Ole Miss, MSU, and USM all crack Top 50 in preseason poll

Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss each landed in the Collegiate Baseball preseason Fabulous 50 rankings.

Both the Rebels (No. 5) and the Bulldogs (No. 9) cracked the top 10 while the Golden Eagles (No. 29) are the lone Conference USA team to find themselves in the top 50.

Before the 2020 season was suspended due to COVID-19, all three programs were having great seasons.

Ole Miss, who finished the shortened season at 16-1, was one of college baseball’s hottest teams, riding on a 16-game winning streak heading into SEC play.

Mississippi State’s season ended with a 12-4 record, which was good enough to place them at No. 17 in D1Baseball.com’s final rankings.

Southern Miss, on the other hand, was not ranked when the 2020 season abruptly ended, however, it seemed as if the Golden Eagles were heading that way. Sitting at 12-4, the Golden Eagles barely lost to a then No. 13 Rebels squad on February 25 after giving up a late one-run lead.

Roster-wise, Mississippi State and Ole Miss saw a combined five players get drafted, while Southern Miss’ main departure was redshirt senior second baseman Matthew Guidry who has decided against pursuing a career in professional baseball.

While the losses of Anthony Servideo and Tyler Keenan for the Rebels and J.T. Ginn, Justin Foscue, and Jordan Westburg for the Bulldogs will be difficult to overcome, years of consistent recruiting should be enough to keep the two schools among the nation’s best.

Find the full rankings from Collegiate Baseball newspaper, the oldest college baseball poll in the nation, below:

1. Florida
2. Vanderbilt
3. UCLA
4. Texas Tech
5. Ole Miss
6. Miami (FL)
7. LSU
8. U.C. Santa Barbara
9. Mississippi State
10. Arizona
11. Louisville
12. Georgia
13. N.C. State
14. Virginia
15. Arizona State
16. East Carolina
17. Oklahoma State
18. Michigan
19. TCU
20. Texas
21. South Carolina
22. Arkansas
23. Coastal Carolina
24. Dallas Baptist
25. Clemson
26. Texas A&M
27. Alabama
28. Florida State
29. Southern Miss
30. Texas State
31. Stetson
32. Central Florida
33. Pepperdine
34. Georgia Tech
35. Tennessee
36. Duke
37. Auburn
38. Central Michigan
39. Indiana
40. Winthrop
41. Oklahoma
42. U.C. Irvine
43. Tulane
44. Long Beach State
45. Wichita State
46. Minnesota
47. Notre Dame
48. Houston
49. Oregon State
50. Stanford