- The SEC baseball season begins February 14th with six teams ranked in the top 10.
- Texas A&M is the favorite to win the SEC despite losing their coach.
- Defending national champion Tennessee is looking to avoid a championship hangover.
- Newcomers Texas and Oklahoma will rely on strong offenses and pitching, respectively.
SEC baseball teams begin play on Feb. 14. The season dawns with the league as stacked as it has ever been, with six teams in the top 10 and 11 teams in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Five different SEC teams have won each of the last five national championships. The league got a record 11 teams in the NCAA tournament last year and then added two more regional teams in Oklahoma and Texas this season.
Here’s how the league stacks up in the preseason:
SEC PRIMERSEC baseball preview: Top teams, players, transfers to know in 2025 led by Texas A&M
1. Texas A&M
The Aggies lost their coach, but they still have the SEC preseason player and pitcher of the year and look like the most complete squad in the conference.
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2. Tennessee
You can always trust the reigning champs to put up massive power numbers. The questions about the Vols are less about the roster and more about whether they can avoid the hangover effect that’s plagued many recent champions.
3. LSU
LSU has a high-octane pitching staff and routinely brings in top freshmen and transfer classes, but a large percentage of its roster is unproven in the SEC.
4. Arkansas
Arkansas’ pitching may well be the best in the conference, but the Razorbacks have struggled in the postseason the last half-decade largely due to a lack of offensive development.
5. Georgia
Tre Phelps and Kolten Smith look like stars in the making, but the Bulldogs may well realize that replacing Charlie Condon and Corey Collins isn’t as easy as simply taking every transfer with a pulse.
6. Florida
This roster has a Jac Caglianone-sized hole, without an obvious candidate to replace his production either on the pitching or hitting side, but Kevin O’Sullivan is one of the best at getting any roster to Omaha.
7. Vanderbilt
This Vanderbilt team isn’t quite the one of the past few years with a loaded pitching staff but a punchless offense. This roster has far more upside, but it’s a risky bet on a lot of young players putting it all together.
8. Texas
Texas has plenty of offense with Jalin Flores, Will Gasparino and Max Belyeu. But even highly-regarded pitching coach Max Weiner may not be able to build a rotation from a staff full of relievers.
9. Oklahoma
Oklahoma may have (literal) twin aces in Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon, but the offense will need to take a step forward to compete in the SEC.
10. Mississippi State
Mississippi State got hit as hard by the draft as anyone. Transfer Ace Reese and veteran Hunter Hines is an exciting pairing on a roster that otherwise has a lot of question marks.
11. Kentucky
Kentucky lost most of its contributors from last year’s College World Series team and has replaced them primarily with unheralded, mid-major transfers. But Nick Mingione has shown he can make this formula work before, so who are we to bet against him?
12. Auburn
After a disastrous 2024, Auburn tried to stabilize its pitching staff with Cade Fisher, but it’s a gamble on a player who lost his rotation spot at Florida a year ago.
13. Alabama
Justin Lebron is one of the SEC’s best shortstops, but this roster otherwise lacks star power, which is a tough spot to be in.
14. South Carolina
It’s hard to totally give up on the Gamecocks because they still have Ethan Petry, and a star hitter is both the most important and hardest thing to find in college baseball. But the rest of this roster doesn’t stack up.
15. Ole Miss
Hunter Elliott’s return is highly anticipated after two lost seasons, but pitchers aren’t always in top form right away after Tommy John, and the roster lacks any plus offensive pieces.
16. Missouri
Missouri has long had difficulty competing in the SEC and that path got even harder with the loss of Javyn Pimental for the season.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.
