Fresh off a 41-21 finish in 2005, the Mississippi State baseball Bulldogs have received five national preseason rankings, four of which have been in the top 25.
The Diamond Dawgs are less than one month away from their 2006 season opener against Marist College and have compiled an average national preseason ranking of 20th.
The latest poll that has penciled MSU in among the national elite is the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll, which ranked the Bulldogs 21st in the nation. MSU has also been ranked 13th by Baseball America, 16th by RosenblattReport.com, 18th by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and 33rd by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
The Southeastern Conference led the nation in many preseason polls, placing seven teams in the top 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll.
Arkansas falls near the bottom at 23rd, Ole Miss is 22nd, MSU is 21st, LSU is 19th, and Tennessee is 12th.
SEC regular season champion Florida sits at the 2-spot under Texas, who topped the Gators in 2005 to win the College World Series and the national championship.
Three other SEC teams-Alabama, Georgia and Vanderbilt-also received votes in the poll, as well as 2006 Bulldog non-conference foes Arizona and Southern Mississippi.
MSU’s preseason practice begins Feb. 6, with the season kicking off Feb. 23 with the ninth annual “First Pitch/Meet the Team Banquet” at the Palmerio Center.
The following day MSU will tangle with Marist College to begin the 2006 edition of Bulldog baseball.