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Asked to sort through the nation’s top teams and predict a winner back in late January, one SEC coach didn’t hesitate.
His answer came so quickly it was clear he’d already thought it through—and believed it deeply.
“Texas A&M,” he said. “Easily Texas A&M.”
Then, before the question had fully settled, he doubled down.
“What have other people told you when you asked them that?” he said. “Probably a lot of A&M, right?”
He wasn’t wrong.
Of the 50 coaches polled by Baseball America during preseason workouts, 41 of them—including every single high-major coach—picked the Aggies to win the national title. No team was more trusted, more vetted, more anointed.
Not even a month later, the Aggies vanished from the BA Top 25. By Selection Monday, they were out of the NCAA Tournament altogether, becoming the first preseason No. 1 team in over three decades to miss the field entirely.
It was a collapse that doubled as an omen. Because if the 2025 season taught us anything, it’s that certainty is a relic in modern college baseball.
Plainly, this year was defined by volatility.
Six different teams held BA’s No. 1 ranking at some point during the 2025 season. Programs with sub-.500 conference records—like those Aggies—took series from top five opponents. Teams with top 40 RPIs—like Xavier—were left out of the field entirely, while late-charging squads like Miami and Georgia Tech, picked to finish 13th and 11th in the ACC, respectively, played their way into at-large bids with timely surges. The mid-major push was real, too.
And now, with the bracket locked in, there is no true favorite. There is no perfect team.
Take Coastal Carolina, for example. The Chanticleers earned the No. 13 national seed and will host Florida, East Carolina and Fairfield in Conway. It’s a rigorous draw. Florida is a battle-tested SEC club that’s beaten multiple hosts and reached the College World Series each of the last two years. East Carolina has super regional pedigree and caught fire late. Fairfield—a No. 4 seed with a résumé built on dominance—won’t be afraid of anyone. For a team like Coastal that thrives on its pitching identity, this pod is a pressure cooker.
Then there’s Georgia. The Bulldogs haven’t been to Omaha in nearly two decades, but this group has the makings of a sleeper—one with ample power and a pitching staff on the rise. They’ll host Duke, Oklahoma State and Binghamton in Athens, a draw that looks manageable on paper but won’t be in practice. Duke boasts a veteran lineup that can slug with anyone. Oklahoma State’s offense can erupt at any moment, and its pitching has quietly ranked among the nation’s best. Georgia will need its big bats to set the tone early and there won’t be much margin for error in its launching pad of a home ballpark.
Every host has landmines. Even Vanderbilt.
The No. 1 overall seed could be staring down a super regional against Southern Miss, Alabama, Miami or Columbia. But first, it must get through a Nashville regional that includes a feisty Louisville club, a Wright State team that consistently punches above its weight and a No. 3 seed with multiple Power Conference wins this spring in East Tennessee State. Vanderbilt pitches as well as anyone in the field, but it doesn’t slug like many of its SEC peers. Any scoring drought could be lethal.
Some regionals already feel like early-round wars.
Oregon State, the No. 8 national seed, drew TCU, Southern California and Saint Mary’s in Corvallis. That’s a three-seed from the former Pac-12 and a two-seed with a future pro at the front of its rotation. TCU owns more Quadrant 1 and 2 wins than the host. There are no freebies here. Oregon State has the RPI, earned largely on an independent schedule, but it will need to prove it can hang with its former Power 4 peers—especially after getting swept by rival Oregon just a few weeks ago.
There are more pods that feel ripe for upsets. Ole Miss, the No. 10 seed, could be in trouble if Georgia Tech’s offense heats up. Western Kentucky is a battle-tested Conference USA team with just enough juice to flip a game. And in Tallahassee, looming as a terrifying two-seed in Florida State’s region is Northeastern, a sleeping giant riding a 27-game win streak that might not stop anytime soon.
Some hosts, though, drew paths of opportunity. Clemson, the No. 11 seed, will take on West Virginia, Kentucky and SC-Upstate. It’s a pod the Tigers should handle if their offense, which ranked outside the top 100 teams nationally in scoring, keeps pace. LSU’s regional, which includes Dallas Baptist, Rhode Island and Little Rock, is manageable, too. But DBU is as dangerous as any No. 2 in the field.
Even dark horses can’t be dismissed. UCLA, a No. 15 seed and Big Ten co-champion, faces immediate pressure from UC Irvine, Arizona State and Fresno State. All three are capable of wrecking a weekend. Tennessee’s draw is just as thorny: Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Miami (OH). That’s an ACC juggernaut, a rising Big 12 program and a red-hot MAC champion with 40 wins and nothing to lose all in one group.
This year proved that experience doesn’t always beat momentum, RPI doesn’t always capture danger and belief doesn’t buy wins. For every preseason favorite that fizzled, there’s a team that emerged late and doesn’t care what the polls said in February.
So pick your favorite. Fill out the bracket. But understand this: In 2025, there are no guarantees.
Only chaos. And it’s just getting started.
