Overview:

Just as in football, college baseball has been dominated by the Southeastern Conference.  With four of the top five being from the SEC and eight of the top twenty-five coming from there as well, the SEC is looking to dominate baseball once again.

Texas A&M has been dominate lately using hot hitting and lights out pitching.  In most polls, it is either A&M or the preseason favorite, Florida, in first place.  Florida was favored at the beginning of the year even with a just above average post-season last year.  But, they had a fast start to the season and have done very well.  Another Florida team is dominating the ACC. Miama sits on top of the polls in the latest D1 top 25.

The defending National Champions, Virginia, have dropped off slightly but just as expected due to a loss of pitching in key hitters.  But, being the powerhouse program that they are, they have started to fill the empty role.

Mississippi State Baseball:

The Bulldogs have been on fire these past few weeks thanks to their first-round MLB prospect pitching from Dakota Hudson and Austin Sexton. The Friday/ Saturday combination has shut out opposing hitting while continuing to throw 90+ MPH fastballs late into the game.

The starting pitching and hot bats propelled the team to a sweep over a former top-10 team in the Oregon Ducks and then a series win over No. 5 Vanderbilt in Nashville.

But, finding a permanent day 3 and midweek starter will prove to be crucial if the Bulldogs want to survive a grueling SEC schedule.  Also, MSU needs Jack Kruger to recover from an injury that prohibits him from playing catcher. At catcher Kruger has the chance to be a Johnny Bench award prospect, but a nagging injury that limits him to playing designated hitter.

Jackson Prep has had an impact in Starkville.  In the series win at Vanderbilt, former Patriot Jake Mangum had a game winning hit late in the Saturday matchup to put the Bulldogs over the No. 5 Commodores.  That hot hitting streak has continued for Mangum.  For the month of March, Mangum had a batting average of .500 which is an incredible feat for a true freshman.

Along with Mangum, former Prep pitcher Noah Hughes made a huge contribution in the Vanderbilt victory. Hughes came in the game in relief in the eighth inning.  In his first collegiate save,  Hughes struck out two and allowed only one runner on base in two innings of work.

Mississippi State looks to continue its winning streak into the long and grueling SEC season. 

Ole Miss Baseball:

The Rebels came out to a hot start going 18-1 in non-conference.  The biggest series in that stretch came when they took two out of three against a top-15 Louisville team.

However the start of the SEC season has not been a favorable one for the Rebels.  After winning the series at Tennessee, the bats seemed to have gone cold when they took on the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks game into Oxford as one of the top teams in the country and swept the Rebels on their home field.

The Rebels have relied on the on their bullpen for their early season success. The starting pitching has been steady on Fridays but Saturday and Sunday pitching has been a little shaky.  Brady Bramlett has been the consistent Friday starter this season holding a 4-1 record and struck out 45 batters so far.

Wyatt Short proves to be the most commanding pitcher in the Ole Miss bullpen.  With a sub-one ERA, Wyatt has been a great closer for the team.

J.B. Woodman leads the team in home runs with four while Henri Lartique leads the Rebels in batting average with a .357 average.

Ole Miss began the season relying on veteran short-stop Errol Robinson.  The pre-season All American has come up short for the rebels only batting .210 and second on the team with errors.

But, the Rebels remain at No. 13 in the D1 Baseball top 25 after sweeping the Arkansas Razorbacks. The sweep will hopefully swing the Rebels momentum back aroudn to make a run in post-season play.

D1 Baseball Preseason Top 25:

1Florida

2Louisville

3 Vanderbilt

4 Texas A&M

5 Oregon State

6Miami

7LSU

8 Oklahoma State

9 California

10 N.C. State

11UCLA

12 Southern California

13 Virginia

14 Oregon

15 Mississippi State

16 North Carolina

17 South Carolina

18 Louisiana-Lafayette

19 TCU

20Florida State

21 Cal State Fullerton

22 Houston

23 Texas

24 Coastal Carolina

25 Arkansas

D1 Baseball Top 25 (As of 4/12/16)

1 Miami (Fla.)

2 Mississippi State

3Florida

4Florida State

5Vanderbilt

6 Texas A&M

7 Oregon State

8 South Carolina

9Louisville

10TCU

11 LSU

12 NC State

13 Ole Miss

14 Texas Tech

15 North Carolina

16 Clemson

17 California

18 Kentucky

19 UC Santa Barbara

20 Long Beach State

21 Rice

22Tulane

23East Carolina

24 Florida Atlantic

25 South Alabama