NEW ORLEANS – Following a third-straight season in which it joined the SEC, ACC and Big 12 as 1-of-4 conferences with four-or-more teams in the NCAA baseball field, the Sun Belt was well represented in the national preseason polls.
Six Sun Belt baseball programs—including each of its four NCAA Baseball Regional representatives from 2024—were noted in at least one of the five major national preseason polls.
Coastal Carolina, which has appeared in five of the last six NCAA tournaments, earned the conference’s highest ranking at No. 23 in the Perfect Game Preseason Top 25, while also receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Poll and the USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll.
After narrowly missing the NCAA baseball field a year ago, Troy was the lone Sun Belt program to be ranked in 3-of-5 national preseason polls. The Trojans earned the No. 25 position in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 and the USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll and the No. 28 spot in the NCBWA Preseason Poll.
Southern Miss—the two-time defending Sun Belt tournament champion that has qualified for eight-straight NCAA tournaments—was ranked No. 27 by the NCBWA and No. 37 by Perfect Game, while also receiving votes in the USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll.
James Madison, reigning Sun Belt regular-season champion Louisiana and South Alabama also earned mention from the NCBWA.
Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Louisiana and Southern Miss earned NCAA Baseball Regional berths in 2024—with each advancing to their respective regional final. Five additional Sun Belt programs—Troy (2023), Georgia Southern (2022), Texas State (2022), Old Dominion (2021) and South Alabama (2021)—have advanced to the postseason over the past four campaigns.
The Sun Belt boasted the No. 5 conference RPI in the nation in 2024—trailing only the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten. Four Sun Belt programs were listed among the Top 50 in the final RPI in 2024—No. 27 Southern Miss, No. 34 Coastal Carolina, No. 41 Louisiana and No. 46 James Madison.
No. 56 Georgia Southern, No. 59 Troy, No. 70 South Alabama, No. 72 App State and No. 75 Old Dominion gave the Sun Belt nine teams among the Top 100 for the third-straight season.
The Sun Belt has been a multi-bid conference in 29-of-35 seasons since 1989 and has earned four regional berths on six occasions since 2000, including each of the past three seasons.
NATIONAL PRESEASON POLLS
Perfect Game Preseason Top 25 &
26-40 (Jan. 6 & 13)
No. 23 Coastal Carolina
No. 37 Southern Miss
D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 (Jan. 13)
No. 25 Troy
Baseball America Preseason Top 25 (Jan. 27)
N/A
NCBWA Preseason Poll (Feb. 3)
No. 27 Southern Miss
No. 28 Troy
RV Coastal Carolina
RV James Madison
RV Louisiana
RV South Alabama
USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll (Feb. 3)
No. 25 Troy
RV Coastal Carolina
RV Southern Miss