Should Alabama Baseball Be Ranked In The Preseason Polls? Just A Minute

Alabama baseball enters the 2026 season unranked following a 40-win campaign in 2025

Alabama Baseball Shortstop Justin Lebron vs. Samford | Obtained from Alabama Baseball's X/Twitter

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Alabama baseball has been left out of almost all of the preseason top-25 polls heading into the start of the 2026 season. The Crimson Tide certainly enters the season with a fair share of question marks, but it is a little head-scratching to see the team so widely excluded from the rankings.

Alabama has a lot of production to replace. The loss of 2025 first-round MLB Draft pick Riley Quick leaves the team without an apparent ace, and the third weekend starter alongside Tyler Fay and Zane Adams is yet to be established. The likely choice, Matthew Heiberger, has shown promise out of the bullpen and in the Cape Cod League and has a very high ceiling, but the skepticism surrounding the staff is understandable, especially when considering the loss of record-breaking closer Carson Ozmer.

Kade Snell, Will Hodo, and Richie Bonomolo Jr. are among the losses in the starting lineup, but with a huge influx of talent this offseason, headlined by the nation's eighth-ranked recruiting class, there is reason to believe that the production will be replaced handily. Purdue Fort Wayne transfer Justin Osterhouse is the likely starter at third base, while Jason Torres moves from the hot corner to first.

Shortstop Justin Lebron is possibly the most hyped up player in the SEC this year. As a projected All-American and top-10 MLB Draft pick, he will be one of the most impactful players in the sport this spring.

To be fair, Alabama has been consistently cited as one of the best unranked teams in the nation by multiple outlets. The Crimson Tide is clearly on people's radars entering Opening Day, but this video argues that the team isn't nearly high enough on them.

2026 D1Baseball.com Preseason Top 25

1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Mississippi State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Coastal Carolina
7. Arkansas
8. Louisville
9. Auburn
10. TCU
11. North Carolina
12. Oregon State
13. Florida
14. Tennessee
15. Georgia
16. Florida State
17. NC State
18. Kentucky
19. Clemson
20. Southern Miss
21. Wake Forest
22. Miami
23. Vanderbilt
24. Arizona
25. Texas A&M

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