Over the last two weeks, we have counted down the top 100 programs in college baseball, as they stand in 2022. For the purpose of this exercise, we don’t care what happened in the 1970s or 80s, or even the 90s — that’s ancient history to a potential recruit in 2022. Tradition is nice, but it’s more important to establish a tradition of consistent winning in the last decade, and especially in the last five years. Our ultimate goal here is to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye toward the next five to 10 years.
Now it’s time to unveil the entire Top 100, in chart form. The chart below is sortable by state and by conference, which makes it easy to see how all of the Top 100 programs stack up relative to the other teams in their state and league. A few factoids:
• The SEC leads all conferences with 13 teams (out of its 14 current members) in the Top 100. The SEC also occupies each of the top four spots in the rankings for the second time in a row, although the order of that top four has shuffled a bit since our 2019 update. The SEC also occupies six of the top eight spots, and nine of the top 20.
• Here’s the full conference-by-conference breakdown: ACC (12 of 14 teams landed in the Top 100), Pac-12 (8 of 11), Big Ten (8 of 13), Big 12 (7 of 9), Sun Belt (7 of 14), American (5 of 8), Big West (4 of 9), Conference USA (4 of 8). The Big East, MAC, SoCon and Southland placed three teams apiece on the list. The A-Sun, CAA, MVC, MWC, WAC and WCC landed two teams apiece in the Top 100. Overall, 26 different conferences are represented.
• California is now tied with Texas for most teams in the top 100 with 10 apiece. That’s a decrease of four teams for California since 2019, and an increase of one team for Texas. Those states are followed by North Carolina (nine), Florida (seven), Louisiana (six) and Virginia (five). Alabama, Georgia, Indiana have four teams apiece on the list.
• Fifteen teams entered the Top 100 after being unranked in 2019. That represents more turnover than the last time we conducted this exercise, as just 11 new teams entered in 2019. Out of our newcomers, Notre Dame made the biggest vault, landing at No. 40. Others that made big jumps into the Top 100 include Central Michigan (No. 55), Old Dominion (No. 64) and Georgia Southern (No. 65).
• Of the teams that were already in the Top 100 in 2019, Tennessee made the biggest jump, catapulting 52 spots from No. 69 to No. 17. The other biggest climbers are Virginia Tech (up 45 spots), Louisiana Tech (up 43), Maryland (up 33) and Oregon (up 26).
• The biggest fallers from 2019 are St. John’s (down 46), Minnesota (down 44), Rice (down 43), Illinois (down 34), Cal State Fullerton, California and Kent State (down 29 spots apiece).
Program Analysis:
Teams 1-5
Teams 6-10
Teams 11-20
Teams 21-30
Teams 31-40
Teams 41-50
Teams 51-60
Teams 61-70
Teams 71-80
Teams 81-90
Teams 91-100
D1Baseball Top 100 Programs: 2022
| Rank | Program | Conference | Rank in Conf. | State | Rank in State | Change from 2019 | 2019 Rank | 2017 Rank | 2015 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanderbilt | SEC | 1 | TN | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Arkansas | SEC | 2 | AR | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 |
| 3 | Mississippi State | SEC | 3 | MS | 1 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 21 |
| 4 | Florida | SEC | 4 | FL | 1 | -3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 1 | OR | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | Louisville | ACC | 1 | KY | 1 | -1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | LSU | SEC | 5 | LA | 1 | -3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | Ole Miss | SEC | 6 | MS | 2 | 11 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 1 | TX | 1 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 38 |
| 10 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 2 | CA | 1 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 31 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | SEC | 7 | TX | 2 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas | Big 12 | 2 | TX | 3 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 15 |
| 13 | Florida State | ACC | 2 | FL | 2 | -6 | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| 14 | North Carolina | ACC | 3 | NC | 1 | -1 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| 15 | Virginia | ACC | 4 | VA | 1 | -3 | 12 | 5 | 2 |
| 16 | NC State | ACC | 5 | NC | 2 | 8 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| 17 | Tennessee | SEC | 8 | TN | 2 | 52 | 69 | NR | NR |
| 18 | TCU | Big 12 | 3 | TX | 4 | -8 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 4 | OK | 1 | -1 | 17 | 21 | 19 |
| 20 | Auburn | SEC | 9 | AL | 1 | -5 | 25 | 49 | 62 |
| 21 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 3 | CA | 2 | -2 | 14 | 15 | 4 |
| 22 | East Carolina | American | 1 | NC | 3 | 4 | 26 | 38 | 51 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 5 | OK | 2 | 17 | 40 | 35 | 27 |
| 24 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 4 | AZ | 1 | 3 | 27 | 22 | 22 |
| 25 | Miami | ACC | 6 | FL | 3 | -4 | 21 | 14 | 13 |
| 26 | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 1 | MS | 3 | 7 | 33 | 33 | 88 |
| 27 | Dallas Baptist | C-USA | 1 | TX | 5 | 1 | 28 | 28 | 35 |
| 28 | Michigan | Big Ten | 1 | MI | 1 | 3 | 31 | 53 | 67 |
| 29 | Connecticut | Big East | 1 | CT | 1 | 7 | 36 | 57 | 60 |
| 30 | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 2 | SC | 1 | -10 | 20 | 17 | 33 |
| 31 | Clemson | ACC | 7 | SC | 2 | -8 | 23 | 24 | 24 |
| 32 | South Carolina | SEC | 10 | SC | 3 | -14 | 18 | 11 | 9 |
| 33 | Duke | ACC | 8 | NC | 4 | 6 | 39 | 82 | NR |
| 34 | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 1 | CA | 3 | 9 | 43 | 37 | 56 |
| 35 | Georgia | SEC | 11 | GA | 1 | -6 | 29 | 86 | 70 |
| 36 | Georgia Tech | ACC | 9 | GA | 2 | 6 | 42 | 36 | 34 |
| 37 | Maryland | Big Ten | 2 | MD | 1 | 33 | 70 | 34 | 39 |
| 38 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 5 | OR | 2 | 26 | 64 | 46 | 26 |
| 39 | Arizona State | Pac-12 | 6 | AZ | 2 | -9 | 30 | 29 | 16 |
| 40 | Notre Dame | ACC | 10 | IN | 1 | N/A | NR | 88 | 68 |
| 41 | Wake Forest | ACC | 11 | NC | 5 | 11 | 52 | 42 | NR |
| 42 | Indiana | Big Ten | 3 | IN | 2 | -10 | 32 | 31 | 23 |
| 43 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 4 | NE | 1 | 8 | 51 | 43 | 40 |
| 44 | Cal State Fullerton | Big West | 2 | CA | 4 | -29 | 15 | 9 | 17 |
| 45 | Baylor | Big 12 | 6 | TX | 6 | -11 | 34 | 62 | 59 |
| 46 | Campbell | Big South | 1 | NC | 6 | 22 | 68 | NR | NR |
| 47 | Louisiana Tech | C-USA | 2 | LA | 2 | 43 | 90 | 91 | NR |
| 48 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 12 | VA | 2 | 45 | 93 | NR | 79 |
| 49 | Gonzaga | WCC | 1 | WA | 1 | 24 | 73 | 79 | NR |
| 50 | Liberty | A-Sun | 1 | VA | 3 | 25 | 75 | 81 | 55 |
| 51 | Houston | American | 2 | TX | 7 | -7 | 44 | 27 | 29 |
| 52 | Florida Atlantic | C-USA | 3 | FL | 4 | -7 | 45 | 51 | 53 |
| 53 | Louisiana | Sun Belt | 3 | LA | 3 | -15 | 38 | 26 | 30 |
| 54 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 7 | WV | 1 | 1 | 55 | 73 | NR |
| 55 | Central Michigan | MAC | 1 | MI | 2 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 56 | Washington | Pac-12 | 7 | WA | 2 | -15 | 41 | 54 | 69 |
| 57 | Alabama | SEC | 12 | AL | 2 | 21 | 78 | 52 | 28 |
| 58 | Kentucky | SEC | 13 | KY | 2 | 0 | 58 | 41 | 54 |
| 59 | Missouri State | MVC | 1 | MO | 1 | -22 | 37 | 40 | 49 |
| 60 | Indiana State | MVC | 2 | IN | 3 | 16 | 76 | NR | 94 |
| 61 | Wright State | Horizon | 1 | OH | 1 | 1 | 62 | 68 | 80 |
| 62 | South Alabama | Sun Belt | 4 | AL | 3 | 3 | 65 | 50 | 81 |
| 63 | South Florida | American | 3 | FL | 5 | -3 | 60 | 58 | 63 |
| 64 | Old Dominion | Sun Belt | 5 | VA | 4 | N/A | NR | 80 | 99 |
| 65 | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | 6 | GA | 3 | N/A | NR | 92 | 84 |
| 66 | UNC Wilmington | CAA | 1 | NC | 7 | -20 | 46 | 48 | 48 |
| 67 | VCU | A-10 | 1 | VA | 5 | 25 | 92 | 76 | 75 |
| 68 | UC Irvine | Big West | 3 | CA | 5 | 13 | 81 | 47 | 32 |
| 69 | San Diego State | MWC | 1 | CA | 6 | -16 | 53 | 45 | 43 |
| 70 | Grand Canyon | WAC | 1 | AZ | 3 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 71 | Long Beach State | Big West | 4 | CA | 7 | -8 | 63 | 39 | 78 |
| 72 | Sam Houston State | Southland | 1 | TX | 8 | -25 | 47 | 32 | 74 |
| 73 | Iowa | Big Ten | 5 | IA | 1 | -6 | 67 | 61 | 87 |
| 74 | Charlotte | C-USA | 4 | NC | 8 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 75 | Oral Roberts | Summit | 1 | OK | 3 | -16 | 59 | 65 | 71 |
| 76 | Stetson | A-Sun | 2 | FL | 6 | -19 | 57 | NR | |
| 77 | Southeastern Louisiana | Southland | 2 | LA | 4 | -11 | 66 | 55 | 95 |
| 78 | Rice | C-USA | 5 | TX | 9 | -43 | 35 | 23 | 20 |
| 79 | Army | Patriot | 1 | NY | 1 | 10 | 89 | NR | NR |
| 80 | Columbia | Ivy | 1 | NY | 2 | N/A | NR | NR | 83 |
| 81 | San Diego | WCC | 2 | CA | 8 | 19 | 100 | 71 | 45 |
| 82 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 6 | OH | 2 | -28 | 54 | 87 | 89 |
| 83 | Northeastern | CAA | 2 | MA | 1 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 84 | Illinois | Big Ten | 7 | IL | 1 | -34 | 50 | 66 | 36 |
| 85 | California | Pac-12 | 8 | CA | 9 | -29 | 56 | 70 | 46 |
| 86 | Sacramento State | WAC | 2 | CA | 10 | -2 | 84 | NR | NR |
| 87 | Texas State | Sun Belt | 7 | TX | 10 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 88 | McNeese | Southland | 3 | LA | 5 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 89 | Creighton | Big East | 2 | NE | 2 | -12 | 77 | 96 | 77 |
| 90 | Kent State | MAC | 2 | OH | 3 | -29 | 61 | 67 | 50 |
| 91 | UCF | American | 4 | FL | 7 | -20 | 71 | 59 | 61 |
| 92 | Mercer | SoCon | 1 | GA | 4 | -6 | 86 | 75 | 82 |
| 93 | Minnesota | Big Ten | 8 | MN | 1 | -44 | 49 | 72 | 100 |
| 94 | St. John’s | Big East | 3 | NY | 3 | -46 | 48 | 44 | 42 |
| 95 | Samford | SoCon | 2 | AL | 4 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 96 | UNC Greensboro | SoCon | 3 | NC | 9 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 97 | Tulane | American | 5 | LA | 6 | -25 | 72 | 60 | 64 |
| 98 | Ball State | MAC | 3 | IN | 4 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 99 | Nevada | MWC | 2 | NV | 1 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
| 100 | SEMO State | OVC | 1 | MO | 2 | N/A | NR | NR | NR |
