2026 College Baseball Preview: SEC

We start with the Arkansas Razorbacks, one of two teams from last year’s College Baseball World Series to come from the SEC.

Last year’s team was a behemoth from the offense to the pitching staff. However, Arkansas lost a lot of players. Wehiwa Aloy, Charles Davalan, Zach Root, and Gage Wood are among the now-former Razorbacks to have gone pro from last year’s team.

Arkansas, though, still has plenty of firepower. Gabe Gaeckle, one of the premier strikeout pitchers from 2025, is back for 2026. Gaeckle is a hard-throwing pitcher and one major name to watch in the 2026 MLB Draft. Their offense is also stacked, as Ryder Helfrick and Cam Kozeal headline a deep offense that also includes Texas Tech transfer TJ Pompey.

Alabama

All eyes will be on Justin Lebron this coming season.

Lebron, who hit 18 home runs and batted .316 for the Crimson Tide last season, is among the top hitters in the NCAA and was recently named to the Golden Spikes preseason watch. The junior has been a standout for Alabama in each of the past two seasons.

He’s one of several notables on the Crimson Tide, alongside junior Zane Adams and Winthrop transfer Owen Sarna. Alabama is also a young team, as the Crimson Tide has 11 different freshmen on the roster for 2026.

Auburn

Like Alabama, the Auburn Tigers have their own superstar hitter.

Chris Rembert had a dominant freshman season, as he posted an OPS over 1.000 and finished the year as one of the best hitters in all of the SEC. Rembert will headline a Tigers team that won’t have Ike Irish but will have Cade Belyeu, Bristol Carter, and Ryne Farber as notable hitters.

Jake Marciano, a transfer from Virginia Tech, headlines a pitching staff that also includes Griffin Graves, a standout in fall ball, and Andreas Alvarez.

Florida

On paper, the Florida Gators have arguably one of, if not the best, pitching staffs in all of college baseball this season.

The Gators have two potential future first-rounders in Liam Peterson and Aidan King, set to headline the team’s Friday and Saturday sets this season. Peterson was the Gators’ Friday starter last season and pitched very well as a sophomore, while King kept the ball in the park and averaged over a strikeout per inning as a freshman.

As for the offense, Canadian Brendan Lawson was excellent last season as a freshman.

Georgia

The Bulldogs’ offense has been a carrying point for the team over the past couple of years. That should remain true yet again in 2026.

Georgia’s offense includes catcher Daniel Jackson, who ripped it up in the Cape Cod League this past season. Jackson is re-joined by Kolby Branch and Tre Phelps, while former New Orleans slugger Bryce Calloway and two-player Kenny Ishikawa are among some of the newcomers.

Pitching will be very interesting to watch for Georgia this upcoming season. Head coach Wes Johnson was highly active in the transfer portal, adding Caden Aoki, Joey Volchko, and Matt Scott, all notable names, this past summer.

Kentucky

Like many of the other teams in the SEC, the Kentucky Wildcats have their own superstar hitter.

The Wildcats were able to convince Tyler Bell to spurn the pros and head to the SEC. That decision has worked out well so far for Kentucky, as Bell hit 10 home runs for a team that’s had trouble generating power in a cavernous ballpark in Lexington.

Kentucky’s pitching staff is more experienced, thanks to the returns of Ben Cleaver and Nate Harris.

LSU

All hail the defending champions.

LSU enters the year with the top-ranked team per the coaches in the preseason poll. And why not? LSU lost some big pitchers this past summer but has a lot of depth to play with to start the 2026 season. Headlining that group is Casan Evans, who pitched very well for the Tigers down the stretch last season.

The Tigers have some big-time newcomers but also several returning hitters who played major roles for the team in 2025. Chief among them is Derek Curiel, one of the best contact hitters in the NCAA last season.

Missouri

Out of all the teams in the SEC, Missouri may be in for another difficult season.

The Tigers have some good pieces on their team, including Kaden Peer and Mateo Serna, two of their most productive hitters from the 2025 campaign. However, when comparing all the other teams to Missouri, Missouri doesn’t fare well.

Additionally, Missouri lost a lot of talent in the summer.

Mississippi State

Yes, you need to pay attention to Hail State this season.

New head coach Brian O’Connor will have a very deep offense – and overall team – to work with in 2026. Headlining that offense are Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan, both of whom were among the best hitters on that team from last season.

O’Connor also did well with overhauling the roster. Jack Bauer and Jacob Parker are among the notable freshmen on the team. He also plucked Tomas Valincius and Aidan Teel from his old haunt in Virginia.

Ole Miss

Hunter Elliott has been a major component for the Ole Miss Rebels over the last few years. The ace headlines what should be a very fun team to watch this season.

Eliott returned in 2025 after he missed all of 2024 and didn’t miss a beat, as he struck out over 100 batters last season for the Rebels and stabilized the weekend rotation.

Ole Miss has its ace. However, the question is, will the offense be there this season? On paper, it should. Will Furniss, Austin Fawley, and Judd Utermark headline what should be a strong group of hitters.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma will head into 2026 with a very different team.

The Witherspoon brothers are gone, as the two went pro. Meaning, the pitching staff will look dramatically different. However, it’ll mean a chance for newcomers to step up. Oklahoma picked up some interesting relievers, including ex-TCU pitcher Mason Bixby.

As for the offense, Jaxon Willits, Kyle Branch, and Dasan Harris are among the returning hitters for the Sooners.

South Carolina

It’s the second year for head coach Paul Mainieri, who will look to get the Gamecocks on track after South Carolina won just six games in the conference last season.

South Carolina will have some help as returning players, as Beau Hollins headlines the bats who will be back for 2026.

USC will also have a very different-looking rotation. Redshirt freshman Riley Goodman, who didn’t pitch last season, is the team’s Opening Day starter. He’ll be followed by USC Upstate transfer Amp Phillips and returning pitcher Brandon Stone.

Tennessee

Tennessee’s baseball program received a shockwave in October after Tony Vitello left the school to become the new manager for the San Francisco Giants. Now, Josh Elander will look to continue the school’s momentum.

The offense will be led, in part, by catcher Garrett Wright and Henry Ford, the latter of whom came over from UVA. Brandon Arvidson and Levi Clark are also names to watch for the 2026 season.

As for the pitching staff, it’ll look very different. Evan Bianco (UVA) and Landon Mack (Rutgers) are among the new pitchers in Knoxville.

Texas

After what was a disappointing end to the 2025 season, the Texas Longhorns are reloaded for the 2026 season.

Texas did very well in the transfer portal, adding two of the best hitters available in former Notre Dame catcher Carson Tinney and Seton Hall outfielder Aidan Robbins. Robbins did nothing but hit last season, while Tinney was one of the best power hitters at his position last season.

As for the pitching staff, Texas has one of the NCAA’s best in Dylan Volantis.

Texas A&M’

Michael Earley’s first season as manager of the Texas A&M baseball team didn’t go great. Injuries were a problem, and the Aggies failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament one year after the school finished runner-up to 2024 champion Tennessee.

Entering 2026, expectations are a little different.

The Aggies’ offense should be elite, yet again. Caden Sorrell is back, and he’ll be joined by Terrence Kiel and Chris Hacopian, the latter of whom was a transfer from Maryland and one of Division I’s best hitters from the 2025 season.

Vanderbilt

Last up is Vanderbilt, the SEC powerhouse, which suffered a significant upset last year in the Regionals to get ousted on their own turf.

The Commodores have several notable hitters, including Braden Holcomb, Colin Barczi, and Mike Mancini, all of whom are returning hitters and will look to return the school to SEC prominence yet again in 2026.

Vandy also lost a lot of good pitching this past summer. However, the Commodores were able to fill those holes. One of the newcomers is ex-Georgia pitcher Nate Taylor, who performed well last season down in Athens.