Frogs Hop To Top of CB360 Preseason 2017 Composite National Rankings

The CB360 Composite National Ranking (CNR) – a statistical formula created in 2009 and enhanced over the years by CollegeBaseball360 founder Pete LaFleur – are back for a ninth season in 2017, with the usual mixture of traditional powers and upstart programs scattered through the preseason top-50.

Fourth (5th) Time Is The Charm ??: With big bopper Luken Baker (pict.) back in the fold for his sophomore season, along with several other seasoned veterans, CB360’s Composite  No. 1 TCU is hoping to get back to the College World Series for the 4th straight season (5th in past 8 years) … and this time, bring home the championship trophy. > photo courtesy TCU Athletics

(Scroll down for the full CNR preseason top-50, plus plenty of historical notes, some photos of 2017 teams/players and archived CNR preseason/final polls from 2011-16 … note that some additional photos may be added to this release).

The TCU Horned Frogs – the nation’s only team to appear in each of the past three College World Series (2014–16, plus 2010) – are the runaway No. 1 in CB360’s 2017 preseason Composite National Rankings, totaling 98.96 out of the maximum 100 points to place more than 1.3 points ahead of No. 2 Florida‘s 97.63 (the Gators were the CNR preseason #1 in both 2012 and ’16). LSU is a distant third (94.56), followed by Florida State and Vanderbilt to round out the top-5. With South Carolina occupying the No. 6 spot, four of the top-6 positions are Southeastern Conference teams. LSU, at No. 2, owns its highest spot in the CNR preseason top-50 since being No. 3 heading into the 2010 season.

The bottom half of the CNR preseason top-10 includes (6th-10th): South Carolina, Louisville, Oregon State, Coastal Carolina and Arizona. The top-10 features four SEC teams, plus two from the Atlantic Coast Conference, two Pac-12 and one each from the Big 12 and Sun Belt.

Expanding out to the top-16 (i.e. potential NCAA No. 1 seeds/likely regional hosts), there still are four SEC teams but six from the ACC (add #12 UNC, #13 Clemson, #14 NC State and #16 Virginia), plus the two Pac-12, two Big 12 (also #15 Oklahoma State), the Sun Belt’s Coastal and the Big West’s Cal State Fullerton (#11).

• FROGS KEEP HOPPING: This marks the third time over the past seven seasons that TCU has been among the top-3 in the preseason CNR, also checking in at No. 3 in both the 2011 and ’15 preseason CNR (plus #11 in 2010, #13 in ’12, #12 in ’13, #22 in ’14 and #11 in ’16). The Frogs average starting position in the CNR from 2010–17 is 9.5. TCU’s three straight CWS appearances include being a semifinalist, a.k.a. bracket finalist, in both 2015 (lost/eliminated in first game vs. Vanderbilt) and again in ’16, when they lost twice vs. eventual NCAA champ Coastal Carolina, after the Frogs had opened the CWS with two wins. Back in 2010, TCU also was a CWS bracket finalist, losing to UCLA to end its historic run that season.

TCU’s haul of four CWS appearances during the previous seven seasons (2010–16) trails only Florida (5) for the most Omaha trips during that span. Florida also owns the most CWS appearances (4; in 2011, ’12, ’15 and ’16) spanning the previous six seasons (2011–16), followed by three each by TCU, Vanderbilt and Virginia.

• SEC AMONG TOP SPOTS: This marks only the second time over the past six seasons (also Cal State Fullerton in 2014) that a team outside the Southeastern Conference has occupied the top spot in the CB360 preseason CNR top-50 (Florida in 2012 & ’16; Arkansas ’13; Vanderbilt ’15). Since 2010, when Texas held the top spot, Florida is the only team that has been #1 in the CNR preseason top-50 more than once. UCLA sat atop the preseason CNR in 2011.

The 2016 preseason CNR remains the only time over the past eight seasons (2010–17) that three teams from the same conference have occurred the top-3 spots: Florida, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M (all from the SEC, as was #5 LSU in that 2016 preseason CNR).

In a sampling of the 2010-17 CNR preseason top-50, it has been somewhat rare for even two teams from the same conference to be among the top-3. Spanning this eight-year span, there have been only three years with two of the top-3 teams in the CNR preseason top-50 from the same conference: 2012 (Florida and South Carolina), 2013 (Arkansas and Vanderbilt) and 2017 (Florida and LSU). From 2011-17, Florida leads the way with being a CNR preseason top-3 in four different seasons, followed by TCU and Vanderbilt with three each. Cal State Fullerton, LSU and Virginia each have been top-3 in two CNR preseason rankings since 2010, with one each for Texas, UCLA, South Carolina, Stanford, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oregon State and Texas A&M.

• CNR PRESEASON TOP-3 HISTORY: See listing below for how the CNR preseason top-3 have shaken out over the past eight seasons. Note that Virginia, in 2015, is the only eventual CWS champion among the 21 teams on this list from 2010–16 … while four different CWS runner-up teams have come from the CNR preseason top-3 during the previous six seasons alone (Florida ’11; South Carolina ’12; UVa ’14; Vanderbilt ’15). All told, four of the previous seven seasons of the CNR have included at least one of the CWS finalists among the CNR preseason top-3 (all but 2010, ’13 and ’16). The 2015 preseason CNR projected both of the CWS finalists among the preseason top-3 (UVa at #2 and Vandy #1):

2010: [1] Texas … [2] LSU … [3] Cal State Fullerton
2011: [1] UCLA … [2] Florida# … [3] TCU
2012: [1] Florida … [2] South Carolina# … [3] Stanford
2013: [1] Arkansas … [2] North Carolina … [3] Vanderbilt
2014: [1] Cal State Fullerton … [2] Oregon State … [3] Virginia#
2015: [1] Vanderbilt# … [2] Virginia* … [3] TCU
2016: [1] Florida … [2] Vanderbilt … [3] Texas A&M
2017: [1] TCU … [2] Florida … [3] LSU
* = won CWS title   #=CWS runner-up

CB360’s CNR FORMULA for the 2017 preseason includes the following 11 elements:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN; 54 total teams)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll (68 total teams)
• DIBaseball.com preseason top-25, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Baseball America top-25 poll
• Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings (preseason top-40)
• Perfect Game preseason rankings (30 total teams)
• Massey preseason computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• Moore preseason computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• DISportsNet computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• Projected season strength of schedule (per Massey; bonus points, max. 1.0)
• Assorted Conference preseason coaches polls (bonus points, max. 1.0)
> SEC … ACC … Pac-12 … Big 12 … Big Ten … Big West … C-USA
AAC … MVC … Mt West … Sun Belt … Colonial … WCC  … Southland … Horizon

Note: scroll down near bottom of this page for complete 2017 preseason CB360 Top-50 – plus the final 2014, 2015 and 2016 CB360 Top-50 (mid-May, prior to postseason) and the preseason Top-50 for each of the previous seven seasons (2010–16).

NEAR-UNANIMOUS #1 – TCU came up 1.04 points shy of the maximum 100 in the 2017 preseason CNR (98.96), due mostly to not receiving all of the first-place votes in the ABCA preseason coaches poll (but still being No. 1). The Frogs received 24 of the 31 first-place votes in the coaches poll, with the rest going to Florida (4), LSU (2) and Coastal Carolina (1). TCU was No. 1 in six of the eight other preseason national polls/rankings listed above: all but the Moore Power Rankings, #3 behind Florida and Vanderbilt, along with being #2 in the Massey Power Rankings behind Texas A&M. The Frogs also are #1 in the Big 12 Coaches Poll but checked in at #17 in projected season strength of schedule, per Massey (these two elements play a smaller part in the CNR formula).

• PROJECTING THE POSTSEASON ELITE – Based on the preseason CNR, the following eight teams project to be NCAA tournament seeds (and, if form holds, 2017 CWS participants): TCU, Florida, LSU, Florida State, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Louisville and Oregon State. The CNR projects those eight teams plus the following eight as 2017 NCAA Regional No. 1 seeds/likely hosts: Coastal Carolina, Arizona, Cal State Fullerton, North Carolina, Clemson, NC State, Oklahoma State and Virginia.

The eight projected NCAA seeds/CWS participants include four SEC teams, two ACC, one Big 12 and one Pac-12. The 16 projected NCAA Regional hosts include six ACC, four SEC, two each from the Pac-12 and Big 12, plus one Big West and one Sun Belt.

> One year ago (per the preseason CNR), these eight projected to be 2016 NCAA tournament seeds and CWS participants: Florida, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Virginia & Oregon St (only Florida and Miami made it to Omaha). The CNR projected those eight teams plus the following eight as 2016 NCAA Regional hosts: UCLA, Oklahoma St, TCU, Cal, Florida St, Oregon, La.-Lafayette and CS Fullerton (OK St. and TCU did one step better, making it to the ’16 CWS). … The eight projected 2016 NCAA seeds/CWS participants included four SEC teams, three ACC and one Pac-12. The 16 projected NCAA Regional hosts included four each from the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 (plus two Big 12, and one each from the Sun Belt and Big West).

> And two years back, the 2015 preseason CNR proved to be incredibly accurate, as the preseason #1 and #2 (Vanderbilt and Virginia) both reached the CWS finals (won by UVa), while the CNR preseason #3 teams TCU and Florida both ended up reaching the CWS semifinals/bracket finales. The #5 team in the preseason CNR (LSU) also made it all the way to Omaha in 2015 … but the #6-#8 teams were knocked off in earlier rounds (UCLA, Oklahoma State and Houston). … Among the “second eight” (9th-16th) in the 2015 preseason CNR, Cal State Fullerton joined the #1-#5 teams at the 2015 CWS (as did Miami, #18 in the preseason CNR, and Arkansas, which opened the ’15 season all the way down at #36 in the CNR top-50).

… SURPRISE CHAMPIONS – In recent years, college baseball has been a volatile sport, both in the regular season and the NCAA Tournament. In fact, four of the past six teams that were preseason No. 1 in the CNR – UCLA (2011), Florida (’12), Arkansas (’13) and Cal State Fullerton (’14) – failed to ultimately even reach the CWS for that season … Vanderbilt was a 2015 CWS participant (runner-up), after being the CNR preseason #1, while Florida similarly was the 2016 CNR preseason #1 and ended up reaching the CWS.

Here’s where the past seven CWS champions were ranked in the preseason CNR for that season (only two top-8 and four top-10, with an avg. rank of 12.9 – essentially projecting a little off the fringe for even making the CWS for that season):
• [CNR preseason #20] South Carolina (2010)
• [9] South Carolina (2011)
• [14] Arizona (2012)
• [5] UCLA (2013)
• [10] Vanderbilt (2014)
• [2] Virginia (2015)
• [30] Coastal Carolina (2016)

… And here are the teams that have been CWS runner-up during the past seven seasons, preceded by where they ranked in the preseason CNR for that season (interesting to note that four in a five-year span all were among the top-3 in the preseason CNR, before Arizona rose from outside the preseason top-50 to reach the CWS finals):
• [CNR preseason #25] UCLA (2010)
• [2] Florida (2011)
• [2] South Caraolina (2012)
• [13] Mississippi State (2013)
• [3] Virginia (2014)
• [1] Vanderbilt (2015)
• [X] Arizona (2016)

SET UP FOR OMAHA? – Preseason hype, more often than not, does not predict actual postseason glory … here’s a look at recent CNR Preseason Top-8 teams that have ended up in the CWS later that season (avg. of only 2.6 per year, including only one of the preseason top-8 in 2010 and again in 2014, with a high of five in 2015):

2010 CWS– only one team: CNR preseason #7 Florida State
(did not reach CWS: 1–Texas, 2–LSU, 3–Fullerton, 4–Virginia, 5–UC Irvine, 6–Rice, 8–Georgia Tech)
2011– three teams: CNR preseason #2 Florida, (4) Vanderbilt & (6) Texas
(did not reach CWS: 1–UCLA, 3–TCU, 5–OU, 7–Clemson, 8–CSF)
2012– three teams: (1) Florida, (2) South Carolina & (8) Arkansas
(did not reach CWS: 3–Stanford, 4–UNC, 5–A&M, 6–Rice, 7–Texas)
2013– three teams: (2) North Carolina, (4) LSU & (5) UCLA
(did not reach CWS: 1–Arkansas, 3–Vandy, 6–Stanford, 7–SC, 8–Oregon)
2014– only one team: (3) Virginia
(did not reach CWS: 1–CSF, 2–Oregon St, 4–Miss. St, 5–FSU, 6–LSU, 7–IU and 8–NC St
… the ’Pack did not even reach the NCAAs)
2015– five teams: (1) Vanderbilt, (2) Virginia, (3) TCU, (4) Florida and (5) LSU
(did not reach CWS: 6–UCLA, 7–Oklahoma State and 8–Houston)
2016– two teams: [1] Florida & [6] Miami
… plus [10] OK St, [11] TCU, [30] Coastal, [35] Texas Tech, [45] UCSB & [X] Arizona
(did not reach CWS: 2–Vanderbilt, 3–Texas A&M, 4–Louisville, 5–LSU, 7–Virginia, 8–Oregon State)

PREDICTABLY UNPREDICTABLE – Spanning the 2012-16 seasons, six different teams – Kent State (’12), Stony Brook (’12), Indiana (’13), Texas Tech (’14), UC Irvine (’14) and Arizona (’16) – reached the College World Series after not even being in the CB360 preseason top-50.

• Teams outside the CNR preseason top-8 that ultimately reached the CWS later that season, during past seven years (38 teams, or 5.4 per year, from 2010–16):

(–) Kent State, in 2012
(–) Stony Brook, in 2012
(–) Indiana, in 2013
(–) Texas Tech, in 2014
(–) UC Irvine, in 2014
(–) Arizona, in 2016
(CNR preseason #36) Arkansas, in 2015
(45) UC Santa Barbara, in 2016
(35) Texas Tech, in 2016
(32) Ole Miss, in 2014
(30) North Carolina, in 2011
(30 Coastal Carolina, in 2016
(28) Oklahoma, in 2010
(25) UCLA, in 2010
(24) California, in 2011
(23) Texas, in 2014
(22) TCU, in 2014
(20) South Carolina, in 2010
(18) Miami, in 2015
(16) UCLA, in 2012
(16) Louisville, in 2013
(16) Cal State Fullerton, in 2015
(15) Virginia, in 2011
(14) Texas A&M, in 2011
(14) Arizona, in 2012
(14) Louisville, in 2014
(13) Mississippi State, in 2013
(12) Clemson, in 2010
(12) Florida State, in 2012
(11) TCU, in 2010
(11) TCU, in 2016
(10) Arizona State, in 2010
(10) North Carolina State, in 2013
(10) Vanderbilt, in 2014
(10) Oklahoma State, in 2016
(9) Florida, in 2010
(9) South Carolina, in 2011
(9) Oregon State, in 2013
> teams listed above, by year: 7 in 2010 … 5 in 2011 … 5 in 2012 … 5 in 2013 … 7 in 2014 … 3 in 2015 … 6 in 2016 (avg. 5.4 per year; 5-plus every year from 2010-14 plus ’16)

The final CNR top-50 during the 2016 season (mid-May, prior to postseason) included 42 teams (27 of the top-28; 32 of the top-35) that ultimately earned berths in the 2016 NCAA Tournament – all except for: (23) North Carolina … (29) Michigan … (31) BYU … (36) California … (41) Oregon State … (42) Kent State … (43) Long Beach State … and (49) Creighton.

> One year earlier, the final CNR release during the 2015 season (mid-May, prior to postseason) included 38 teams that ultimately earned berths in the 2015 NCAAs – all except: (23) Nevada, (31) UNC, (32) North Florida, (33) Ohio St, (35) Irvine, (38) Ga Tech, (42) Southeastern Louisiana, (43) Michigan St, (45) So. Miss., (48) Nebraska, (49) So. Alabama & (49) Missouri. … That number (38) was down from the 42 teams, later replicated in 2016 from the final CNR top-50 release during the 2014 season (mid-May, prior to postseason) that went on to earn berths in the 2014 NCAAs – all except for: (26) Mercer, (31) West Virginia, (32) FIU, (37) USD, (38) UCF, (42) New Mexico, (44) UCSB & (47) Tennessee.

CONFERENCE CALL – Here is the breakdown, by conference (nearly half, 24, are from the Pac-12/ACC/SEC and 32 of the 50 are from these five leagues: Pac-12/ACC/SEC/Big 12/Big West):

• 9 Pac-12 teams (1 top-8; 2 top-16; 4 top-25): – (8) Oregon State, (10) Arizona, (22) Stanford,
(24) Washington, (34) Arizona State, (43) UCLA, (44) USC, (45) California & (47) Oregon
• 8 ACC teams (2 top-8; 6 top-16; 7 top-25 ) – (4) Florida State, (7) Louisville, (12) North Carolina,
(13) Clemson, (14) NC State, (16) Virginia, (19) Miami & (28) Georgia Tech
• 7 SEC teams (2 top-4; 4 top-8; 4 top-16; 6 top-25) – (2) Florida, (3) LSU, (5) Vanderbilt,
(6) South Carolina, (20) Texas A&M, (25) Ole Miss & (32) Mississippi State
• 4 Big 12 teams (2 top-16; 3 top-25): – (1) TCU, (15) Oklahoma St., (21) Texas Tech & (33) Texas
• 4 Big West teams (1 top-16; 2 top-25) – (11) Cal State Fullerton, (23) UC Santa Barbara,
(27) Long Beach St. & (50) Cal Poly
• 3 American Athletic Conf. teams (1 top-25) – (18) East Carolina, (30) Houston & (36) Tulane
• 3 Conference USA teams – (26) Rice, (38) Florida Atlantic & (42) Southern Miss.
• 3 Big Ten teams – (31) Maryland, (40) Michigan & (46) Nebraska
• 2 Sun Belt Conf. teams (1 top-16) – (9) Coastal Carolina & (17) Louisiana-Lafayette
• 2 Southland Conf. teams – (35) Sam Houston State & (49) Southeastern Louisiana
• 1 each (5 teams) – Missouri Valley (#29 Dallas Baptist) … Colonial (#37 UNC Wilmington) …
West Coast (#39 Gonzaga) … Mountain West (#41 New Mexico) … Horizon (#48 Wright State)

… The SEC total in the CNR preseason top-50 is down to seven, after 11 in each of the past three seasons for 29 total in the three-year span from 2014-16 … The ACC is 2nd with 23 preseason CNR teams over the past three seasons, followed by: Pac-12 (20), Big 12 (13), Big West (12), Big Ten (11), American Athletic (7), Conf. USA (6), Missouri Valley (5), Colonial (4), Sun Belt (4), WCC (4), Southland (3), Big South (2), Mid-American (2), Mt. West (2) and one each for the Atlantic Sun, Horizon and BIG EAST. …

> One year earlier, in 2016, here’s how the preseason CNR top-50 broke down by conference:

> And two years ago, in 2015, here’s how the preseason CNR top-50 broke down by conference:

2015 CNR PRESEASON CONFERENCE CALL – All but there of the 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference were included in the 2015 CB360 preseason top-50:

11 SEC teams (3 top-8; 4 top-16; 6 top-25) – (1) Vandy, (4) Florida, (5) LSU, (11) SC, (19) Miss. St.,
(24) Ole Miss, (30) TN, (33) A&M, (35) AL, (36) ARK and (49) Kentucky.
7 ACC teams (1 top-8; 4 top-16; 5 top-25 ) – (2) UVa, (10) Louisville, (12) UNC, (13) FSU, (18) Miami,
(27) Clemson and (39) Ga. Tech
5 Pac-12 teams (1 top-8; 2 top-16; 4 top-25): – (6) UCLA, (15) ASU, (21) Oregon, (22) Stanford
and (31) Oregon St.
4 Big 12 teams (2 top-8; 3 top-16; 4 top-25) – (3) TCU, (7) Oklahoma St., (9) Texas and (17) Texas Tech
4 Big West teams (1 top-16; 2 top-25) – (16) Fullerton, (25) UCSB, (28) Cal Poly and (41) Irvine
3 Big Ten teams (1 top-25 team) – (20) Maryland, (26) Nebraska, (37) Illinois
3 West Coast Conf. teams – (32) LMU, (45) Pepperdine and (48 ) San Diego
2 American Athletic Conf. teams (1 top-8) – (8) Houston and (38) UCF)
2 Mid-American Conf. teams – (42) Kent State and (46) Ball State
2 Missouri Valley teams – (43) Wichita State and (50) Dallas Baptist
1 each (7 teams) – Conf. USA (#14 Rice) … Atlantic Sun (#23 Kennesaw) … Big South (#29 Liberty) … Colonial (#34 Coll. Charleston) … BIG EAST (#40 St. John’s) … Southland (#44 La.-Lafayette) …
Sun Belt (#47 Sam Houston)

_______________

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES – The following 13 teams find themselves in the CB360 2017 preseason top-50, after not being in the 2016 preseason top-50:

(10) Arizona
(13) Clemson
(18) East Carolina
(22) Stanford
(24) Washington
(35) Sam Houston State
(39) Gonzaga
(41) New Mexico
(42) Southern Mississippi
(46) Nebraska
(48) Wright State
(49) Southeastern Louisiana
(50) Cal Poly

> One year previously, these 17 teams (one-third of the total) cracked the 2016 CNR preseason top-50 after not being among the 2015 preseason top-50: (12) Cal, (19) NC St., (20) USC, (26) Missouri St., (27) Mich., (30) Coastal Carolina, (33) Notre Dame, (34) Okla., (36) Indiana, (40) Tulane, (41) San Diego St., (43) Missouri, (46) FAU, (47) Auburn, (48) Iowa, (49) Long Beach St. & (50) UNCW … and two years ago, these 14 teams cracked the 2015 CNR preseason top-50 after not being among the 2014 preseason top-50: (17) Texas Tech, (20) Maryland, (23) Kennesaw, (30) Tenn., (32) LMU, (34) Charleston, (37) Illinois
(38), UCF, (40) St. John’s, (41) Irvine, (42) Kent St., (45) Pepperdine, (46) Ball St. & (50) Dallas Baptist.

… While these five teams have jumped up 17 or more spots from the 2016 preseason top-50 to the 2017 preseason top-50:

South Carolina (opened 2016 at #29 in the CNR; now starting at #6)
UC Santa Barbara (#45 to #23)
Long Beach State (#49 to #27)
Coastal Carolina (#30 to #9)
Texas Tech (#38 to #21)

> Similarly, these seven teams made big leaps from the 2015 preseason top-50 to the 2016 preseason top-50: Texas A&M (opened 2015 at #33 in the CNR; then started 2016 at #3), La.-Lafayette (#44 to #15), Oregon St (#31 to #8), NC St (#41 to #19), Dallas Baptist (#50 to #28), Arkansas (#36 to #18) & Kentucky (#49 to #32) … and two years ago, these six teams make big leaps from the 2014 preseason top-50 to the 2015 preseason top-50: Houston (#50 to #8), Stanford (#42 to #22), TCU (#22 to #3), Liberty (#45 to #29), Florida (#19 to #4) & OK St. (#20 to #7).

… And these six teams, led by four Pac-12 powers, have dropped the most from 2016 preseason to 2017 preseason (while remaining in the top-50 from one preseason to the next):

UCLA (#9 in 2016 preseason CNR; now starting 2017 at #43)
California (#12 to #45)
Oregon (#14 to #47)
USC (#20 to #44)
Texas A&M (#3 to #20)
Texas Tech (#35 to #21)

> … The previous year, these five teams dropped the most from 2015 preseason to 2016 preseason (while remaining in the top-50 from one preseason to the next): Arizona St. (#15 in 2015 preseason CNR; then started 2016 at #38), UCSB (#25 to #45), So. Carolina (#11 to #29), Texas Tech (#17 to #35) & Texas (#9 to #25) … and two years ago, these five teams had dropped 15-plus spots from the 2014 preseason top-50 to the 2015 preseason top-50: Oregon St. (#2 to #31), La.-Lafayette (#24 to #44), Fullerton (#1 to #16),
Mississippi St. (#4 to #19) & San Diego (#33 to #48).

________________

SURGING, REFOCUSING & REBUIDLING – The following 10 teams were not in the final CNR top-50 release in 2016 (mid-May, prior to postseason) but are in the 2017 preseason top-50, with several very notable programs (former CWS champs, etc.) included in this list:

(22) Stanford
(30) Houston
(31) Maryland
(33) Texas
(35) Sam Houston State
(41) New Mexico
(43) UCLA
(44) USC
(47) Oregon
(50) Cal Poly

(each of the past three years have seen 12 or 13 teams enter the preseason CNR top-50 after not being in the final regular-season CNR top-50 from the previous season)

> Back a year ago, these 13 teams cracked the 2016 preseason CNR after not being in the final (mid-May) 2015 CNR top-50): (14) Oregon, (15) La.-Lafayette, (22) Mississippi St., (25) Texas, (27) Mich., (29) So. Carolina, (32) Kentucky, (34) Okla., (35) Texas Tech, (36) Indiana, (41) San Diego St., (49) Long Beach State, (50) UNCW … going two years back, these 12 teams were in the 2015 preseason CNR after not being in the final 2014 CNR top-50: (6) UCLA, (12) UNC, (16) Fullerton, (20) Maryland, (23) Kennesaw St., (32) LMU, (34) Charleston, (37) Illinois, (40) St. John’s, (42) Kent St., (43) Wichita St. & (46) Ball St.

… And these teams have made the biggest jump while staying within the top-50, since late in the 2016 season to the 2017 preseason:
Oregon State (#41 to #8)
East Carolina (#45 to #18)
Long Beach State (#43 to #27)
UC Santa Barbara (#37 to #23)
Washington (#38 to #24)

> 12 months earlier, these teams made big jumps within the CNR top-50 (from end of 2015 regular season to 2016 preseason): Virginia (#34 to #7), NC St. (#41 to #19), Cal (#26 to #12) & Oregon St. (#21 to #8) … and two years ago, these teams made big jumps within the CNR top-50 (from end of 2014 regulars season to 2015 preseason): Arizona St. (#46 to #15), Stanford (#42 to #22) and UCSB (#44 to #25).

• On the flip side, the following 10 teams are not in the 2017 CB360 preseason top-50 but were in the final CNR top-50 late in the 2016 season (mid-May, prior to postseason):

(30) Minnesota
(31) BYU
(34) Bryant
(39) South Alabama
(42) Kent State
(44) Louisiana Tech
(46) Duke
(47) Wake Forest
(48) Ohio State
(49) Creighton

> A year ago, there were 13 teams that were in the final 2015 regular-season CNR but not in the 2016 preseason top-50: (23) Nevada, (24) Radford, (30) Oral Roberts, (32) No. Florida, (33) Ohio St., (40) Bradley, (42) Southeastern Louisiana, (43) Mich. St., (44) East Carolina, (45) So. Miss., (46) So. Florida, (48) Neb. & (49) So. Ala.
… two years ago, 12 teams that were in the top-50 of the final 2014 CNR, at end of the regular season, were not in the 2015 preseason CNR top-50: (8) Indiana, (11) Wash., (26) Mercer, (28) Indiana St., (31) West Virginia, (32) FIU, (33) UNLV, (40) Kansas, (41) Bryant, (42) New Mexico, (45) San Diego State & (48) Old Dominion
… and going three years back, 15 teams that were in the top-50 of the final 2013 reg.-season CNR were not in the 2014 preseason CNR top-50: (17) So. Alabama, (19) Va. Tech, (23) Troy, (29) Pittsburgh, (30) Campbell, (37) So. Florida, (41) Seton Hall, (42) Gonzaga, (43) Michigan St., (44) Austin Peay, (45) Maryland, (46) UC Irvine, (47) Notre Dame, (48) Illinois & (50) Ohio St.

… And these teams have made quick falls (while staying within the top-50) from late in 2016 to the 2017 preseason top-50:

Southern Miss. (#12 to #42)
Mississippi State (#5 to #32)
Ole Miss (#7 to #25)
Miami (#3 to #19)
Texas A&M (#4 to #20)
Tulane (#20 to #36)
Florida Atlantic (#22 to #38)
Texas Tech (#6 to #21)

> Again, looking at the previous year, these eight teams had the biggest plunge while still staying in the top-50 (from late 2015 to 2016 preseason: Illinois (#4 to #42), UCSB (#14 to #45), Iowa (#18 to #48), FAU (#46 to #20), Coll. of Charleston (#15 to #37), Dallas Baptist (#9 to #28), Missouri St. (#10 to #26) & Ariz. St. (#22 to #38) … and two years ago, the biggest drop-offs (from late 2014 to 2015 preseason): La.-Lafayette (#3 to #44), Ore. St. (#2 to #31), Cal Poly (#6 to #28), Pepperdine (#25 to #45), UC Irvine (#22 to #41) & Kentucky (#29 to #49).

… Finally, these 13 teams (one-fourth of the total) were in the 2016 CB360 preseason top-50 but are not in the 2017 preseason top-50 (all based on Composite National Rankings formula):

Arkansas [2016 CNR preseason #18]
Missouri State [26]
Kentucky [32]
Notre Dame [33]
Oklahoma [34]
Indiana [36]
College of Charleston [37]
San Diego State [41]
Illinois [42]
Missouri [43]
UC Irvine [44]
Auburn [47]
Iowa [48]

(sampling the past three years, on average there have been 15 teams that were part of the final regular-season top-50 one season but outside the top-50 when the next preseason CNR rolled around)

> Most notably, a year ago, there were even more teams (17; one-third of the total) that were in the 2015 CB360 preseason top-50 but not in the 2016 preseason top-50:

Stanford (2015 CB360 preseason #22)
Kennesaw State (23)
Nebraska (26)
Clemson (27)
Cal Poly (28)
Liberty (29)
Tennessee (30)
Loyola Marymount (32)
Alabama (35)
Central Florida (UCF) (38)
St. John’s (40)
Kent State (42)
Wichita State (43)
Pepperdine (45)
Ball State (46)
Sam Houston State (47)
San Diego (48)

> And there were 15 teams that were in the 2014 preseason top-50 but not in the 2015 preseason top-50: Indiana (2014 CB360 preseason #7), NC St. (8), Kansas St. (18), Arizona (28), E. Carolina (29), FAU (31), Oklahoma (34), UNC Wilmington (36), W. Carolina (38), New Mexico (40), Coastal Carolina (43), Mercer (t46), UNLV (t46), Washington St. (t46) & No. Florida (50) … 20 months removed from competing in the 2013 CWS, Indiana and NC State found themselves outside the CNR preseason top-50 in 2015.

________________________

COMPOSITE NATIONAL RANKINGS (CNR) CRITERIA:  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 various RPI-type 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 only are used early in the season (SOS are not used in the CNR when RPI already are in the mix). For the NCAA field projections, teams are awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.

The polls/ratings/projections are averaged, with 40 points typically then added to each total in order to yield the 100-point benchmark. Early in the season (projected SOS; and preseason conference coaches polls) and late in the season (final-10 games), a maximum bonus/penalty of 2.0 (SOS & conf. poll) or 0.5 points (final-10) is factored into the formula (in that case, 38.0, or 39.5, rather than 40, is added to the poll/rating/projection avg.).

CB360’s CNR FORMULA for the 2017 preseason includes the following 11 elements:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN; 54 total teams)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll (68 total teams)
• DIBaseball.com preseason top-25, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Baseball America top-25 poll
• Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings (preseason top-40)
• Perfect Game preseason rankings (30 total teams)
• Massey preseason computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• Moore preseason computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• DISportsNet computerized rankings (top-60 teams)
• Projected season strength of schedule (per Massey; bonus points, max. 1.0)
• Assorted Conference preseason coaches polls (bonus points, max. 1.0)
> SEC … ACC … Pac-12 … Big 12 … Big Ten … Big West … C-USA
AAC … MVC … Mt West … Sun Belt … Colonial … WCC  … Southland … Horizon

(keep scrolling down for CNR archive, some preseason and final regular-season, dating back to 2010)

CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2017
(rank) Team – voting pts  (final 2016 CNR, at end of reg. season)  [2017 preseason CNR]
1. TCU – 98.96  (#11 in final 2016 top-50/end reg.-season) [#11 in 2016 preseason top-50]
2. Florida – 97.63  (1) [1]
3. LSU – 94.56  (10) [5]
4. Florida State – 92.79  (14) [13]
5. Vanderbilt – 91.72  (8) [2]
6. South Carolina – 90.83  (9) [29]
7. Louisville – 90.74  (2) [4]
8. Oregon State – 89.27  (41) [8]
9. Coastal Carolina – 86.07  (16) [30]
10. Arizona – 85.58 (21) [X]
11. Cal State Fullerton – 85.00  (18) [16]
12. North Carolina – 83.40  (23) [23]
13. Clemson – 83.16 (17) [X]
14. North Carolina State – 82.79  (13) [19]
15. Oklahoma State – 80.38  (19) [10]
16. Virginia – 80.12  (15) [7]
17. Louisiana-Lafayette – 80.01 (26) [15]
18. East Carolina – 79.55 (45) [X]
19. Miami – 78.12  (3) [6]
20. Texas A&M – 77.29  (4) [3]
21. Texas Tech – 76.47  (6) [35]
22. Stanford – 75.28 (–) [X]
23. UC Santa Barbara – 73.09  (37) [45]
24. Washington – 71.95 (38) [X]
25. Mississippi – 71.16  (7) [31]
26. Rice – 70.25  (25) [21]
27. Long Beach State – 67.75  (43) [49]
28. Georgia Tech – 62.91  (24) [39]
29. Dallas Baptist – 62.44  (27) [28]
30. Houston – 62.03  (–) [17]
31. Maryland – 61.70  (–) [24]
32. Mississippi State – 60.10  (5) [22]
33. Texas – 57.05  (–) [25]
34. Arizona State – 56.62  (28) [38]
35. Sam Houston State – 54.89 (–) [X]
36. Tulane – 54.87  (20) [40]
37. UNC Wilmington – 53.22  (35) [50]
38. Florida Atlantic – 51.87  (22) [46]
39. Gonzaga – 51.35 (32) [X]
40. Michigan 50.25  (29) [27]
41. New Mexico – 50.23 (–) [X]
42. Southern Mississippi – 49.93 (12) [X]
43. UCLA – 49.65  (–) [9]
44. USC – 49.35  (–) [20]
45. California – 48.90  (36) [12]
46. Nebraska – 47.80 (50) [X]
47. Oregon – 47.32  (–) [14]
48. Wright State – 46.45 (40) [X]
49. Southeastern Louisiana (–) 45.22 (33) [X]
50. Cal Poly – 45.06 (–) [X]

– next five: Arkansas, South Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Missouri State & Oklahoma

> These teams were in final 2016 regular-season CNR top-50 but not in 2017 preseason top-50:
(30) Minnesota
(31) BYU
(34) Bryant
(39) South Alabama
(42) Kent State
(44) Louisiana Tech
(46) Duke
(47) Wake Forest
(48) Ohio State
(49) Creighton

> These teams were in the 2016 CNR preseason top-50 but not in 2017 preseason top-50:
(8) Arkansas
(26) Missouri State
(32) Kentucky
(33) Notre Dame
(34) Oklahoma
(36) Indiana
(37) College of Charleston
(41) San Diego State
(42) Illinois
(43) Missouri
(44) UC Irvine
(47) Auburn
(48) Iowa

_____________________________

(keep scrolling down for CNR archive, some preseason and final regular-season, dating back to 2010)

2016 CB360 Composite National Rankings – End of Regular Season (May 18, 2016)
(rank), team – CNR pts (prev. weeks rank … preseason)
(1) Florida – 98.71  (1 … 1 … 1 … 1 … 1 … 1 … 2 … 1 … 1 … 1 … 1 … 1 … #1 preseason)
(2) Louisville – 97.97  (2 … 4 … 2 … 3 … 3 … 3 … 5 … 8 … 3 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 4)
(3) Miami – 97.20  (3 … 3 … 4 … 2 … 2 … 2 … 8 … 9 … 10 … 12 … 10 … 5 … 6)
(4) Texas A&M – 95.03  (4 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 7 … 8 … 1 … 3 … 4 … 3 … 3 … 4 … 3)
(5) Mississippi State – 94.40  (7 … 8 … 9 … 13 … 11 … 13 … 14 … 14 … 13 … 20 … 19 … 29 … 22)
(6) Texas Tech – 92.97  (5 … 9 … 10 … 7 … 10 … 20 … 25 … 40 … 41 … 35 … 31 … 36 … 35)
(7) Mississippi – 91.16  (10 … 10 … 11 … 14 … 8 … 10 … 10 … 6 … 5 … 9 … 13 … 19 … 31)
(8) Vanderbilt – 91.00  (8 … 6 … 8 … 5 … 6 … 4 … 3 … 5 … 2 … 2 … 2 … 2 … 2)
(9) South Carolina – 90.24  (6 … 5 … 5 … 6 … 4 … 6 … 4 … 11 … 15 … 19 … 16 … 30 … 29)
(10) LSU – 89.10  (13 … 17 … 14 … 12 … 19 … 18…  17 … 13 … 11 … 10 … 9 … 6 … 5)
(11) TCU – 87.45  (9 … 12 … 7 … 8 … 9 … 5 … 7 … 4 … 7 … 7 … 6 … 10 … 11)
(12) So. Mississippi – 83.66  (15 … 15 … 15 … 22 … 16 … 24 … 24 … 27 … 29 … 43 … 37 … 41 … –)
(13) North Carolina St – 83.45  (12 … 11 … 12 … 11 … 15 … 25 … 26 … 19 … 18 … 15 … 18…20…19)
(14) Florida State – 83.13  (11 … 7 … 6 … 9 … 5 … 7 … 9 … 10 … 9 … 13 … 12 … 9 … 13)
(15) Virginia – 81.31  (19 … 18 … 29 … 42 … – … 38 … 31 … 24 … 25 … 16 … 15 … 7 … 7)
(16) Coastal Carolina – 79.73  (17 … 19 … 13 … 16 … 24 … 30 … 44 … 48 … 46 … 36 … 22…28…30)
(17) Clemson – 78.20  (23 … 34 … 32 … 26 … 20 … 16 … 19 … 12 … 14 … 21 … – … – … –)
(18) Cal St Fullerton – 77.31  (26 … 36 … 38 … 33 … 41 … 41 … – … 35 … 23 … 32 … 21 … 22 … 16)
(19) Oklahoma St – 77.03  (14 … 14 … 19 … 30 … 40 … 19 … 16 … 21 … 26 … 30 … 30 … 24 … 10)
(20) Tulane – 75.71  (18 … 27 … 24 … 50 … 33 … 34 … 32 … 42 … 44 … 39 … 35 … 34 … 40)
(21) Arizona – 73.29  (16 … 30 … 18 … 44 … 49 … 39 … 23 … 29 … 27 … 48 … – … 42 … –)
(22) Florida Atlantic – 72.27  (27 … 25 … 27 … 18 … 22 … 14 … 20 … 22 … 19 … 23 … 23 … 25 … 46)
(23) North Carolina – 71.82  (24 … 20 … 15 … 15 … 12 … 9 … 6 … 2 … 6 … 6 … 7 … 15 … 23)
(24) Georgia Tech – 70.71  (22 … 22 … 35 … 32 … 26 … 22 … 15 … 23 … 31 … 17 … 20 … 23 … 39)
(25) Rice – 69.96  (20 … 23 … 20 … 20 … 27 … 32 … 40 … – … – … – … 49 … 27 … 21)
(26) Louisiana-Lafayette – 67.11  (34 … 29 … 22 … 23 … 30 … 36 … – … 49 … 35 … 27 …28…11…15)
(27) Dallas Baptist – 64.40  (37 … 41 … 36 … 45 … – … – … – … 34 … 40 … 28 … 42 … 26 … 28)
(28) Arizona State – 63.94 (42 … 42 … – … – … – … – … – … – … 32 … – … – … 44 … 38)
(29) Michigan – 62.90  (21 … 26 … 21 … 25 … 39 … 21 … 22 … 30 … 30 … 25 … 26 … 18 … 27)
(30) Minnesota – 62.59  (35 … 21 … 25 … 31 … 42 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(31) BYU – 62.21  (39 … 28 … 28 … 21 … 21 … 17 … 18 … 17 … 16 … 41 … 40 … – … –)
(32) Gonzaga – 62.17  (45 … 45 … 47 … 39 … 34 … 44 …  – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(33) Southeastern Louisiana – 61.70  (30 … 39 … 41 … 38 … 36 … 42 … 41 … 44 … 50 …–…–…–…–)
(34) Bryant – 61.40  (36 … 35 … 33 … 43 … 50 … 48 … 50 … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(35) UNC Wilmington– 61.03  (28 … 33 … 31 … 28 … 45 … – … – … 45 … 34 … 39 … 48 … 50)
(36) California – 60.60  (41 … 37 … 30 … 17 … 17 … 12 … 11 … 16 … 12 … 11 … 14 … 17 … 12)
(37) UC Santa Barbara – 60.50  (29 … 13 … 16 … 10 … 13 … 11 … 12 … 18 … 24…29…34…38…45)
(38) Washington – 59.70  (25 … 31 … 40 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(39) South Alabama – 57.88  (32 … 32 … 26 … 27 … 18 … 23 … 35 … 37 … 43 … 45 … 38 … 46 … –)
(40) Wright State – 55.75  (43 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(41) Oregon State – 55.69  (31 … 16 … 17 … 19 … 14 … 15 … 13 … 7 … 8 … 4 … 5 … 12 … 8)
(42) Kent State – 54.62  (44 … – … – … – … – … – … – … 46 … – … – … – … – … –)
(43) Long Beach State – 53.82  (49 … 43 … x … 46 … 43 … 37 … 27 … 33 … 38 … 40 … 48 … – … 49)
(44) Louisiana Tech – 53.15  (– … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(45) East Carolina – 53.14  (38 … 40 … 37 … 34 … 35 … 29 … 38 … 43 … 36 … 26 … 24 … 49 … –)
(46) Duke – 52.19  (– … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(47) Wake Forest – 51.84  (47 … 47 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(48) Ohio State – 51.27  (– … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(49) Creighton – 49.87  (33 … 24 … 34 … 40 … 37 … 46 … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(50) Nebraska – 49.48  (– … – … – … – … – … – … 43 … – … – … – … – … – … –)

Next Five – Stanford, Michigan State, Alabama, Southeast Missouri State and Kentucky

> Dropped Out of 2016 CNR Top–50 After Week–13:
(40) Michigan State  (38 … 45 … 29 … 25 … 28 … 21 … 25 … 17 … 38 … 45 … – … –)
(46) Kentucky  (48 … 39 … 24 … 23 … 26 … 33 … 38 … 49 … – … – … 40 … 32)
(48) Stanford  (49 … x … 41 … 31 … 33 … 37 …. 32 … 34 … 37 … 29 … 33 … –)
(50) UNC Greensboro  (46 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–12:
(44) Southeast Missouri State – 50.45  (42 … 49 … – … – …  – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(46) Lamar – 52.60 (43 … 47 … 32 … 45 … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(50) New Mexico – 56.84  (44 … 35 … 38 … 49 … – … – … – … 50 … 41 … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–11:
(49) Missouri State  (36 … 28 … 31 … 28 … 15 … 22 … 22 … 25 … 21 … 26)
(50) Cal Poly  (– … – … – …  – … – … – … – … 47 … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–10:
(37) St. Mary’s – 56.17  (47 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(46) Long Beach State  (43 … 37 … 27 … 33 … 38 … 40 … 48 … – … 49)  (has returned to current top–50)
(48) Notre Dame  (– … – …  – … – … – … – … – … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–9:
(29) College of Charleston – 63.72  (27 … 30 … 41 … 33 … 44 … 44 … 37 … 37)
(44) Old Dominion – 52.66  (50 … 47 … 50 … – … – … – … – … –)
(46) Tennessee – 51.94  (47 … 42 … 39 … 37 … 46 … – … – … –)
(48) Houston – 51.40  ( 40 … 29 … 28 … 39 … 31 … 27 … 13 … 17)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–8:
(35) Nebraska – 56.62  (43 … – … – … – … – … – … –)
(38) Virginia – 55.77  (31 … 24 … 25 … 16 … 15 … 7 … 7)  (has returned to current top–50)
(43) Fresno State – 54.84  (– … – … – … 33 … 43 … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–7:
(34) Arkansas – 61.90  (26 … 20 … 14 … 11 … 14 … 18)
(36) UCLA – 61.33  (20 … 28 … 18 … 17 … 16 … 9)
(39) Alabama – 53.93  (36 … 47 … 24 … 32 … 43 … –)
(45) UNC Wilmington– 52.26  (– … 45 … 34 … 39 … 48 … 50)  (has returned to current top–50)
(46) Cal State Northridge – 50.46  (47 … 48 … – … – … – … –)
(48) USC – 48.99  (45 … – … – 33 … 31 … 20)
(49) Texas – 48.76  (– …  49 … 36 … 32 … 25)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–6:
(31) Oregon – 71.22  (21 … 8 … 8 … 8 … 14)
(34) Dallas Baptist – 55.06  (40 … 28 … 42 … 26 … 28)  (has returned to current top–50)
(35) Cal State Fullerton – 69.04  (23 … 32 … 21 … 22 … 16)  (has returned to current top–50)
(49) Louisiana-Lafayette – 57.02  (35 … 27 … 28 … 11 … 15)  (has returned to current top–50)
(46) Kent State – 49.33  (– … – … – … – … –)  (has returned to current top–50)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–5:
(32) Arizona State – 61.92  (– … – … 44 … 38)  (has returned to current top–50)
(42) Boston College – 54.29  (– … – … – … –)
(45) UNC Wilmington – 48.71  (34 … 39 … 48 … 50)  (has returned to current top–50)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–4:
(33) Fresno State – 59.77  (43 … – … –)
(42) Cal Poly – 53.91  (47 … – … –)
(47) Missouri – 51.11  (46 … 50 … 43)
(49) Texas – 48.04  (36 … 32 … 25)
(50) New Mexico – 46.70  (41 … – … –)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–3:
(33) USC – 57.60  (31 … 20)
(49) Rice – 49.30  (27 … 21)  (has returned to current top–50)
(50) Oklahoma – 47.97  (45 … 34)

> Dropped Out of CNR 2016 Top–50 After Week–2:
(35) Maryland
(39) Indiana
(40) Kentucky
(42) Arizona  (has returned to current top–50)
(44) Arizona State  (has returned to current top–50)
(47) Notre Dame

> Dropped Out of Top–50 2016 After Week–1:
(41) San Diego State
(42) Illinois
(44) UC Irvine
(47) Auburn
(48) Iowa
(49) Long Beach State  (has returned to current top–50)

_____________________________

> CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2016

(rank) Team – voting pts  (final 2015 CNR, at end of reg. season)  [2015 preseason CNR]
1. Florida – 99.64  (#8 in final 2015 top-50/end reg.-season) [#4 in 2015 pre. top-50] … 2016 CWS team
2. Vanderbilt – 97.09  (11) … [1]
3. Texas A&M – 94.81  (5) [33]
4. Louisville – 94.58  (6) [10]
5. LSU – 94.44  (1) [5]
6. Miami – 93.34  (7) [18] … 2016 CWS participant
7. Virginia – 92.55  (34) [2]
8. Oregon State – 91.42  (21) [31]
9. UCLA – 91.11  (2) [6]
10. Oklahoma State – 87.95  (13) [7] … 2016 CWS Semifinalist (bracket final)
11. TCU – 87.83  (3) [3] … 2016 CWS Semifinalist (bracket final)
12. California – 86.51  (26) [–]
13. Florida State – 84.84  (12) [13]
14. Oregon – 83.04  (–) [21]
15. Louisiana-Lafayette – 82.46 (–) [44]
16. Cal State Fullerton – 82.09  (28) [16]
17. Houston – 79.97  (16) [8]
18. Arkansas – 78.15  (25) [36]
19. North Carolina State – 76.12  (41) [–]
2o. USC – 75.60  (17) [–]
21. Rice – 75.07  (19) [14]
22. Mississippi State – 73.82  (–) [19]
23. North Carolina – 72.02  (31) [12]
24. Maryland – 70.14  (36) [20]
25. Texas – 69.00  (–) [9]
26. Missouri State – 67.86  (10) [–]
27. Michigan 66.99  (–) [–]
28. Dallas Baptist – 66.41  (9) [50]
29. South Carolina – 66.18  (–) [11]
30. Coastal Carolina – 65.61  (27) [–] … 2016 CWS Champion
31. Mississippi – 64.87  (39) [24]
32. Kentucky – 62.63  (–) [49]
33. Notre Dame – 62.55  (29) [–]
34. Oklahoma – 59.74  (–) [–]
35. Texas Tech (21) – 59.45  (–) [17] … 2016 CWS participant
36. Indiana – 58.52  (–) [–]
37. College of Charleston – 58.02  (15) [34]
38. Arizona State – 57.22  (22) [15]
39. Georgia Tech – 57.15  (38) [39]
40. Tulane – 56.42  (47) [–]
41. San Diego State – 54.47  (–) [–]
42. Illinois – 52.18  (4) [37]
43. Missouri – 51.64  (49) [–]
44. UC Irvine – 51.57  (35) [41]
45. UC Santa Barbara – 51.15  (14) [25] … 2016 CWS participant
46. Florida Atlantic – 49.70  (20) [–]
47. Auburn – 49.46  (37) [–]
48. Iowa – 48.75  (18) [–]
49. Long Beach State – 47.39  (–) [–]
50. UNC Wilmington – 46.60  (–) [–]
Note: 2016 CWS runner-up Arizona was not in CNR preseason top-50

next five: Pepperdine, San Diego, Southeastern Louisiana, Alabama & Winthrop

_____________________________

• CB360 Composite Top-50 Rankings – Final 2015 Regular-Season

(12 of these teams, noted below, did not make the 2015 NCAAs)
> CLICK HERE for full release page (2015 final regular-season CNR)
1. LSU
2. UCLA
3. TCU
4. Illinois
5. Texas A&M
6. Louisville
7. Miami
8. Florida
9. Dallas Baptist
10. Missouri State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Florida State
13. Oklahoma State
14. UC Santa Barbara
15. College of Charleston
16. Houston
17. USC
18. Iowa
19. Rice
20. Florida Atlantic
21. Oregon State
22. Arizona State
23. Nevada – did not make 2015 NCAAs
24. Radford
25. Arkansas
26. California
27. Coastal Carolina
28. Cal State Fullerton
29. Notre Dame
30. Oral Roberts
31. North Carolina – did not make 2015 NCAAs
32. North Florida – did not make 2015 NCAAs
33. Ohio State – did not make 2015 NCAAs
34. Virginia
35. UC Irvine – did not make 2015 NCAAs
36. Maryland
37. Auburn
38. Georgia Tech – did not make 2015 NCAAs
39. Mississippi
40. Bradley
41. North Carolina State
42. Southeastern Louisiana – did not make 2015 NCAAs
43. Michigan State – did not make 2015 NCAAs
44. East Carolina
45. Southern Mississippi – did not make 2015 NCAAs
46. South Florida
47. Tulane
48. Nebraska – did not make 2015 NCAAs
49. South Alabama – did not make 2015 NCAAs
49. Missouri – did not make 2015 NCAAs

Next Five: UNC Wilmington, Liberty, Indiana, Alabama and St. John’s

CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2015

(rank) Team – voting pts  (final 2014 CNR, at end of reg. season)  [2014 preseason CNR]
1. Vanderbilt – 99.11  (#14 in final ’14 top-50) [#10 in ’14 preseason top-50] … 2015 CWS Runner-Up
2. Virginia – 97.11  (1) [3] … 2015 CWS Champion
3. TCU – 96.50  (9) [22] … 2015 CWS Semifinalist (bracket final)
4. Florida – 94.53  (5) [19] … 2015 CWS Semifinalist (bracket final)
5. LSU – 93.48  (16) [6] … 2015 CWS Participant
6. UCLA – 92.53  (–) [11]
7. Oklahoma State – 91.66  (18) [20]
8. Houston – 91.65 (15) [t50]
9. Texas – 90.68  (19) [23]
10. Louisville – 89.13  (7) [14]
11. South Carolina – 87.91  (17) [12]
12. North Carolina – 85.21  (–) [13]
13. Florida State – 83.23  (4) [5]
14. Rice – 82.99  (12) [15]
15. Arizona State – 81.22  (46) [21]
16. Cal State Fullerton – 80.96  (–) [1] … 2015 CWS Participant
17. Texas Tech (21) – 80.17
18. Miami – 79.63  (13) [17] … 2015 CWS Participant
19. Mississippi State – 76.13  (27) [4]
20. Maryland – 75.90 (–)
21. Oregon – 75.77  (20) [9]
22. Stanford – 70.90  (49) [42]
23. Kennesaw State – 67.91 (–)
24. Mississippi – 66.58  (10) [32]
25. UC Santa Barbara – 66.28 (44) [37]
26. Nebraska – 65.66 (34) [39]
27. Clemson – 63.95  (35) [16]
28. Cal Poly – 63.73  (6) [27]
29. Liberty – 61.53 (23) [45]
30. Tennessee – 61.30 (47)
31. Oregon State – 61.03  (2) [2]
32. Loyola Marymount – 60.44 (–)
33. Texas A&M – 60.20  (30) [25]
34. College of Charleston – 59.97 (–)
35. Alabama – 58.48  (24) [26]
36. Arkansas – 56.66  (50) [30] … 2015 CWS Participant
37. Illinois – 53.84 (–)
38. Central Florida (UCF) – 52.86 (38)
39. Georgia Tech – 50.77  (43) [35]
40. St. John’s – 50.32 (–)
41. UC Irvine – 50.30 (22)
42. Kent State – 47.92 (–)
43. Wichita State – 47.65 (–) [41]
44. Louisiana-Lafayette – 47.43 (3) [24]
45. Pepperdine – 47.06 (25)
46. Ball State – 46.34 (–)
47. Sam Houston State – 45.14 (36) [46]
48. San Diego – 44.29  (37) [33]
49. Kentucky – 43.67 (29) [44]
50. Dallas Baptist – 43.36 (39)
– next five: Oklahoma, Indiana, New Mexico, USC and Ohio State.

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• CB360 Composite Top-50 Rankings – Final 2014 Regular-Season

(all but eight teams, noted below, made the 2014 NCAAs)
(1) Virginia
(2) Oregon State
(3) Louisiana (Lafayette)
(4) Florida State
(5) Florida
(6) Cal Poly
(7) Louisville
(8) Indiana
(9) TCU
(10) Mississippi
(11) Washington
(12) Rice
(13) Miami
(14) Vanderbilt
(15) Houston
(16) LSU
(17) South Carolina
(18) Oklahoma State
(19) Texas
(20) Oregon
(21) Texas Tech
(22) UC Irvine
(23) Liberty
(24) Alabama
(25) Pepperdine
(26) Mercer – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(27) Mississippi State
(28) Indiana State
(29) Kentucky
(30) Texas A&M
(31) West Virginia – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(32) Florida International – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(33) UNLV
(34) Nebraska
(35) Clemson
(36) Sam Houston State
(37) San Diego – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(38) Central Florida (UCF) – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(39) Dallas Baptist
(40) Kansas
(41) Bryant
(42) New Mexico – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(43) Georgia Tech
(44) UC Santa Barbara – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(45) San Diego State
(46) Arizona State
(47) Tennessee – did not make 2014 NCAAs
(48) Old Dominion
(49) Stanford
(50) Arkansas

• CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2014

(rank) Team – voting pts  (final 2014 CNR, at end of reg. season)
1. Cal State Fullerton – 98.92  (4)
2. Oregon State – 97.54  (6)
3. Virginia – 96.03  (5) … 2014 CWS Runner-Up
4. Mississippi State – 95.75  (12)
5. Florida State – 95.48  (7)
6. LSU – 94.24  (3)
7. Indiana – 93.82  (13)
8. North Carolina State – 92.10  (8)
9. Oregon – 91.60  (9)
10. Vanderbilt – 90.88  (2) … 2014 CWS Champion
11. UCLA – 89.59  (10)
12. South Carolina – 89.54  (11)
13. North Carolina – 87.16  (1)
14. Louisville – 86.14  (14) … 2014 CWS Participant
15. Rice – 84.10  (22)
16. Clemson – 83.91  (16)
17. Miami – 83.28  (25)
18. Kansas State – 81.54  (21)
19. Florida – 80.82  (34)
20. Oklahoma State – 78.50  (31)
21. Arizona State – 78.30  (15)
22. TCU – 77.71  (–) … 2014 CWS Participant
23. Texas – 77.70  (–) … 2014 CWS Participant
24. Louisiana-Lafayette – 77.59  (32)
25. Texas A&M – 76.27  (–)
26. Alabama – 73.90  (39)
27. Cal Poly – 71.34  (28)
28. Arizona – 67.06  (–)
29. East Carolina – 67.02  (–)
30. Arkansas – 65.09  (20)
31. Florida Atlantic – 64.44  (–)
32. Mississippi – 61.37  (18) … 2014 CWS Participant
33. San Diego – 59.86  (–)
34. Oklahoma – 57.87  (27)
35. Georgia Tech – 57.52  (26)
36. UNC Wilmington – 57.46  (33)
37. UC Santa Barbara – 55.70 (–)
38. Western Carolina – 55.50 (–)
39. Nebraska – 55.13 (–)
40. New Mexico – 54.00  (35)
41. Wichita State –53.24 (–)
42. Stanford – 53.02  (38)
43. Coastal Carolina – 52.86  (40)
44. Kentucky – 51.80  (36)
45. Liberty – 50.31 (–)
46. Mercer –49.70  (24)
46. Sam Houston State – 49.70 (–)
46. UNLV – 49.70 (–)
46. Washington State – 49.70 (–)
50. Houston – 48.20 (–)
50. North Florida – 48.20  (49)
note: 2014 CWS participants Texas Tech and UC Irvine were not in 2014 preseason CNR top-50

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• CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2013
1-Arkansas
2-North Carolina … 2013 CWS Participant
3-Vanderbilt
4-LSU … 2013 CWS Participant
5-UCLA … 2013 CWS Champion
6-Stanford
7-South Carolina
8-Oregon
9-Oregon State … 2013 CWS Participant
10-North Carolina State … 2013 CWS Participant
11-Kentucky
12-TCU
13-Mississippi State … 2013 CWS Runner-Up
14-Florida
15-Florida State
16-Louisville … 2013 CWS Participant
17-Oklahoma
18-Georgia Tech
19-Arizona
20-San Diego
21-Rice
22-Mississippi
23-Cal State Fullerton
24-Texas
25-Texas A&M
26-Miami
27-Arizona State
28-Clemson
29-Virginia
30-UC Irvine
31-Baylor
32-New Mexico
33-Southern Mississippi
34-Coastal Carolina
35-Missouri State
36-Kent State
37-Wichita State
38-East Carolina
39-Dallas Baptist
40-Tulane
41-Sam Houston State
42-Georgia
43-Florida Atlantic
44-St. John’s
45-Pepperdine
46-Virginia Tech
47-College of Charleston
48-Auburn
49-Elon
50-Notre Dame
Note: 2013 CWS participant Indiana was not in the CNR preseason top-50

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• CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2012

(rank) Team – voting pts
1. Florida … 99.86 … 2012 CWS Participant
2. South Carolina … 98.41 … 2012 CWS Runner-Up
3. Stanford … 97.42
4. North Carolina … 95.27
5. Texas A&M … 94.83
6. Rice … 94.26
7. Texas … 92.64
8. Arkansas … 92.45 … 2012 CWS Participant
9. Georgia Tech … 90.71
10. LSU … 88.95
11. Vanderbilt … 87.57
12. Florida State … 86.87 … 2012 CWS Participant
13. TCU … 85.95
14. Arizona … 85.73 … 2012 CWS Champion
15. Miami … 84.33
16. UCLA … 81.79 … 2012 CWS Participant
17. Oklahoma … 81.01
18. Clemson … 79.79
19. Cal State Fullerton … 79.56
20. Georgia … 79.13
21. Arizona State … 76.93
22. California … 76.26
23. Virginia … 74.74
24. St. John’s … 74.10
25. UC Irvine … 74.02
26. Stetson … 73.72
27. Oregon State … 72.20
28. Louisville … 71.38
29. Baylor … 65.18
30. Central Florida … 62.93
31. East Carolina … 59.58
32. Mississippi State … 59.10
33. Mississippi … 58.35
34. Southern Mississippi … 57.80
35. Georgia Southern … 57.55
36. College of Charleston … 57.18
37. Dallas Baptist … 54.90
38. Florida International … 53.64
39. Jacksonville … 52.58
40. Oregon … 52.30
41. Coastal Carolina … 52.10
42. Missouri State … 51.48
43. Wichita State … 49.43
44. Troy … 49.24
45. Oklahoma State … 49.02
46. North Carolina State … 48.94
47. Texas State … 48.68
48. Purdue … 48.12
49. Fresno State … 46.71
50. USC … 46.60
Note: 2012 CWS participants Kent State and Stony Brook were not in CNR preseason top-50

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• CB360 Preseason Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2011
1. UCLA
2. Florida … 2011 CWS Runner-Up
3. TCU
4. Vanderbilt … 2011 CWS Participant
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas … 2011 CWS Participant
7. Clemson
8. Cal State Fullerton
9. South Carolina … 2011 CWS Champion
10. Arizona State
11. Oregon
12. Florida State
13. Stanford
14. Texas A&M … 2011 CWS Participant
15. Virginia … 2011 CWS Participant
16. Connecticut
17. Rice
18. Rice
19. LSU
20. Miami
21. Coastal Carolina
22. Auburn
23.Georgia Tech
24. California … 2011 CWS Participant
25. Baylor
26. College of Charleston
27. Louisville
28. UC Irvine
29. Arkansas
30. North Carolina … 2011 CWS Participant
31. St. John’s
32. Fresno State
33. Wichita State
34. Washington State
35. Florida Atlantic
36. San Diego
37. Alabama
38. Tulane
39. Pittsburgh
40. Kansas State
41. Hawaii
42. Kent State
43. Mississippi
44. Oregon State
45. Virginia Tech
46. Southern Mississippi
47. Central Florida
48. Liberty
48. Minnesota
48. North Carolina State

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2010 Preseason College Baseball 2010 Composite National Rankings (CNR)
courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com (#1; Feb. 19, 2010)
1. Texas – 98.50
2. LSU – 96.11
3. Cal State Fullerton – 95.14
4. Virginia – 94.04
5. UC Irvine – 89.68
6. Rice – 89.33
7. Florida State – 88.89 – CWS participant
8. Georgia Tech – 88.17
9. Florida – 87.94 – CWS participant
10. Arizona State – 87.66 – CWS participant
11. TCU – 80.50 – CWS semifinalist (bracket finalist)
12. Clemson – 80.16 – CWS participant
13. North Carolina – 79.57
14. Miami (FL) – 79.34
15. Arkansas – 78.17
16. Oregon State – 77.90
17. East Carolina – 76.51
18. Coastal Carolina – 76.43
19. Louisville – 76.05
20. South Carolina – 72.92 – CWS champion
21. San Diego – 72.83
22. Mississippi – 72.68
23. Georgia – 68.34
24. Ohio State – 63.79
25. UCLA – 63.43 – CWS runner-up
26. Southern Mississippi – 61.94
27. Kansas – 56.78
28. Oklahoma – 54.04 – CWS semifinalist (bracket finalist)
29. Stanford – 53.75
30. Texas A&M – 52.96
31. Vanderbilt – 50.75
32. Wichita State – 49.83
33. Minnesota – 48.92
34. Alabama – 44.37
35. Pepperdine – 44.36
36. Kansas State – 42.79
37. Long Beach State – 39.54
38. Kentucky – 38.79
39. Missouri – 38.73
40. Cal Poly – 38.02
41. Arizona – 37.97
42. Oklahoma State – 37.88
43. Nebraska – 37.44
44. Oral Roberts – 37.27
Gonzaga – 37.27
46. Middle Tennessee – 37.20
47. Fresno State – 37.14
48. Florida Gulf Coast – 37.08
Boston College – 37.08
50. Jacksonville – 37.02