Why Arkansas starts the season ranked No. 4 in Perfect Game’s poll

Arkansas opens the season at No. 4 in Perfect Game’s preseason rankings, a familiar spot for a program built for SEC grind.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn against the Tennessee Volunteers at Baum-Walker Stadium. | Nilsen Roman-HogsonSI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas didn’t wake up one morning and stumble into the top five. This kind of thing doesn’t happen by accident, not in this league and not in this sport.

Perfect Game’s 2026 preseason Top 25 has the Razorbacks sitting at No. 4, right where folks around the SEC figured they’d be once the dust settled and the calculators came out.

Not first. Not forgotten. Just squarely in the thick of it.

The Hogs trail only LSU, Georgia Tech and Tennessee in the poll, which reads like a roll call of teams nobody’s excited to see on the schedule. Arkansas being tucked right behind them feels less like a surprise and more like confirmation.

Perfect Game didn’t hedge much, either. The publication labeled Arkansas a national title contender, pointing to a roster it views as one of the most talented and balanced in the country.

That’s the kind of compliment that carries weight in college baseball circles, especially when it comes from folks who make a living watching this sport from February through June.

Around Fayetteville, this sort of ranking doesn’t spark disbelief anymore. It sparks conversation about what comes next.

Because when Arkansas starts a season ranked No. 4, it doesn’t feel like a reach. It feels like the program has earned the benefit of the doubt.

The Razorbacks have been knocking on the door long enough that preseason expectations have become part of the landscape, like humidity in July or cowbells ringing somewhere in the distance.

This ranking says the Hogs aren’t chasing relevance. They’re defending it.

And that’s a different kind of pressure.

Arkansas fans know how this works. Preseason polls don’t win you anything, but they do tell you how the sport sees you before the first pitch ever pops the mitt.

Perfect Game sees Arkansas as one of the big boys.

Preseason No. 4 🐗 pic.twitter.com/0xw1zE7Lzp

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) January 8, 2026

SEC reality gives Arkansas’ ranking its context

Nothing about this ranking exists in isolation, especially in the SEC.

Perfect Game’s Top 25 is stacked with conference logos, a reminder that the road Arkansas travels runs straight through a league that doesn’t give out easy weekends or sympathy points.

When the Razorbacks show up at No. 4, it’s not just a national ranking. It’s a declaration that they’re expected to survive — and thrive — in the country’s deepest conference.

That matters.

Being fourth nationally is impressive. Being fourth nationally while surrounded by SEC contenders makes it feel earned.

Perfect Game’s poll reflects that reality. Arkansas isn’t elevated because of nostalgia or branding. The ranking is rooted in what evaluators believe this roster can do over a long season filled with tough series and tighter margins.

That belief didn’t come out of thin air.

The Razorbacks have spent enough seasons in the national conversation that their name carries weight now. When Arkansas is mentioned, it’s not followed by qualifiers or asterisks.

It’s followed by expectations.

That’s why No. 4 feels like a holding pattern more than a headline. It’s Arkansas being Arkansas at this point — good enough to be trusted, tough enough to be tested, and close enough to the top to make everybody a little uncomfortable.

In the SEC, that’s about as polite a compliment as you’ll get.

36 days until opening day pic.twitter.com/BchdHFOoKe

— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) January 8, 2026

Preseason respect brings familiar pressure to Fayetteville

Preseason rankings come with a warning label, even if nobody bothers to read it.

They’re guesses. Educated ones, sure, but guesses all the same.

Perfect Game’s ranking doesn’t guarantee Arkansas anything beyond attention. What it does guarantee is that every opponent will circle the Razorbacks as a measuring stick from the jump.

That’s life when you start in the top five.

For Arkansas, it’s nothing new. The Hogs have lived with expectations long enough to know they don’t shrink on their own. They follow you from opening weekend until the last out, whether you like it or not.

Perfect Game’s belief in Arkansas’ balance and talent puts the Razorbacks squarely in that familiar position: good enough to be respected, close enough to be doubted.

That tension is where the SEC lives.

So as the calendar creeps toward opening day, Arkansas carries a No. 4 next to its name and the understanding that preseason praise doesn’t travel well if it isn’t backed up.

The Razorbacks wouldn’t have it any other way.

Around here, being ranked high isn’t the point. Proving it is.

Key takeaways

• Arkansas opens the 2026 season ranked No. 4 in Perfect Game’s preseason Top 25
• Perfect Game views the Razorbacks as a balanced national title contender
• The ranking reflects Arkansas’ standing within a loaded SEC landscape