One Question for Every SEC Team Ahead of Opening Weekend

Talking season is over. The 2026 college baseball season and the road to Omaha begin tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13.

Expectations are as high as ever in the SEC, to no surprise. The conference will make its push for a seventh-straight College World Series crown this season. Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25 features 11 SEC teams.

There’s no shortage of storylines within the elite league. Just Baseball’s full conference preview can be seen here.

Heading into the first of 14 weekends, what should be top of mind for each of the 16 fanbases? This is a time for hope and optimism, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we pretended all that won’t evaporate for some by the time the calendar turns to March.

Here’s one burning question for each SEC team as they rev their engines for the first time this weekend.

Alabama: You’ve got Lebron, but who’s Wade and Bosh?

We know what superstar junior shortstop Justin Lebron (.316/.421/.636 in 2025) is bringing to the table. If everything goes his way this season, he’ll win the Golden Spikes and could become the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft.

Even if they don’t, the Preseason All-American will still be one of the best players in college baseball. Alabama enters the season at No. 19 in Just Baseball’s Top 25, but it was picked to finish 12th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll.

If the Crimson Tide is to reach its full potential in 2026, Lebron can’t do it all himself. So who rises up to his level?

Purdue Fort Wayne transfer Justin Osterhouse (.328/.453/.636) has impressed and will be to Lebron’s right at third base. A pair of returning seniors in outfielder Bryce Fowler (.267/.381/.394) and first baseman Jason Torres (.255/.392/.443) will need to take the next step, too.

Bama isn’t expected to tote one of the top offenses in the conference, but it’ll struggle if it can’t conjure up some form of lineup depth.

Arkansas: Does your pitching reach its ceiling?

Pitching is the primary concern for me with this Arkansas roster, and I say that while fully understanding the level of talent that’s inside the dugout. There just remains a level of unknown with some of the arms that are set to play big roles for the Razorbacks.

It starts with RHP Gabe Gaeckle (71.1 IP, 4.42 ERA, 92 K, 31 BB). He made the move to the rotation in 2025, and it didn’t go awfully, but it certainly wasn’t great. He shifted back to a relief role after nine starts. He’ll begin 2026 as a starter, and expectations are very high for the Preseason All-American ahead of his junior season. If he finds a new gear, he’ll be one of, if not the best pitcher in the SEC.

Redshirt sophomore LHP Hunter Dietz is finally healthy, but he’s thrown just 1.2 innings across the last two years. He’ll rack up strikeouts, but who knows how he’ll hold up over the course of a full season.

The sky is the limit for Vanderbilt LHP transfer Ethan McElvain (27.1 IP, 7.24 ERA, 45 K, 28 BB), but he barely got off the ground in his two seasons in Nashville. Command has been an issue, but he boasts elite stuff. It remains to be seen if he’ll immediately crack the weekend rotation.

Lefty Cole Gibler (29.1 IP, 3.99 ERA, 57 K, 12 BB) is a sophomore on the rise to stardom. He could transition into a starting role or could be the Hogs’ top option out of the bullpen. The same could be said of veteran lefties Colin Fisher (25.1 IP, 4.62 ERA, 31 K, 12 BB) and Parker Coil (21.1 IP, 1.27 ERA, 24 K, 2 BB). Fisher is getting the start on Sunday against Texas Tech.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but if the aforementioned group doesn’t provide at least a few dependable options, then it could be an uphill climb in Fayetteville. That’s a pessimistic point of view, but it’s hard to pencil in anything in the Arkansas rotation as automatic until we get a sample or two this month.

Auburn: Seriously, who’s gonna lead your rotation?

I promise I won’t cop out and question every team’s depth on the mound, but no team worries me more with its lack of proven arms than Auburn. This is a familiar concern for the Tigers, too.

They’ll have an offense that’s capable of hammering its way to wins against most, but we know that recipe doesn’t usually yield positive results when the lights get bright. So who emerges as reliable on Friday nights for Butch Thompson?

Western Kentucky RHP transfer Drew Whalen (81.2 IP, 3.53 ERA, 90 K, 31 BB) showed he can do it at a mid-major, but what about in the SEC? Virginia Tech LHP transfer Jake Marciano (60.2 IP, 6.08 ERA, 71 K, 18 BB) went through ebbs and flows as a freshman for the Hokies, but the stuff is clearly there.

Sophomore righty Christian Chatterton (52.1 IP, 4.47 ERA, 60 K, 18 BB) made 14 starts as a freshman for AU, but he’ll have to prove that he can tackle SEC lineups on a consistent basis. Ditto for RHP Andreas Alvarez (45 IP, 4.80 ERA, 34 K, 18 BB), who made nine starts in 2025.

Junior lefty Griffin Graves (23.1 IP, 4.63 ERA, 24 K, 11 BB) had a good fall, and he’ll attempt to jump into a starting role after making 13 relief appearances a season ago.

For opening weekend against Youngstown State, Thompson is rolling with Marciano on Friday, sophomore LHP Jackson Sanders (17 IP, 5.29 ERA, 10 K, 13 BB) on Saturday and sophomore RHP Alex Petrovic (18.2 IP, 4.34 ERA, 25 K, 4 BB) on Sunday. It’s a surprising, unproven trio.

Teams have shown that you don’t need a true ace to succeed, but you do need someone that can give you some sort of length while keeping damage to a minimum on a semi-consistent basis. Auburn has a couple candidates, but a lack of surefire arms lowers its preseason ceiling.

Florida: Do Kurland and Jones have comeback POTY campaigns?

On paper, Florida’s lineup feels lackluster compared to some of its compatriots that are expected to compete at the top of the league. Star third baseman Brendan Lawson will lead the charge, but UF could really use big seasons from two starters returning from injury.

Redshirt junior second baseman Cade Kurland and redshirt sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones both barely saw the field last season, playing just 14 and four games, respectively. Season-ending shoulder surgery sidelined both.

For Kurland, staying healthy this season is especially imperative. After a Freshman All-American season in 2023, in which he hit 17 home runs and drove in 50 runs, he’s been hurt. He played a majority of the 2024 season with a right-hand injury and still hit 14 bombs.

Then came last season’s shoulder injury, which looks to be in the past. He then missed a good chunk of this preseason with an oblique injury. All indications are he’ll be in the lineup against UAB this Friday.

Florida is better when Kurland is in the lineup, full stop. It doesn’t feel like Florida can afford to lose him for a long period of time again in 2026.

Jones transferred in from Stetson last season. His freshman year with the Hatters saw him slash .355/.459/.476 with 15 doubles, five homers, 32 RBI and 23 stolen bases. He’s also got a great glove and will slot back in at center field this spring.

The Gators are already down an outfielder for the season, as stud Jacksonville transfer Jaden Bastian, who was likely to slot into the starting lineup, suffered a leg fracture during a fall scrimmage.

If Kurland and Jones remain on the field and contribute, then UF’s offense adds a much-needed layer. Time will tell.

Georgia: Wes Johnson finally has the pitching talent. What now?

In fairness, Georgia’s pitching outlook is far different than Auburn’s. The Bulldogs’ top-ranked transfer portal class — per 64Analytics — has been well-documented, and the big-time arms headline the haul.

Lackluster pitching has killed the Bulldogs in the first two seasons of Wes Johnson’s tenure. We enter year three asking similar questions, but different answers are expected this time around.

Stanford RHP transfers Joey Volchko (70.1 IP, 6.01 ERA, 56 K, 34 BB) and Matt Scott (52.1 IP, 6.02 ERA, 56 K, 22 BB) ranked as 64Analytics’ No. 2 and No. 5 overall players in the portal.

Michigan RHP transfer Dylan Vigue (59.1 IP, 4.25 ERA, 51 K, 42 BB), USC RHP transfer Caden Aoki (97 IP, 3.99 ERA, 90 K, 14 BB) and Seattle two-way lefty transfer Kenny Ishikawa (66.1 IP, 4.21 ERA, 73 K, 22 BB) all check in as top-100 transfers.

Of those five arms, how many boom and how many bust? The answer to that question likely tells us how Georgia’s 2026 season goes.

Volchko, Scott and Vigue all fit under the same umbrella, to an extent. The arsenal is electric, but command can be hard to come by. Aoki has been the polar opposite, but does he throw too many strikes? Ishikawa is the ultimate wildcard, as he hopes to pitch on weekends while also playing center field and hitting leadoff for the Bulldogs.

Johnson has long been considered one of the best pitching coaches in the business. He now has the weaponry to build a staunch rotation. Does he get the best out of this bunch?

Kentucky: Did you strike gold in the portal once again?

No SEC team has a more identifiable playstyle than Kentucky. Nick Mingione loves sifting through the transfer portal and finding gritty, lionhearted players who do the little things right.

No program has a 100-percent hit rate in the portal, but UK has certainly connected more times than not over the last few seasons. Is that the case once again in 2026? Preseason indications suggest the answer is yes.

After over 170 games at Indiana, senior transfer Tyler Cerny (.281/.386/.517) is in Lexington and is shifting from shortstop to third base. He brought a consistent bat to the Hoosiers, hitting 10 homers in each of his three years in Bloomington. He’s also got 47 doubles to his name and will be a welcome presence next to star shortstop Tyler Bell.

Senior USC Upstate transfer Scott Campbell (.388/.498/.622) and junior St. Bonaventure transfer Jayce Tharnish (.403/.461/.597) are expected to start in center and left field, respectively. Both mashed against subpar pitching and now get to test themselves in the SEC. Expect great defense in the big Kentucky Proud Park outfield, too.

In the bullpen, junior Grand Canyon RHP transfer Connor Mattison (33.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 41 K, 10 BB) ranked as the No. 15 player in the portal, per 64Analytics.

It remains to be seen who the high-leverage arms will be for the Wildcats, but Mattison, senior New Orleans RHP transfer Ira Austin (30 IP, 3.90 ERA, 34 K, 23 BB) and sophomore North Florida RHP transfer Bryson Treichel (61.2 IP, 5.25 ERA, 74 K, 24 BB) are among those that figure to play some sort of prominent role.

UK’s 13-man portal class checked in at No. 8 nationally. Mingione and Co. aren’t catching anyone off guard anymore, but don’t be shocked if it’s the newcomers that take this group back to the top half of the SEC.

LSU: Do you have another dynasty on your hands?

It’s well-documented that returning to Omaha after making it the previous season is no easy task. It’s obviously even harder to win the College World Series in back-to-back seasons. South Carolina was the last to do it in 2010-11.

If there is a team that’s equipped to pull it off, it’s 2026 LSU. The No. 2 team in Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25, Jay Johnson’s Tigers enter this season as a clear favorite to win more hardware.

Just Baseball’s Preseason SEC Player of the Year in sophomore CF Derek Curiel (.345/.470/.519), fellow returning outfielders Jake Brown (.320/.407/.528) and Chris Stanfield (.298/.414/.404), as well as junior shortstop Steven Milam (.295/.398/.506) help create a deep returning core that’ll buoy the lineup.

Senior Grand Canyon transfer Zach Yorke (.339/.447/.632) takes over at first base, while junior Oregon State transfer Trent Caraway (.267/.350/.470) will star at third. Yorke was 64Analytics’ No. 21 player in the transfer portal and has 157 career RBI under his belt.

Frankly, there are no holes in the lineup. On the mound, there are questions to be asked, but the talent is clearly there in bunches, too.

Sophomore RHP Casan Evans (52.2 IP, 2.05 ERA, 71 K, 19 BB) will lead the pack and could be the best starting arm in the conference by season’s end. Senior RHP Zac Cowan (52 IP, 2.94 ERA, 60 K, 12 BB) can already make the same claim when it comes to the league’s best reliever. You can go on and on about this roster and what it looks to be capable of.

Last season, Texas A&M proved to be a cautionary tale about preseason rankings and labels before taking the field. It would be a shock to see LSU go down that same path this spring, but anything is possible.

Assuming that won’t be the case and the Tigers look the part once more, they could have a real shot to win a third College World Series in four seasons. Skip Bertman infamously won five titles in 10 years in Baton Rouge from 1991-2000 — one of the greatest feats this sport has ever seen.

There’s a long way to go, and Johnson wouldn’t give a comparison of that magnitude the time of day, but if LSU could somehow climb the mountain again this season, then it would certainly cement another historic run in this program’s illustrious history.

Mississippi State: How do the Virginia transfers fare?

New Mississippi State head coach Brian O’Connor has been around long enough to duck the “just means more” banter that often circulates new blood entering SEC waters for the first time.

But what about the five players that followed O’Connor from Virginia to Starkville?

In the outfield, redshirt junior Aidan Teel (.317/.442/.538) will roam center while sophomore James Nunnallee (.296/.407/.401) occupies one of the corners. Teel is the headliner and is coming off a 40-RBI season where he walked (31) more times than he struck out (30). Nunnallee had an impressive fall and now feels like much safer of a bet to break out this season. Both bring solid left-handed bats to the equation.

Sophomore utility infielder Chone James (.373/.455/.478 in 26 games) will prove valuable as the season treks on. Catcher and second base are the two positions he’s most comfortable at, and the swing looked rock-solid in 77 plate appearances as a freshman for UVA.

On the mound, sophomore LHP Tomas Valincius (64.2 IP, 4.59 ERA, 70 K, 17 BB) has been announced as MSU’s Sunday starter vs. Hofstra this weekend. He was 64Analytics’ No. 8 overall player in the portal. It remains to be seen what role redshirt freshman LHP William Kirk will carve out for himself. Injury kept the touted recruit out of action in 2025.

This quintet will likely accumulate meaningful at-bats and innings for the Bulldogs, who begin the year as the No. 3 team in Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25.

Spending time at a big ACC program like Virginia eases most worries about transitioning to the SEC, but Mississippi State is different. Dudy Noble Field will be rocking from the jump, and the MSU faithful is in dire need of good baseball in 2026. Eyes will be on the former Hoos early and often.

Missouri: What does success look like in 2026?

If I delivered a hot take declaring Missouri as a surprise tournament team this season, would you believe me?

Yeah, I wouldn’t believe me, either. That’s not meant to be a slap in the face of this program, but it is simply the reality of where things stand for head coach Kerrick Jackson and Co. as his Tigers take on Mt. Saint Mary’s in Florida this weekend.

Mizzou last made a regional since 2012, its final year in the Big 12. Last season was a new low, as it finished 16-39, winning just three SEC games, all of which came in the same weekend against Texas A&M.

We all know that Jackson and this program are fighting an uphill battle on multiple fronts. The problems run deeper than just playing subpar baseball. The record at the end of the season still speaks volumes, though.

So, with Jackson on the hot seat and Mizzou staring another disparaging season in the face, what does success actually look like in Columbia this spring?

First things first: mow through the weak non-conference schedule. Mizzou will play one game against a team that finished with a winning record last season — Florida Atlantic next Tuesday, Feb. 17 — before SEC play gets underway.

From there, find a way to stay competitive as SEC play drags on. Don’t get swept at home and stay pesky on the road. Easy for the guy behind the keyboard to say, I know, but it’s the self-inflicted wounds that hurt the most, and Mizzou seems to be into masochism.

Mizzou should feel like it’s already playing with house money. Expectations can’t get much lower, so go play hard for your teammates and shock a few fans along the way.

Oklahoma: What exactly will your identity be?

In the three seasons since losing to Ole Miss in the final of the 2022 College World Series, Oklahoma hasn’t missed the postseason, but it also hasn’t won another regional. Its first season in the SEC wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.

There’s a “comme ci, comme ça” feel to Sooners baseball entering this season. When breaking down the roster and season outlook from a 30,000-foot view, shoulder shrugs feel appropriate.

What will Oklahoma do better than its counterparts in the SEC?

Sure, junior shortstop Jaxon Willits (.302/.409/.495) and sophomore second baseman Kyle Branch (.288/.357/.365) are an underrated middle infield duo. Yes, junior center fielder Jason Walk (.267/.386/.475) and senior left fielder Trey Gambill (.285/.445/.414) will get on base and swipe plenty of bags.

I’ll even buy that junior Wichita State transfer Camden Johnson (.325/.402/.433) blossoms in a big way at third base. Can that crew hang with the majority of the SEC if it gets into a slugfest? I’m skeptical.

Replacing an entire weekend rotation isn’t exactly easy, either. Junior LHP Cam Johnson (21 IP, 5.57 ERA, 24 K, 25 BB) will take the ball on Friday at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington. OU has no shortage of arms, but there’s a dangerous level of unknown within the group.

I’ll admit that asking about identity before a pitch has been thrown isn’t fair to head coach Skip Johnson and his players, but it does reiterate the middling whereabouts that Oklahoma finds itself in heading into this year.

Preseason projections and rankings have varied amongst media outlets, further making the Sooners one of the bigger “I don’t knows” in college baseball. They get a chance to make an early statement with games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU this weekend.

Ole Miss: Have we underrated you once again?

Back in November, I wrote about Ole Miss and its impressive 2025 season (43-21, 16-14 SEC) that defied preseason expectations — it was picked to finish next-to-last in the conference.

Are we not in a familiar position with the 2026 season set to start in a couple of days?

The Rebels were tabbed to finish 10th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll and are popping up in a few preseason rankings across various outlets. That’s a step up from last February, but it still doesn’t seem like many are considering the Rebels as a legitimate threat to make some noise in the SEC this time around.

I’m not here to suggest you buy stock in Ole Miss, but I’ll toss these two stats at you once more:

• Junior left-hander Hunter Elliott (85.2 IP, 2.94 ERA, 102 K, 40 BB) is the only returning pitcher in the country who struck out 100-plus batters and won 10 games last season. 
• Senior third baseman Judd Utermark (.294/.376/.599) and junior catcher Austin Fawley (.256/.386/.648) make Ole Miss the only program in the nation to bring a pair of 20-homer hitters back for 2026.

Now, of course, those are just three players. Who Ole Miss rolls out to the mound after Elliott on Saturdays and Sundays remains to be seen. The Rebels certainly aren’t as deep as others in the league with higher expectations.

That said, I think this offense will surprise people in 2026. Expect Ole Miss to slug its way to plenty of wins, even against one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

Senior Illinois State transfer Daniel Pacella (.355/429/.714) will man a corner outfield spot and has 48 career homers. Junior Murray State transfer Dom Decker (.351/.496/.464) takes over second base after upsetting the Rebels in Oxford last season. Returning senior Will Furniss (.305/.424/.517) is quietly one of the best first basemen in the SEC.

This is year No. 26 for head coach Mike Bianco in Oxford. He knows a thing or two about winning, and his team should enter this season with another chip on its shoulder.

South Carolina: Is the writing on the wall?

Year one of the Paul Mainieri era in Columbia was an abject disaster. South Carolina finished 28-29 (6-24 SEC). The bar is low entering year two, but so are the expectations.

The Gamecocks are the unanimous pick to finish in 15th in the league, ahead of only Missouri. This is a program that’s far too respected to be in this position, but it’s the reality of the situation.

Star junior LHP Jake McCoy (60 IP, 6.90 ERA, 77 K, 40 BB) underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Junior Florida RHP transfer Alex Philpott (37 IP, 7.30 ERA, 44 K, 18 BB) is expected to miss at least the first few weeks of the season with an arm injury.

Sophomore first baseman Beau Hollins (.308/.379/.491) has been battling a shoulder injury and didn’t participate in preseason scrimmages until Feb. 6. Sophomore shortstop KJ Scobey (.257/.348/.419) had an injury scare of his own last week but appears ready to roll for opening day.

The bell hasn’t even rang, yet the Gamecocks are already sporting a few welts. Is this a sign of what’s to come on the field?

The Clemson series from Feb. 27-March 1 will be the first big test — the Tigers swept the Gamecocks last season. In SEC action, eight of USC’s 10 series will come against teams ranked in Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25.

Good luck.

Tennessee: How apparent will the absence of Tony Vitello be?

Tony Vitello helped bring Tennessee a national championship and quickly became one of the most well-known and polarizing head coaches in college baseball. He is now the manager of the San Francisco Giants.

It’s been a few months since that happened, so go ahead and read that again. Tennessee lost its head coach to an MLB team during fall ball. The Vols were put in an unprecedented spot. Luckily, they had a ready-made replacement.

Josh Elander learned under Vitello and now takes the reins. It’s important to note that Vitello wasn’t the only departure from the staff, and there are plenty of new faces around, too. That isn’t changing the confidence that’s surrounding this program heading into 2026.

Tennessee checks in at No. 11 in Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25. It won’t be surprising if the Vols click and look the part from the jump, but what if they don’t?

The second that a weekend gets away from the Vols, there will be hundreds on social media that race to point out the absence of Vitello, a charismatic figure that drew eyes toward the dugout. His presence no longer being at Lindsey Nelson Stadium will take some getting used to.

Elander, despite being Vitello’s right-hand man for some time, is not as boisterous. So, if the Vols struggle this season, will it feel like something is missing?

That’s of course not on the mind of Elander and his players, but it will surely be a talking point for some throughout the year. Winning baseball games will render that conversation moot.

Texas: How do you handle your embarrassment of riches on the mound?

It’s no secret that Texas enters this season with the deepest pitching corps in the SEC.

Head coach Jim Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner truly have no shortage of options when it comes to weekend starters. There are at least seven arms that have been in contention for the three spots.

The big talking point revolves around star sophomore LHP Dylan Volantis (51 IP, 1.94 ERA, 74 K, 12 BB), the 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-American. After dominating in relief last season, Volantis is making the move to a starting role and will take the ball on Sunday against UC Davis.

Volantis’ ceiling is sky-high, but we’ve seen the transition from relief to starting not go well for plenty in the past. The good thing for Texas, however, is it really doesn’t need Volantis to start games if he needs to go back to a high-leverage bullpen role.

Fifth-year senior LHP Luke Harrison (70.2 IP, 3.06 ERA, 72 K, 24 BB) was labeled by Schlossnagle last week as the lone shoo-in to start opening weekend. He’ll get the ball Saturday and now has 60 appearances and over 115 career innings in burnt orange.

Two more versatile lefties in junior Wake Forest transfer Haiden Leffew (34.1 IP, 4.46 ERA, 59 K, 18 BB) and junior Kade Bing (40 IP, 3.15 ERA, 23 K, 9 BB) have starting experience and will play big roles in some facet.

On the right side, sophomore Jason Flores (32.1 IP, 2.78 ERA, 27 K, 10 BB) started Texas’ alumni game and looks in line for a breakout season. Senior Ruger Riojas (69 IP, 5.61 ERA, 62 K, 21 BB) stepped up in a big way last year as the Longhorns battled injury. On Wednesday, he was surprisingly named Texas’ Friday-night starter.

Don’t count out stud freshman RHP Michael Winter, either. Whoever lands in the bullpen will join an elite cast that features senior RHP Max Grubbs (57 IP, 2.84 ERA, 61 K, 14 BB) and junior RHP Thomas Burns (26.2 IP, 3.71 ERA, 40 K, 16 BB).

Will Texas give Volantis a long leash to figure things out as a starter? Will it have a weekend rotation nailed down by SEC play? Whichever way things shake out, it likely ends up in good shape on the bump. There’s a great blend of velocity, funk, veterans and newcomers in this group.

Texas A&M: How much improvement is enough to steady the waters?

In case you missed it last season, Texas A&M began the year as the consensus preseason No. 1 team in the nation, but stumbled to a 30-26 (11-19 SEC) record and missed the field of 64. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Michael Earley, were the biggest disappointment in college baseball.

Last week, they were selected to finish 13th in the SEC by the league’s coaches. That feels like a bit of an overcorrection, but the skepticism surrounding this program is more than fair, considering how shocking last season went.

A&M’s lineup will feature multiple Preseason Just Baseball All-Americans in junior outfielder Caden Sorrell (.337/.430/.789), as well as junior infielders Gavin Grahovac (.227/.346/.545 in six games) and coveted Maryland transfer Chris Hacopian (.375/.502/.656). There will be some serious thump at the top.

Sophomore outfielder Terrence Kiel II (.294/.388/.388) is a consummate glue guy, while junior catcher Bear Harrison (.254/.417/.522) returns after making 42 starts a year ago. The pieces are there.

Like many others in the conference, pitching is a bit of a concern. A&M has to replace an entire weekend rotation and will lean on redshirt junior LHP Shane Sdao (injured in 2025) and junior RHP Weston Moss (48 IP, 3.19 ERA, 50 K, 18 BB), among others.

The Aggies checked in at No. 20 in Just Baseball’s Preseason Top 25. The roster is more than capable of competing in the top half of the SEC, and the schedule is favorable. Bringing a regional back to Blue Bell Park should be within reach.

If A&M careens toward another subpar season, however, then College Station will quickly become a pressure cooker. Earley’s seat is already warm after a catastrophic first year in charge. A consequential spring awaits Aggies baseball.

Vanderbilt: How will this season be different?

For better or for worse, Vanderbilt baseball has been consistent.

Legendary Commodores head coach Tim Corbin enters his 24th season in charge in Nashville, and by all accounts, his 2026 squad will look awfully familiar to many others. That will garner different reactions from different people.

Some will recall Vandy’s 43-18 (19-11 SEC) record and No. 1 overall seed in the tournament a year ago and get excited. Some will recall their 66 home runs as a team — tied for the 108th-most in the nation — and sigh.

Since returning to Omaha in 2021, the Commodores have crashed out of a regional in each of the last four seasons. They were bested by Wright State on their home field to end last season.

Many are quick to tie Vandy’s new batch of postseason shortcomings to a lack of physicality and pop. It has been well-documented that the ‘Dores’ power has regressed each of the last four seasons while home run numbers continue to tick up across the nation. That has bitten them when the lights get bright.

Corbin does have five trips to the College World Series and two titles under his belt, but the game continues to evolve. As of late, Vanderbilt has not. It could really use a big postseason run this year.

The road there will likely look and sound similar — hello, Vandy Whistler — but will that yield a different result come June?