Alabama baseball: what are the Crimson Tide ranked in the USA Today preseason Coaches Poll?
Alabama baseball is ranked No. 17 in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25.
Alabama finished 43-21 in a 2023 season that was rocked by a gambling scandal, which ended with the midseason firing of coach Brad Bohannon. The Crimson Tide ended the season on a hot streak under interim coach Jason Jackson, hosting a regional in Tuscaloosa before falling to Wake Forest in the Winston-Salem Super Regional. They finished last season also ranked No. 17.
The Tide will be led by former Maryland coach Rob Vaughn, whose last two Terrapin teams won the Big Ten regular season in 2022 and 2023. Jackson also returns to the staff as the associate head coach and pitching coach, as Alabama will look to build upon last season's strong finish with a roster full of fresh faces. The Tide lost much of last season's production to the MLB draft and transfer portal, so the 2024 season will hinge on the production of new transfers and young rising talents.
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Alabama will play five series against preseason top 25 teams in 2024, all at home and against SEC opponents. The Crimson Tide will host No. 8 Tennessee (March 15-17), No. 21 South Carolina (March 28-30), No. 4 Arkansas (April 12-14), No. 10 Texas A&M (April 18-20) and No. 2 LSU (May 10-12).
Full USA Today Preseason NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll Top 25
Wake Forest (15 first-place votes)
LSU (11)
Florida (5)
Arkansas
TCU
Vanderbilt
Oregon State
Tennessee
Clemson
Texas A&M
Virginia
East Carolina
Texas
Duke
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Alabama
UC Santa Barbara
Coastal Carolina
Iowa
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Stanford
UCLA
Northeastern
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama baseball ranked in USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll