Jan. 28, 2013

 

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Composite Poll

 

Arkansas claims top spot in CBI Preseason Composite Poll

North Carolina takes second, Vanderbilt sits in third, LSU finishes fourth

 

After tying for third place in the 2012 College World Series, Arkansas begins the 2013 campaign at No. 1 in the CollegeBaseballInsider.com Preseason Composite Poll.

 

In previous seasons, CBI has used four rankings in its composite poll: Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. This year CBI will add a fifth ranking to the composite poll, the Perfect Game poll.

 

The Razorbacks, under head coach Dave Van Horn (pictured), won their first two games in Omaha before falling twice to eventual runner-up South Carolina. Arkansas finished 46-22 a season ago. The Razorbacks are first in three polls, second in one and third in the other.

 

North Carolina placed second in the CBI Composite Poll, just two points behind Arkansas. The Tar Heels lost to St. John's in the finals of the Chapel Hill Regional to finish the 2012 season at 46-16. UNC was first in two polls, second in two polls and fourth in the other.

 

Vanderbilt checks in at No. 3 in the CBI Composite Poll. The Commodores won their first two games in the Raleigh Regional this past season before falling twice to host NC State to finish the year at 35-28. Vanderbilt is second in one poll, third in two polls, fourth in one poll and eighth in the other.

 

LSU holds down the fourth spot. The Tigers dropped two of three games to Stony Brook in the Baton Rouge Super Regional to finish the 2012 campaign at 47-18. The Tigers are third in two polls, fourth in one poll, fifth in one poll and 10th in the other.

 

UCLA rounds out the Top 5. The Bruins went 1-2 in the College World Series to post a 48-16 record for the 2012 campaign. UCLA is second in one poll, fifth in two polls, sixth in one poll and 12th in the other poll.

 

Defending national champion Arizona is No. 18 in the CBI Composite Poll. The Wildcats are ranked as high as No. 10 and as low as No. 24.

 

The CBI Preseason Composite Poll contains seven teams from the SEC. There are five from the Pac-12, four from the ACC, two from the Big 12 and single entries from the Big East and West Coast Conference.

 

About the CollegeBaseballInsider.com Composite Poll

The CollegeBaseballInsider.com Composite Poll weighs the five primary national polls, thereby providing the most accurate national ranking. In case of ties in the composite ranking, the team with a higher individual ranking will come first.

 

CBI Composite Poll (1/28/13) BA CB NCBWA PG U/E Composite Last rank
1 Arkansas (46-22) 3 1 1 2 1 8 3
2 North Carolina (46-16) 1 2 2 1 4 10 17
3 Vanderbilt (35-28) 2 3 4 3 8 20 NR
4 LSU (47-18) 10 4 3 5 3 25 10
5 UCLA (48-16) 12 5 5 6 2 30 5
6 Stanford (41-18) 9 9 7 4 7 36 13
7 South Carolina (49-20) 7 7 6 11 5 36 2
8 Oregon (46-19) 15 6 8 10 6 45 11
9 Oregon State (40-20) 6 10 10 8 14 48 NR
10 NC State (43-20) 8 11 9 9 11 48 12
11 Kentucky (45-18) 11 8 12 13 15 59 20
12 Mississippi State (40-24) 5 13 16 16 18 68 NR
13 TCU (40-22) 14 15 13 14 12 68 16
14 Florida (47-20) 17 24 15 7 13 76 6
15 Florida State (50-17) 20 19 11 17 9 76 4
16 Louisville (38-18) 4 22 19 15 25 85 NR
17 Oklahoma (42-25) 19 14 17 20 16 86 14
18 Georgia Tech (38-26) 16 17 21 12 21 87 NR
19 Arizona (48-17) 24 18 14 22 10 88 1
20 San Diego (40-17) 25 12 20 18 18 93 NR

 

BA-Baseball America poll; CB-Collegiate Baseball poll; NCBWA-National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll; PG-Perfect Game poll; U/E-USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll; Composite-Sum of rankings; Last rank-Last week's composite ranking

 

Why a composite poll? CBI felt that five national polls was enough. Plus, each week you find discrepancies that make it tough to gauge where a team really is. This week's example: Florida is No. 7 in one poll, No. 24 in another.

 

(photos courtesy of Arkansas Media Relations Office)