Just Baseball’s 2026 College Baseball Season Guide

If you’re reading this, you already know the truth: college baseball isn’t a side show anymore, it’s one of the best, most chaotic, and most talent-rich products in all of sports.

And 2026 feels like another leap forward.

Last season ended the way the sport always does: dogpiles, heartbreak, and a champion that proved it belongs at the top of the mountain. LSU finished the job and walked out of Omaha with the national title, winning two national championships in the last two years.

Now, we turn the page.

This year’s picture is loaded, bluebloods stacked with big-league arms, heavy-hitting lineups built to win shootouts, mid-majors ready to make some noise, and enough breakout candidates across the country to keep every weekend series unpredictable. The sport has never been deeper from conference to conference.

That’s why we built this Just Baseball guide, a full preseason roadmap for everything you need heading into Opening Day.

At the top of it all, UCLA enters 2026 as our No. 1 team. The Bruins check every box you want in a preseason front-runner: tons of returning impact talent in the lineup, a consensus 1.1 for the MLB Draft, a rotation of returners, and new big-name transfer portal and freshman additions.

But let’s be clear: nothing is handed out in February. The road to Omaha is still a fight, and the teams behind them are more than capable of making this season a war from the jump.

Inside this season guide, we break it all down from every angle:

• Key Storylines that will define the year… from roster reloads, to breakout sophomores, to the pressure that comes with real expectations.
• Our Just Baseball Top 25 ranking, linked to context, and why each team landed where it did.
• Preseason All-Americans, spotlighting the stars that can carry teams, plus the names you’ll want to know before everyone else catches up.
• Conference Previews that go beyond the obvious, digging into who’s built to win their league, who’s poised to surprise, and which players might have the most impact.
• The Top 100 Draft Prospects, because the 2026 MLB Draft is going to be loaded, and college baseball is once again at the center of it.
• And of course, Coach Interviews, where the best insights always come straight from the people shaping the culture, development, and identity of these teams.

Nothing beats college baseball opening day. This is the best part of the year. New faces step into the spotlight. Proven stars level up. Friday nights become major events. A random midweek game turns into a statement. A team nobody ranked in February turns into a problem by May.

That’s college baseball, and it’s why all of us at Just Baseball are here. For the passion and the love of this game, and we hope we can pass that on to you all!

So whether you’re tracking the title race, studying the draft class, or just trying to stay ahead of the sport before it explodes again this spring, welcome to the Just Baseball 2026 Season Guide!

Key Storylines

UCLA storms its way to the number one overall spot in 2026

It’s easy to see why UCLA ranks as Just Baseball’s #1 overall team for 2026. When you return as much as they do at the plate and on the mound after making a run to Omaha, you’re going to find yourself near or at the top of the ranks.

That core nucleus of returners has been together for a long time, as they all came from the same recruiting class. It’s hard to keep teams together in today’s environment with NIL and the transfer portal, but UCLA has built something special.

Of the returners, it starts with their star shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who’s easily become the consensus 1.1 for the 2026 MLB Draft. Roch isn’t just the heartbeat of this team performance-wise, but also provides the Bruins with some of the best clubhouse leadership.

The list of talent goes on and on, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Outfielder Dean West, catcher Cashel Duggar, third baseman Roman Martin, first baseman Mulivai Levu, and second baseman Payton Brennan also return.

They didn’t need to add much from the transfer portal, but went out and got Texas outfielder Will Gasparino, who comes with a ton of success in the SEC. He returns home to Los Angeles.

On the mound, they return three pitchers who started games in Michael Barnett, Landon Stump, and Ian May, as well as basically an entire bullpen who succeeded last year. Additionally, they bring in a major transfer in Logan Reddemann from San Diego and one of the best freshman arms in Angel Cervantes.

Needless to say, the UCLA Bruins are more than deserving of being the number one team heading into 2026. They’ll look to build on their Omaha run and try to become national champions for the first time since 2013.

LSU will look to repeat as national champions

Coming off an incredible 2025 national championship run, can Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers be the first team to repeat as College World Series champions since South Carolin did it in 2010 and 2011?

Give me Jay Johnson vs. everybody. That’s the sentiment we’ve had from guests and even our own on the College Baseball Show podcast this offseason.

The Tigers lose lots of talent on the mound and in the lineup. They lose their 1-2 punch in Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson and their key arm out of the pen in Chase Shores, as well as key bats like first baseman Jared Jones, second baseman Daniel Dickinson, and outfielder Ethan Frey.

They lost all those guys to the MLB Draft, and that is the cost of having a super-talented team. But Jay Johnson didn’t miss a beat reloading.

In terms of returners, they bring back some studs in outfielder Jake Brown, who might be one of the most underrated college baseball players, shortstop Steven Milam, and outfielder Chris Stanfield. Casan Evans, Zac Cowan, William Schmidt, Mavrick Rizy, Jaden Noot, and others give them some firepower on the mound.

They also got some big-time portal grabs in first baseman Zach Yorke out of Grand Canyon, Brayden Simpson out of High Point, and Trent Caraway out of Oregon State to fill some of the gaps in the offense.

Cooper Moore out of Kansas, Santiago Garcia out of Oregon, and Danny Lachenmayer out of North Dakota State give them some more intriguing arms on the mound.

Needless to say, Jay Johnson’s Tigers look like they are ready to be at the top of the SEC again, and no one would be surprised if they make a run at Omaha in 2026.

The battle for the top player in college baseball will be a blast

Roch Cholowsky, Justin Lebron, Drew Burress, Sawyer Strosndier, AJ Gracia, and the list goes on for players who could be the top dog in 2026. While Cholowsky has the early nod as the Golden Spikes favorite for good reason, any of these guys could make some noise.

Justin Lebron might be the most dynamic player in all of college baseball. The star shortstop from Alabama, but up some video game numbers last year. A low end to the 2025 season kept him from achieving the Golden Spikes Award.

The plus make-up, defensive abilities, and other tools position LeBron to easily compete for the Golden Spikes Award. He’s just a hit tool adjustment away from becoming even better than he already is, which is wild to think.

Then you’ve got Drew Burress out of Georgia Tech, who might be the most electric player in college baseball. Like Lebron, he’s got all the tools you could dream on and the Yellow Jackets have a fully stocked lineup to protect him.

Don’t sleep on the likes of Sawyer Strosnider out of TCU, Brady Ballinger out of Kansas, AJ Gracia out of Virginia, and so many others. The amount of talent in college baseball in 2026 is unreal, and it’s going to make this season an absolute blast.

Can Tennessee maintain its national status with its new head coach

It’s never easy to lose a Head Coach during the middle of fall practice, but that’s what Tennessee is going through after former Head Coach Tony Vitello took the managerial job with the San Francisco Giants.

Vitello became the first Head Coach in college baseball to jump straight from college to a managerial position. Others have jumped from college to pro ball and eventually become managers, like Pat Murphy with the Milwaukee Brewers, but this could become the new norm.

The absence of Vitello left Tennessee in a spot where they had to figure out how to keep their core in place. Many players came out in support of Associate Head Coach Josh Elander, and that’s ultimately who the Volunteers’ athletic department selected.

Does the story sound somewhat familiar? That’s what happened with Texas A&M when Jim Schlossnagle left the Aggies for Texas. The players called for Associate Head Coach Mike Earley, and Texas A&M went with him.

We saw what happened with Texas A&M. They went from a preseason No. 1 ranking to not even making the playoffs. It’s difficult to attribute that to Earley, and it’s likely more related to pressure on the players and some tough injury breaks.

Will that be the case for Tennessee and Josh Elander? I’d say don’t expect history to repeat itself. We have seen cases where it has worked, like Kevin Schnall at Coastal Carolina.

The Volunteers are absolutely loaded with talent. They are our preseason No. 11 team for a reason. We might be a tad lower on them because of the shakeup from the offseason, but none of us would be surprised to see them in the top 10 or top 5 come the end of the season.

It’ll be a tough task for Elander to fill Vitello’s shoes, but he has years of experience with the program and is one of the best recruiters in the country. He’s well respected inside and outside of that locker room.

Tennessee looks primed and ready to maintains their national prominence in 2026.

Will James Ramsey create a streak with Kevin Schnall for 1st year HC reaching Omaha

Another big-time coaching change made headlines in 2026 as Georgia Tech hired long-time Associate Head Coach James Ramsey to replace the legendary Danny Hall.

Like Tennessee’s Josh Elander, Ramsey is well acquainted with the Georgia Tech program, having served as an assistant there since 2019. Unlike the Tennessee coaching change, Georgia Tech knew Danny Hall was retiring and that Ramsey was the natural replacement.

Ramsey’s situation is similar to Kevin Schnall’s at Coastal Carolina, where Schnall replaced the legendary Gary Gilmore. In his first season as Head Coach of Coastal Carolina, Schnall led the team to Omaha and the College World Series final.

Will James Ramsey be the next to join him? The Yellow Jackets come in ranked No. 6 for a reason. They have an absolutely loaded lineup headlined by star outfielder Drew Burress, catcher Vahn Lackey, and first baseman Kent Schmidt.

They supplemented their lineup with new big portal adds in second baseman Jarren Advincula from Cal and Ryan Zuckerman out of Pitt.

On the mound, they return their Friday night ace in Tate McKee, and they also brought in some really intriguing arms in Justin Shadek out of Rutgers and Dylan Loy out of Tennessee.

Ramsey and the Yellow Jackets seem poised for a run to Omaha, and would we be shocked if they won it all?

Is Brian O’Connor going to live up to national seed expectations in year one

The Chris Lemonis era at Mississippi State was marked by ups and downs. It started in 2019, when Lemonis led the Bulldogs to the College World Series, followed by a 2021 College World Series Championship.

The years following that were bleak. From 2022 to 2025, Mississippi State didn’t have another Omaha appearance, and Lemonis was fired on April 28, 2025, during the season.

In the offseason, Mississippi State set a mission to return the program to prominence, and they began that path with a major hire, bringing in Virginia Head Coach Brian O’Connor as their new head coach.

O’Connor has a strong track record of winning. He was the Head Coach there from 2004, during which he led seven College World Series appearances and one College World Series championship.

He brings that winning tradition to Mississippi State. The hype around O’Connor, the transfer portal class, and the freshman class he brought in led Mississippi State to No. 3 in our preseason rankings.

Can O’Connor and the Bulldogs live up to the hype? Only time will tell, but they have all the firepower in the world on the mound and in the lineup to do so.

O’Connor will be tested by a tough SEC schedule, but if anyone can handle it in their first year, it’s him, as he had similar experiences in the ACC. His success in year one will be something to watch in 2026.

Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25 Rankings