As winter comes to an end and spring is almost here, the NCAA brings sports fans a beautiful gift every year: college baseball. Today marks the opening day of the 2024 collegiate baseball season, and it’s shaping up to be a good one.
Last year, the big winner was LSU, led by pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews. The duo ended up taking up the number 1 and 2 picks in the 2023 MLB draft, going to the Pirates and Nationals.
According to the preseason rankings, Wake Forest is looking to be the best team in all of college baseball. They almost made the championship last year, winning game one of the semifinal series but ended up losing the series 2-1 after a walk-off by LSU.
The number one Demon Deacons are led by Josh Hartle and Chase Burns on the mound, followed by first baseman Nick Kurtz and outfielder Seaver King, who have all been named preseason All-Americans.
Behind Wake Forest, the two through five spots on the official NCAA rankings are filled up by Florida, Arkansas, LSU, and TCU.
Some teams flying under the radar are Ole Miss and Oklahoma. They both have strong pitching staffs with a lot of offensive power as well.
Our hometown teams, Pitt and Penn State, are looking to rebound and make a name for themselves this season.
After finishing under .500 for the first time since 2019 last year, Coach Mike Bell of Pitt decided it was time to make some changes. Over the course of the offseason, he signed many different high-level transfer students to fill in spots from last year. Although facing many tough opponents this year, Pitt is looking to prove their point that they can compete with the best of the best and have a breakout season.
Penn State, meanwhile, finished last year exactly .500 (25-25). The Nittany Lions are returning 21 players and welcoming 20 new members to the roster. With players such as Billy Gerlott, Kyle Hannon, Travis Luensmann, Bobby Marsh, and Grant Norris returning for another season, Coach Mike Gambino hopes to finish with a better conference record and make a run at the Big Ten or NCAA tournament.
