The NCAA college baseball season is just weeks away from starting and a 2023 College World Series national semifinalist will begin the season at No.1 according to the 2024 D1Baseball preseason rankings released on Jan. 16. 

Even after losing ace Rhett Lowder, the No.7 pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2023 MLB Draft, Wake Forest is No.1. Wake is loaded with pitching and could be the favorite to win the Golden Spikes Award playing first base. The Demon Deacons' 2023 season came to an end in the national semifinals of the CWS last summer and their ace Lowder is now the No. 6 RHP prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. 

But with LHP Josh Hartle and Tennessee transfer in RHP Chase Burns, Wake Forest is expected to have an elite rotation once again. Both are ranked in the top 15 of most 2024 MLB Draft prospect lists. 

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Wake Forest Baseball Star Nick Kurtz Could Be No.1 Pick 

And the Demon Deacons will have Nick Kurtz somewhere in the order. 

The 6-foot-5 first baseman is one of the top prospects in the game and one of two players frequently being mocked as the No.1 pick in this year’s draft. Kurtz slashed .344/.498/.695 with 39 homers in his first two college seasons. 

Where Is LSU Baseball Ranked?

Wake Forest takes the No.1 spot while defending champion LSU (last year’s preseason No.1 team) is No. 4. Florida, led by two-way star Jac Caglianone, who pitched on the weekends hut 33 homers, is No. 2. 

Arkansas is No. 3 as the SEC has three of the top five teams with TCU of the Big 12 at No. 5. 

Here are the full rankings. 

2024 College Baseball Rankings 

Here is D1 Baseball’s preseason Top 25 with last season’s overall records

1. Wake Forest    54-12    
2. Florida    54-17    
3. Arkansas    43-18    
4. LSU    54-17    
5. TCU    44-24    
6. Vanderbilt    42-20    
7. Oregon State    41-20    
8. Texas A&M    38-27    
9. Tennessee    44-22    
10. Clemson    44-19    
11. East Carolina    47-19    
12. Duke    39-24    
13. NC State    36-21    
14. Virginia    50-15    
15. North Carolina    36-24    
16. Texas    42-22    
17. UC Santa Barbara    35-20    
18. Coastal Carolina    42-21    
19. Alabama    43-21    
20. Iowa    44-16    
21. Texas Tech    41-23    
22. UCLA    28-24-1    
23. Northeastern    44-16    
24. Kansas State    35-24    
25. South Carolina    42-21 

When Does NCAA Division I College Baseball Start?

Officially, teams are allowed to begin practice on Jan. 26, but the appropriate date to mark on the calendar is Feb. 16. That’s when regular-season action will get underway at the Division I level. 

From start to finish, the Division I baseball season means 132 days together for the players and coaches, and teams may play in more than 50 games (56 is the maximum number of contests before the postseason). 

By the time they achieved the Division I national championship in 2023, LSU had played 71 games, compiling a 54-17 record.

Because the weather might not yet be ideal for batting and baserunning, many teams will hit the friendly skies and head for warmer locations and kickoff events. 

The list of events includes the MLB Desert Invitational and 2024 Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Arizona, Coastal Carolina’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament in South Carolina, the 2024 Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, and the 2024 Snowbird Baseball in Florida. 

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When Is The 2024 NCAA Men’s College World Series?

In 2024, the Men’s College World Series will take place June 14-24 (or June 23), again visiting its longtime home in Omaha, Nebraska—Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

LSU defeated the University of Florida 2-1 in the best-of-three finale in 2023 (4-3, 4-24, 18-4).

How Does The 2024 College Baseball World Series Work?

Before the CWS begins, the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship starts each spring (late May into June) with the year’s best Division I baseball teams situated into a 64-team bracket. 

Through regional and super-regional play, the field is whittled down to eight final teams. The winners from the 16 four-team regionals advance to the super-regional round, where two teams (at eight locations) battle in a best-of-three series.

The eight remaining teams then move on to the final round of the postseason, known formally as the NCAA Men’s College World Series. This phrasing is used exclusively for Division I.

When Was The First College Baseball World Series?

The first Men’s College World Series was held in 1947, with the first few editions moving around the Midwest. 

In 1950, the showdown took place in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time, and it has taken place there every year since. Through 2010, it was held at Rosenblatt Stadium. Since 2011, Charles Schwab Field Omaha has welcomed the best in college baseball. 

The contract between the NCAA and the group in charge of the event is locked in through 2035.

The University of Southern California has made the most finals appearances and won the most titles, winning it all on 12 of 14 opportunities. The first came in 1948, and the most recent was in 1998.

LSU, which claimed the crown in 2023, ranks second all-time with seven victories in eight finals appearances. 

How To Watch The 2024 College Baseball Showdown

Subscribe to the FloSports app and FloBaseball to watch the College Baseball Showdown, which has been renamed the Shriners Children's Baseball Showdown.

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