021 update back a year to this fall.
For the purpose of this exercise, we don’t care what happened in the 1970s or 80s, or even the 90s or 2000s — that’s ancient history to a potential recruit in 2021. Tradition is nice, but it’s more important to establish a tradition of consistent winning in the last decade, and especially in the last five years. Our ultimate goal here is to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye toward the next five to 10 years.
So we began by awarding each program points for making regionals, winning regionals, reaching the College World Series, and winning the national championship in the last five (completed) seasons, and a fewer amount of points for success between six and 10 years ago. That gave us a starting point; then national writers Aaron Fitt, Kendall Rogers and Mike Rooney made adjustments based on evaluations of coaching staff quality and stability, facilities, scholarship/financial aid situation, conference dynamics, momentum, and recruiting and player development proficiency. As the chairman of the Division I Baseball Committee likes to say every year, it’s more of an art than a science, but we tried to take many factors into consideration and debated our rankings internally at length. Reasonable minds will disagree on the rankings, and we want to hear your take, so weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section below.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll count down from No. 100 to No. 1.
 
#9
#9
That makes it even worse for me because if you just take the past 5 years then we have to be a top 10. Unless they are thinking we will lose our coaching staff, which is the only thing that could cause failure, or the fact that we are getting so many guys drafted every year, we have to project top 10. I'm trying to look through non-orange colored glasses because I'm a statistics guy. The last 2 seasons have to play a huge part in it with our record years. Maybe as you guys say, they are looking at how much we are having to replace but we will see.
 
#12
#12
for what its worth, Kendal Rogers really likes Vitello and UT, on the other hand Aaron Fitt can’t stand Vitello…..it’s obvious if you ever listen to thier weekly podcasts

Aaron Fitt does nothing but whine about Tennessee. He's really bad at hiding his animosity towards the program. You don't even have to listen to his podcasts. Just read his Twitter. During the postseason, he would make a number of comments that were clearly alluding to Tennessee about lack of sportsmanship or not playing the game the right way. Just sad.
 
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#14
#14
That 17th ranking is a joke. UT unequivocally is a top 10 program based on the past few years, their trajectory, and elite coaching staff. Being ranked #17 is laughable imho.
They are considering the last 5 years too……we are on a fast trajectory to the top 5 however years 3,4 and 5 are holding us back.
 
#15
#15
They are considering the last 5 years too……we are on a fast trajectory to the top 5 however years 3,4 and 5 are holding us back.

We’re aight. Look, I like Fitt and Rogers, but they kinda lean on tradition and geography. Fitt is an ACC guy and Kendall is a Texas guy. It’s click bait for fall ball.
 
#16
#16
Feels kind of like starting last season not ranked (or barely ranked?) and it taking forever for these guys to catch on.
 
#18
#18
Keep in mind that this D1 Baseball “subjective” ranking is for the current era, not year…….

Yeah, I think our ranking is pretty fair honestly. Now, in 2 years when they do this again, I fully expect we’ll be Top 10. But, for now, I have no qualms with being Top 20 because we have a few years early in TV’s tenure where we weren’t a consistent national seed.
 
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#19
#19
So we began by awarding each program points for making regionals, winning regionals, reaching the College World Series, and winning the national championship in the last five (completed) seasons, and a fewer amount of points for success between six and 10 years ago. That gave us a starting point”
Looks like they’re not taking much, if any, regular season success into account. That might explain the lower ranking.
 
#20
#20
I would agree if they are taking the last 10 years or so. I had just never read or heard how this came about. I think the smaller set of years you use the higher we are. I will be intriqued, which is what they want, to see who is top 5. I guessing Vandy, Florida, LSU, and then probably some Pac schools.
Edited
Beat like a rented mule. OT wins
 
#21
#21
Aaron Fitt does nothing but whine about Tennessee. He's really bad at hiding his animosity towards the program. You don't even have to listen to his podcasts. Just read his Twitter. During the postseason, he would make a number of comments that were clearly alluding to Tennessee about lack of sportsmanship or not playing the game the right way. Just sad.
He did an article on the 10 most exciting things in college baseball for the 2022 season. None of it had anything from our boys. How could Ben Joyce throwing 105.5 not be on the list at the very least.
 
#24
#24
He did an article on the 10 most exciting things in college baseball for the 2022 season. None of it had anything from our boys. How could Ben Joyce throwing 105.5 not be on the list at the very least.

To say one of the greatest regular seasons in CBB history and a guy throwing the hardest pitch in recorded history isn’t one of the Top 10 moments of the entire 2022 season is just laughable. I hate Alabama football, but I’d like to think if I was a football beat writers whose entire job is covering the sport objectively that I wouldn’t want to ignore Alabama just because I hate them.
 
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#25
#25
This was on D1 Baseball’s free section, so I’m posting here as it relates to the Top 100 programs…

Over the last two weeks, we have counted down the top 100 programs in college baseball, as they stand in 2022. For the purpose of this exercise, we don’t care what happened in the 1970s or 80s, or even the 90s — that’s ancient history to a potential recruit in 2022. Tradition is nice, but it’s more important to establish a tradition of consistent winning in the last decade, and especially in the last five years. Our ultimate goal here is to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye toward the next five to 10 years.

Now it’s time to unveil the entire Top 100, in chart form. The chart below is sortable by state and by conference, which makes it easy to see how all of the Top 100 programs stack up relative to the other teams in their state and league. A few factoids:

• The SEC leads all conferences with 13 teams (out of its 14 current members) in the Top 100. The SEC also occupies each of the top four spots in the rankings for the second time in a row, although the order of that top four has shuffled a bit since our 2019 update. The SEC also occupies six of the top eight spots, and nine of the top 20.

• Here’s the full conference-by-conference breakdown: ACC (12 of 14 teams landed in the Top 100), Pac-12 (8 of 11), Big Ten (8 of 13), Big 12 (7 of 9), Sun Belt (7 of 14), American (5 of 8), Big West (4 of 9), Conference USA (4 of 8). The Big East, MAC, SoCon and Southland placed three teams apiece on the list. The A-Sun, CAA, MVC, MWC, WAC and WCC landed two teams apiece in the Top 100. Overall, 26 different conferences are represented.

• California is now tied with Texas for most teams in the top 100 with 10 apiece. That’s a decrease of four teams for California since 2019, and an increase of one team for Texas. Those states are followed by North Carolina (nine), Florida (seven), Louisiana (six) and Virginia (five). Alabama, Georgia, Indiana have four teams apiece on the list.

• Fifteen teams entered the Top 100 after being unranked in 2019. That represents more turnover than the last time we conducted this exercise, as just 11 new teams entered in 2019. Out of our newcomers, Notre Dame made the biggest vault, landing at No. 40. Others that made big jumps into the Top 100 include Central Michigan (No. 55), Old Dominion (No. 64) and Georgia Southern (No. 65).

• Of the teams that were already in the Top 100 in 2019, Tennessee made the biggest jump, catapulting 52 spots from No. 69 to No. 17. The other biggest climbers are Virginia Tech (up 45 spots), Louisiana Tech (up 43), Maryland (up 33) and Oregon (up 26).

• The biggest fallers from 2019 are St. John’s (down 46), Minnesota (down 44), Rice (down 43), Illinois (down 34), Cal State Fullerton, California and Kent State (down 29 spots apiece).
 
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