Ole Miss Within the Top 5 of College Baseball Nation's Rankings for 2021

After finishing the shortened 2020 season on a 16 game winning streak, the Ole Miss baseball team is expected to be among the tops in the nation again for the 2021 season.

College Baseball Nation released their Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 for the upcoming season on Tuesday. Ole Miss checked in at No. 4 in the nation, alongside two others from the SEC within the top five. In total, there were seven schools from the Southeastern Conference listed in the Top 25, which you can see below.

Florida checked in at No. 1 with Vanderbilt at No. 5 as the others from the SEC within the top five.

"Number four Ole Miss finished 2020 in the top spot of College Baseball Nation's Power Rankings. The loss of Anthony Servideo and Tyler Keenan will be difficult for the Rebels, but consistent recruiting over the past several years has set Ole Miss up to compete at the top of the SEC West," read the CBN brief on the Rebels.

Yes, the Rebels lost Servideo and Keenan to the MLB from their star-studded 2020 team, but they return the entire rotation which may be the best in the conference. Both Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy are being looked at as first-round pitchers for the 2021 draft and Derek Diamond can be expected to make a big jump from his true freshman to sophomore season in 2021.

(More: Projecting the 2021 Ole Miss Baseball Lineup Following the MLB Draft)

The biggest question mark for the Rebels in 2021 will be how they will replace Anthony Servideo at shortstop and Keenan at third.

Two highly ranked true freshman – TJ McCants and Jacob Gonzalez – will like compete for the starting shortstop job. McCants also has experience at third base, which is truly a wild card spot. Tim Elko, Kevin Graham, Justin Bench or Ben Van Cleve could see some time testing out that third base position.

Full Top 25:

Florida
UCLA
Texas Tech
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
Arkansas
Louisville
TCU
Mississippi State
Florida State
LSU
Virginia
Texas
Arizona
Georgia Tech
Duke
Wake Forest
Arizona State
Georgia
ECU
Long Beach Statee
UCSB
NC State
Pepperdine
UCF

More From The Grove Report:

True Freshman Marc Britt Moving to, and (for now) Starting at Safety

August Recruiting Wrap-up: Where Is Ole Miss at With the Class of 2021?

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