Where Does TCU Baseball Land In 2024 Preseason Rankings?
Confetti still rests on the turf at Allegiant Stadium following the conclusion of Super Bowl 58. Other confetti fell on the shoulders of Michigan's football program a month ago. To some, this ushers in college basketball. For others, the start to college baseball.
Expectations for the TCU Horned Frogs run high following a campaign that ended in Omaha last year. Those expectations are set for good reason, as TCU projects to be a national contender yet again. In six national rankings – D1 Baseball, Perfect Game, USA Today's Coaches Poll, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Baseball America, and College Baseball Nation (CBN) – the Horned Frogs rank no lower than sixth.
TCU Baseball Preseason Rankings
In five of the six publications, TCU ranks fifth in the country (D1 Baseball, Coaches Poll, CBN, and Perfect Game). That ranking puts them behind Wake Forest, national runner-up Florida (who eliminated TCU from the College World Series last season), Arkansas, and defending champion LSU.
Baseball America slots Oregon State fifth, and the NCBWA awards that spot to Tennessee; TCU lands sixth in both of those lists.
Last year, the expectations were tempered, as the Frogs came into the year ranked between 14th and 27th. This year, there's a lot more agreement.
For the second year in a row, TCU was predicted to win the Big 12 by conference media members.
Where The Rest Of The Big 12 Falls
Every year, Big 12 teams litter top 25 rankings throughout the season. Although not on the same level as the SEC, the Heartland Conference carries its weight. Four other programs land on the six preseason rankings to varying degrees: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State. Kansas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia also received votes in the NCBWA's poll but ultimately fell outside the top 30.
Texas ranks the most highly of these teams, ranking as high as eighth (Perfect Game) and as low as 16th (D1 Baseball). In no poll are they usurped by a Big 12 team other than TCU.
Texas Tech is most frequently the next-highest ranked Big 12 team. They top out at 18 (Baseball America) and fail to appear in Perfect Game's top 25. In two polls (PG, CBN), Oklahoma State tops Tech, while D1 Baseball and the NCBWA left them outside the top 25 (29th in NCBWA).
Kansas State brings its highest expectations in over a decade to the 2024 season, landing inside the top 25 at D1 Baseball and Perfect Game, and landing 27th in the NCBWA poll. They also received the most votes outside the top 25 in the Coaches Poll.
TCU's 2024 college baseball season begins Friday, Feb. 16 against Florida Gulf Coast.
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