Arkansas starting pitcher Hagen Smith was named a preseason first-team All-American by Perfect Game. (UA Athletics)The Arkansas baseball team has been ranked second in Perfect Game’s top-25 preseason poll for 2024.
It’s the team’s highest ranking in the publication since 2013 when the Razorbacks also started the year at No. 2.
Perfect Game placed Wake Forest in the top spot ahead of Arkansas, with the reigning national champions, LSU, at third.
The top 10 is rounded out by Florida, TCU, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Texas, Oregon State, and Virginia. Notably, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) leads with eight programs in the preseason rankings.
Perfect Game’s poll is the first among five major national college baseball polls to be released for the 2024 season. The others include D1Baseball, Baseball America, USA Today Coaches, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
This year, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, known for its longstanding national poll dating back to 1959, will not publish a poll following the retirement of its longtime publisher Lou Pavlovich Jr.
Arkansas will face six teams in Perfect Game’s top 25 rankings, including Oregon State (Feb. 23), Oklahoma State (Feb. 24), LSU (March 28-30), South Carolina (April 19-21), Florida (April 26-28) and Texas A&M (May 16-18).
Perfect Game’s full preseason Top 25 is available here.
The Razorbacks will begin the 2024 season with a four-game series against James Madison on Friday, Feb. 16 at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
