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 an eighth season in 2016, with plenty of familiar faces among the top teams but also some squads from across the country who are on the move upwards.

Outfielder Buddy Reed (23) and pitcher A.J. Puk (10) are among Florida’s talented returning core, as the top-ranked Gators are eyeing another appearance at the College World Series and an improvement on last season’s semifinal (bracket final) finish in Omaha. > photo courtesy Florida Athletics

(Scroll down for the full CNR preseason top-50, plus plenty of historical notes, some photos of 2016 teams/players and archived CNR preseason/final polls from 2011-15).

The Florida Gators – who have made three College World Series trips over the past five seasons (including 2011 runner-up and reaching the 2015 bracket finals/CWS semifinalist) – are the clear No. 1 in the 2016 preseason CNR, nearly reaching the maximum 100 points (99.64) to finish 2.55 points ahead of 2nd-place Vanderbilt (97.09), which reached the CWS title series in 2014 (beat Virginia) and again in 2015 (lost to UVa). The Commodores join the Gators and the Cavaliers as the teams with the most CWS trips (3) over the past three seasons, with Vandy and UVa both also reaching Omaha in 2011.

In a sampling of the 2011-16 CNR preseason top-50, it has been rare for two teams from the same conference to be among the top-3. All of the top-3 from the same conference? Didn’t happen at all from 2011-15 (will be checking the 2009 and ’10 seasons later) … but that’s the case in 2016, as Texas A&M checks in at No. 3, edging 4th-place Louisville (94.81 to 94.58) and, yet another SEC team, No. 5 LSU (94.44), with those three teams separated by only 0.37 of a point.

This marks the fourth time in the past five years that a Southeastern Conference team has sat atop the CB360 preseason CNR top-50: Florida in 2012, Arkansas in ’13, Vanderbilt in ’15 and now Florida again in ’16 (also Cal State Fullerton in 2014). Since 2011 (when UCLA held the top spot), Florida is the only repeat #1 in the CNR preseason top-50.

Spanning the previous five seasons, only twice were two of the top-3 teams in the CNR preseason top-50 from the same conference: 2012 (Florida and South Carolina) and 2013 (Arkansas and Vanderbilt). From 2011-16, Florida and Vanderbilt lead the way with being a CNR preseason top-3 in three different seasons (TCU and UVA have two top-3 preseason CNR rankings since 2011, plus one each for UCLA, South Crolina, Stanford, Arkansas, North Carolina, Fullerton, Oregon State and A&M).

> Here’s how the CNR preseason top-3 have shaken out over the past six seasons:
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] Oregon State … [3] Virginia
2016: [1] Florida … [2] Vanderbilt … [3] Texas A&M

The rest of the CNR preseason top-10 includes (6th-10th): Miami, Virginia, Oregon State, UCLA and Oklahoma State. The top-10 features the four SEC teams, plus three from the Atlantic Coast Conference, two Pac-12 and one Big 12.

Expanding out to top-16 (i.e. potential NCAA No. 1 seeds): there still are four SEC teams but also four from the SEC (add #13 Florida State) and four more from the Pac-12 (with #12 California and #14 Oregon), plus #11 TCU to give the Big 12 a pair within the top-16 (which also includes the Sun Belt’s Louisiana-Lafayette at #15 and the Big West’s CS Fullerton at #16).

CB360’s expanded CNR formula for the 2016 preseason includes the following 11 elements:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN; 59 total teams)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll (77 total teams)
• DIBaseball.com preseason top-25, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Baseball America poll, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings (preseason top-40)
• Perfect Game preseason rankings (40 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 …
AAC … MVC … Mt West … Sun Belt … Big South … Colonial … WCC

Note: scroll down near bottom of this page for complete 2016 preseason CB360 Top-50 – plus the final 2014 and 2015 CB360 Top-50 (mid-May, prior to postseason) and the preseason Top-50 for each of the previous five seasons (2011–15).

NEAR-UNANIMOUS #1 – Florida came up shy of the maximum 100 points in the 2015 preseason CNR, due mostly to not receiving all of the first-place votes in the ABCA preseason coaches poll (but still being No. 1). The Gators received 21 of the 31 first-place votes in the coaches poll, with the rest going to Vanderbilt (3), Virginia (3), Louisville (2) and one each for Texas A&M and LSU. Florida was No. 1 in seven of the eight other preseason national polls/rankings listed above (all but the Moore Power Rankings: #3 behind UVa and Vandy). The Gators also are #1 in the SEC Coaches Poll while coming in at #3 in projected season strength of schedule (these two elements play a smaller part in the CNR formula).

Oklahoma State juniors Ryan Sluder (8) and Dustin Williams (22) were freshman contributors on the 2014 team that nearly reached the College World Series, losing at home in the Super Regional round vs. UC Irvine. The #10 team in CB360’s 2016 preseason CNR, OK State could be primed to close the deal this time around and make the program’s first CWS appearance since 1999 (it would be the 20th all-time CWS trip for the Cowboys). >photo courtesy OK State

PROJECTING THE POSTSEASON ELITE – Based on the preseason CNR, the following eight teams project to be NCAA tournament seeds (and, if form holds, 2016 CWS participants): Florida, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Louisville, LSUm Miami, Virginia and Oregon State. The CNR projects those eight teams plus the following eight as 2016 NCAA Regional hosts: UCLA, Oklahoma State, TCU, California, Florida State, Oregon, Louisiana-Lafayette and Cal State Fullerton..
The eight projected NCAA seeds/CWS participants include four SEC teams, three ACC and one Pac-12. The 16 projected NCAA Regional hosts include four each from the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 (plus two Big 12, and one each from the Sun Belt and Big West).

> One year ago, the 2015 preseason CNR was 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 2016 CWS (as did Miami, #18 in the preseason CNR, and Arkansas, which opened the 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 five teams that were preseason No. 1 in the CNR – UCLA (2011), Florida (’12), Arkansas (’13) and Cal State Fullerton (’14) – failed to even reach the CWS for that season … Vanderbilt was a 2015 CWS participant (runner-up), after being the CNR preseason #1.

Here’s where the past four CWS champions were ranked in the preseason CNR for that season (avg. rank of 8.0, essentially projecting on average right on the fringe for even making the CWS for that season) :
• (CNR preseason #9) South Carolina (2011)
• (14) Arizona (2012)
• (5) UCLA (2013)
• (10) Vanderbilt (2014)
• (2) Virginia (2015)

… And here are the teams that have been CWS runner-up during the past five seasons, preceded by where they ranked in the preseason CNR for that season (interesting to note that four of the five were among the top-3 in the preseason CNR):
• (CNR preseason #2) Florida (2011)
• (2) South Carloina (2012)
• (13) Mississippi State (2013)
• (3) Virginia (2014)
• (1) Vanderbilt (2015)

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 3.0 per year, including only one of the preseason top-8 in 2014 … but then all of the top-5 in 2015):

• 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)

Recent history has seen plenty of teams from outside the preseason top-10 (and several from outside the early-season top-50) make it to Omaha for the College World Series. The Cal Bears picked up steam in 2015, starting the year outside the CB360 top-50 (CNR) but rising to #26 by season’s end. Now, the Bears are starting the 2016 season at #12 in the CNR, taking aim at the program’s second College World Series trip this decade (also 2011). > photo courtesy Cal Athletics

PREDICTABLY UNPREDICTABLE – Spanning the 2012-14 seasons, five different teams – Kent State (’12), Stony Brook (’12), Indiana (’13), Texas Tech (’14) and UC Irvine (’14) – 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 five years (25 teams, from 2011–15):
(–) Kent State, in 2012
(–) Stony Brook, in 2012
(–) Indiana, in 2013
(–) Texas Tech, in 2014
(–) UC Irvine, in 2014
(CNR preseason #36) Arkansas, in 2015
(32) Ole Miss, in 2014
(30) North Carolina, in 2011
(24) California, in 2011
(23) Texas, in 2014
(22) TCU, in 2014
(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) Florida State, in 2012
(10) North Carolina State, in 2013
(10) Vanderbilt, in 2014
(9) South Carolina, in 2011
(9) Oregon State, in 2013
> teams listed above, by year: 5 in 2011 … 5 in 2012 … 5 in 2013 … 7 in 2014 … 3 in 2015
(avg. 5.0 per year; 5+ every year from 2011-14)

The final CNR release during the 2015 season (mid-May, prior to postseason) included 38 teams that ultimately earned berths in the 2015 NCAA Tournament – all except for: (23) Nevada, (31) North Carolina, (32) North Florida, (33) Ohio State, (35) UC Irvine, (38) Georgia Tech, (42) Southeastern Louisiana, (43) Michigan State, (45) Southern Mississippi, (48) Nebraska, (49) South Alabama and (49) Missouri. … That number (38) was down from the 42 teams from the final CNR top-50 release during the 2014 season (mid-May, prior to postseason) that went on to earne berths in the 2014 NCAAs – all except for (26) Mercer, (31) West Virginia, (32) FIU, (37) USD, (38) UCF, (42) New Mexico, (44) UCSB and (47) Tennessee.

CONFERENCE CALL – All but three of the 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference are included in the 2016 CB360 preseason top-50 … here is the breakdown, by conference (35 of 50 from these five leagues: SEC, ACC, Pac-12, Big 12 and Big Ten):

• 11 SEC teams (3 top-4; 4 top-8; 4 top-16; 6 top-25) – (1) Florida, (2) Vanderbilt, (3) Texas A&M,
(5) LSU, (18) Arkansas, (22) Mississippi St, (29) SC, (31) Ole Miss, (32) Kentucky, (43) Mizzou & (47) Auburn

• 8 ACC teams (3 top-8; 4 top-16; 6 top-25 ) – (4) Louisville, (6) Miami, (7) Virginia, (13) Florida State, (19) North Carolina State, (23) North Carolina, (33) Notre Dame & (39) Georgia Tech

• 6 Pac-12 teams (1 top-8; 4 top-16; 5 top-25): – (8) Oregon State, (9) UCLA, (12) California,
(14) Oregon, (20) USC & (38) Arizona State

• 5 Big 12 teams (2 top-16; 3 top-25): –  (10) OK St., (11) TCU, (25) Texas, (34) Okla. & (35) TX Tech

• 5 Big Ten teams (1 top-25) – (24) Maryland, (27) Michigan, (36) Indiana, (42) Illinois & (48) Iowa

• 3 Big West teams (1 top-16; 1 top-25) – (16) Fullerton, (44) UC Irvine, (46) UCSB & (49) Long Beach St.

• 2 American Athletic Conf. teams (1 top-25) – (17) Houston & (40) Tulane

• 2 Conference USA teams (1 top-25) – (21) Rice & (46) Florida Atlantic

• 2 Missouri Valley teams – (26) Missouri State & (28) Dallas Baptist

• 2 Colonial Athletic Assoc. teams – (37) College of Charleston & (50) UNC Wilmington

• 1 each (4 teams) – Sun Belt (#15 Louisiana-Lafayette) … Big South (#30 Coastal Carolina) …
Colonial (#34 College of Charleston) … Mountain West (#41 San Diego State)

> One year earlier, 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 and (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)

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES – The following 17 teams find themselves in the CB360 2016 preseason top-50, after not being in the 2015 preseason top-50:

(12) California
(19) North Carolina State
(20) USC
(26) Missouri State
(27) Michigan
(30) Coastal Carolina
(33) Notre Dame
(34) Oklahoma
(36) Indiana
(40) Tulane
(41) San Diego State
(43) Missouri
(46) Florida Atlantic
(47) Auburn
(48) Iowa
(49) Long Beach State
(50) UNC Wilmington
> One year previously, 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 St., (30) Tenn., (32) LMU, (34) Charleston, (37) Illinois
(38), UCF, (40) St. John’s, (41) UC Irvine, (42) Kent St., (45) Pepperdine, (46) Ball St. & (50) Dallas Baptist.

… While these teams have jumped up 15 or more spots from the 2015 preseason top-50 to the 2016 preseason top-50:
Texas A&M (opened 2015 at #33 in the CNR; now starting 2016 at #3)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#44 to #15)
Oregon State (#31 to #8)
North Carolina State (#41 to #19)
Dallas Baptist (#50 to #28)
Arkansas (#36 to #18)
Kentucky (#49 to #32)
> Similarly, 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 teams have dropped the most from 2015 preseason to 2016 preseason (while remaining in the top-50 from one preseason to the next):
Arizona State (#15 in 2015 preseason CNR; now starting 2016 at #38)
UCSB (#25 to #45)
South Carolina (#11 to #29)
Texas Tech (#17 to #35)
Texas (#9 to #25)
> … The previous year, these teams had dropped 15-plus spots from the 2014 preseason top-50 to the 2015 preseason top-50: Oregon State (#2 to #31), La.-Lafayette (#24 to #44), Fullerton (#1 to #16), 
Mississippi State (#4 to #19) & San Diego (#33 to #48).

________________

SURGING, REFOCUSING & REBUIDLING – The following 13 teams were not in the final CNR top-50 release in 2015 (mid-May, prior to postseason) but are in the 2016 preseason top-50, with several very notable programs at the top of this list::

(14) Oregon
(15) Louisiana-Lafayette
(22) Mississippi State
(25) Texas
(27) Michigan
(29) South Carolina
(32) Kentucky
(34) Oklahoma
(35) Texas Tech
(36) Indiana
(41) San Diego State
(49) Long Beach State
(50) UNC Wilmington
> One year earlier, 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 2015 season to the 2016 preseason:
Virginia (#34 to #7)
North Carolina State (#41 to #19)
California (#26 to #12)
Oregon State (#21 to #8)
> 12 months earlier, 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 13 teams are not in the 2016 CB360 preseason top-50 but were in the final CNR top-50 during the 2015 season (mid-May, prior to postseason):
(23) Nevada
(24) Radford
(30) Oral Roberts
(32) North Florida
(33) Ohio State
(40) Bradley
(42) Southeastern Louisiana
(43) Michigan State
(44) East Carolina
(45) Southern Miss.
(46) South Florida
(48) Nebraska
(49) South Alabama
Note – Similarly one year earlier, 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) Washington, (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 two years back, 15 teams that were in the top-50 of the final 2013 CNR, at end of the regular season, 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 2015 to the 2016 preseason top-50:
Illinois (#4 in final 2015 CNR all the way down to #42 in 2016 preseason)
UC Santa Barbara (#14 to #45)
Iowa (#18 to #48)
Florida Atlantic (#46 to #20)
College of Charleston (#15 to #37)
Dallas Baptist (#9 to #28)
Missouri State (#10 to #26)
Arizona State (#22 to #38)
> Again, looking at the previous year, these six teams had the biggest plunge while still staying in the top-50 (from late 2014 to 2015 preseason): Louisiana-Lafayette (#3 to #44), Oregon St. (#2 to #31), Cal Poly (#6 to #28), Pepperdine (#25 to #45), UC Irvine (#22 to #41) & Kentucky (#29 to #49).

… Finally, these 17 teams (one-third of the total) were in the 2015 CB360 preseason top-50 but are not in the 2016 preseason top-50 (all based on Composite National Rankings formula):

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.

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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.).

Here are links to the 11 criteria used in the 2016 preseason CNR:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN; 59 total teams)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll (77 total teams)
• DIBaseball.com preseason top-25, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Baseball America poll, in conjunction with projected NCAA Tournament field (48 teams)
• Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings (preseason top-40)
• Perfect Game preseason rankings (40 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 (released to public 2/18) … ACC … Pac-12 … Big 12 … Big Ten … Big West …
AAC … MVC … Mt West … Sun Belt … Big South … Colonial … WCC

> 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 preseason top-50]
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]
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]
11. TCU – 87.83  (3) [3]
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) [–]
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]
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]
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  (–) [–]

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

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• 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

_____________________________

• 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