CollegeBaseball360’s exclusive Composite National Rankings (CNR) have returned for the 2011 season, with 2010 College World Series runner-up UCLA holding down the top spot heading into the opening weekend of play. Other teams in the top-10 of the 2011 initial CNR include: Florida, TCU, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Texas, Clemson, Cal State Fullerton, South Carolina and Arizona State. The top-10 includes three Southeastern Conference teams, plus two teams each from the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences. (front-page photo courtesy of Vanderbilt)
The CNR’s all-inclusive ranking formula – which will expand significantly as the season progresses (adding RPI/power rankings, NCAA projections, etc.) – currently includes seven different “ingredients:” six national polls (coaches, writers, BA, CB, Perfect Game, & CBL) and a small potential bonus, based on projected strength-of-schedule.
Scroll to end of release for detailed description of the CNR, including direct links to current criteria.
CNR Contact: Pete LaFleur (pete@collegebaseball360.com)
CNR TOP-50 CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN (2011 preseason)
ACC (8 … 1 top-10, 5 top-25) – #7 Clemson, #12 Florida State, #15 Virginia, #20 Miami, #23 Georgia Tech, #30 North Carolina, #45 Virginia Tech & #48 North Carolina State
Pacific-10 (8 … 2 top-10, 6 top-25) – #1 UCLA, #10 Arizona State, #11 Oregon, #13 Stanford, #18 Arizona, #24 California, #34 Washington State & #44 Oregon State
SEC (8 … 3 top-10, 5 top-25) – #2 Florida, #4 Vanderbilt, #9 South Carolina, #19 LSU, #22 Auburn, #29 Arkansas, #37 Alabama & #43 Mississippi
Big 12 (5 … 2 top-10, 4 top-25) – #5 Oklahoma, #6 Texas, #14 Texas A&M, #25 Baylor & #40 Kansas State
BIG EAST (4 … 1 top-25) – #16 Connecticut, #27 Louisville, #31 St. John’s & #39 Pittsburgh
Conference USA (4 … 1 top-25) – #17 Rice, #38 Tulane, #46 Southern Mississippi & #47 Central Florida
2 Each – Big South (#21 Coastal Carolina & #48 Liberty) … Big West (#8 Cal State Fullerton & #28 UC Irvine) … … Western Athletic (#32 Fresno State, #41 Hawaii)
1 Each – Big Ten (#48 Minnesota) … Mid-American (#42 Kent State) … Missouri Valley (#33 Wichita State) … Mountain West (#3 TCU) … Southern (#26 College of Charleston) … Sunbelt (#35 Florida Atlantic) … West Coast (#36 San Diego)
BIGGEST JUMPS IN THE CNR (from end of 2010 regular season to 2011 preseason) – Stanford (#32 to #13) … Baylor (#43 to #25) … California (#41 to #24) … LSU (#34 to #19) … Clemson (#21 to #7) … Texas A&M (#27 to #14) … Vanderbilt (#16 to #4) … and Arizona (#30 to #18)
BIGGEST DROPS IN THE CNR (from end of 2010 regular season to 2011 preseason) – Louisville (#7 to #27) … Mississippi (#23 to #43) … Virginia Tech (#25 to #45) … Coastal Carolina (#4 to #21) … Arkansas (#13 to #29) … Georgia Tech (#8 to #23) … San Diego (#21 to #36) … and Virginia (#3 to #15)
NEWCOMERS/RETURNERS TO THE CNR (not in CNR top-50 at end of 2010 regular season) – #31 St. John’s, #32 Fresno State, #33 Wichita State, #38 Tulane, #41 Hawaii, #42 Kent State, #46 Southern Mississipi, #47 Central Florida and #48 Minnesota
DROPPED OUT OF THE CNR TOP-50 (from end of 2010 regular season) – #33 Louisiana-Lafayette, #36 Florida Gulf Coast, #38 New Mexico, #39 Citadel, #44 Elon, #45 Kentucky, #46 Texas State, #47 Western Kentucky and #50 Southeastern Louisiana
College Baseball 2011 Composite National Rankings #1 (CNR)
courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com; 2011 preseason
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | FINAL 2010 CNR RANK (end reg.-season) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | 98.24 | 6 |
| 2 | Florida | 97.79 | 5 |
| 3 | TCU | 95.64 | 11 |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | 94.95 | 16 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 92.83 | 15 |
| 6 | Texas | 90.79 | 2 |
| 7 | Clemson | 90.59 | 21 |
| 8 | Cal State Fullerton | 89.93 | 9 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 89.55 | 10 |
| 10 | Arizona State | 89.15 | 1 |
| 11 | Oregon | 88.45 | 19 |
| 12 | Florida State | 87.02 | 17 |
| 13 | Stanford | 84.49 | 32 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 82.06 | 27 |
| 15 | Virginia | 81.68 | 3 |
| 16 | Connecticut | 81.47 | 18 |
| 17 | Rice | 80.19 | 22 |
| 18 | Arizona | 78.74 | 30 |
| 19 | LSU | 78.37 | 34 |
| 20 | Miami | 77.82 | 12 |
| 21 | Coastal Carolina | 70.84 | 4 |
| 22 | Auburn | 69.29 | 14 |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 68.33 | 8 |
| 24 | California | 66.32 | 41 |
| 25 | Baylor | 63.65 | 43 |
| 26 | College of Charleston | 63.31 | 28 |
| 27 | Louisville | 62.14 | 7 |
| 28 | UC Irvine | 59.35 | 26 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 59.06 | 13 |
| 30 | North Carolina | 58.91 | 31 |
| 31 | St. John's | 58.01 | NR |
| 32 | Fresno State | 57.21 | NR |
| 33 | Wichita State | 52.58 | NR |
| 34 | Washington State | 52.19 | 24 |
| 35 | Florida Atlantic | 50.20 | 35 |
| 36 | San Diego | 49.47 | 20 |
| 37 | Alabama | 48.14 | 29 |
| 38 | Tulane | 47.72 | NR |
| 39 | Pittsburgh | 46.56 | 42 |
| 40 | Kansas State | 45.38 | 37 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 44.79 | NR |
| 42 | Kent State | 44.60 | NR |
| 43 | Mississippi | 43.92 | 23 |
| 44 | Oregon State | 43.70 | 40 |
| 45 | Virginia Tech | 41.84 | 25 |
| 46 | Southern Mississippi | 40.95 | NR |
| 47 | Central Florida | 40.95 | NR |
| 48 | Minnesota | 40.51 | NR |
| 48 | North Carolina State | 40.51 | 48 |
| 48 | Liberty | 40.51 | 49 |
…
COMPOSITE NATIONAL RANKINGS (CNR) CRITERIA: CB360’s 100-point Composite National Rankings formula currently is centered around seven core ingredients but in upcoming weeks will include upwards of 20 different factors – ultimately combining a diverse collection of “experts” (ranging from coaches, various media, computer calculations and projections) – to help provide a preview of teams that could be in the running for the 2011 NCAA Championship field (hypothetically 50 teams, plus 14 others from lower-rated automatic-bid conferences – those teams will be projected in upcoming CNR updates).
Teams receive points based on their standings in each poll/rating/projection (60 pts for #1; 59 for #2, etc.). For polls involving voting points (coaches and CB) and the RPI ratings, the CNR adjusts to reward teams that have larger margins in the voting/point totals (whereas two teams with nearly the same voting-point total will be closer in the CNR allotment for that poll). Note that strength-of-schedule typically is factored into RPI formulations … thus the actual SOS numbers are not used in the CNR when RPI already are in the mix. For the NCAA field projections, teams will be awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.
Currently, the six polls listed below are averaged, with a maximum of 3.0 points able to be added based on projected strength-of-schedule (37 points then are added to each total in order to yield the 100-point benchmark). The CB360 Composite National Rankings will add factors to the formula through the 2011 season, with the additions to include various RPI/power rankings, NCAA Tournament projections and a late-season bonus/penalty for record over the past-10 games.
Here are links to the seven criteria currently used in the CNR:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN)
• Nat’l Collegiate Baseball Writers poll
• Baseball America poll
• Colllegiate Baseball magazine rankings
• Perfect Game rankings
• College Baseball Lineup rankings
• Boyds World Projected Strength-of-Schedule