PRESEASON TOP 25

Ranking the most talented teams in the country.

- TEDDY CAHILL and PETER FLAHERTY

1 LSU LOUISIANA STATE

Last season: 40-27 (17-13 in SEC), lost in regional final. Final 2022 ranking: No. 24. Coach (record at school): Jay Johnson (40-22, one season).

THE GOOD NEWS

Good news abounded all off-season in Baton Rouge. While Jay Johnson lost both recruiting coordinator Dan Fitzgerald (Kansas) and pitching coach Jason Kelly (Washington) to head coaching jobs in the offseason, he hired Wes Johnson away from the Minnesota Twins to be his pitching coach and 2018 Assistant Coach of the Year Josh Jordan as his recruiting coordinator. He also landed the top-ranked recruiting class in the country—even after losing five commits on the first day of the draft—and the top-ranked transfer class in the sport. The newcomers include third baseman Tommy White (North Carolina State), the Freshman of the Year; two-time All-American righthander/slugger Paul Skenes (Air Force) and premium young pitchers like Thatcher Hurd (UCLA) and freshmen Jaden Noot and Chase Shores. All of that is on top of the fact that LSU returns center fielder Dylan Crews, the 2022 co-Southeastern Conference player of the year and the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

THE BAD NEWS