Precisely one month from the start of the 2023 campaign, the Virginia Tech baseball team is already gathering a wealth of potential for another high-achieving season on the diamond as the Hokies have been ranked in three national preseason polls from respected outlets.
D1BASEBALL – No. 14
For the first time since the outlet’s rankings debut in 2015, Virginia Tech has earned a spot in D1Baseball’s preseason top 25 poll, landing at No. 14, the third highest ranking among ACC programs. Last season, the Hokies entered D1Baseball’s top 25 on April 11 and remained ranked for eight consecutive weeks, including seven straight weeks ranked inside the top 10.
Tech peaked at No. 2 in D1Baseball’s rankings on May 23 and entered the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship ranked No. 4 nationally. After finishing one win shy of advancing to the 2022 Men’s College World Series in Omaha, the Hokies placed No. 11 overall in the poll’s year-end rankings, marking the program’s highest such finish all-time.
As it stands, four of Tech’s 2023 ACC opponents appear in D1Baseball’s preseason top 25. The Hokies will host No. 19 Virginia (March 31 – April 2) and No. 12 North Carolina (April 28-30) while making trips to No. 22 Miami (March 17-19) and No. 6 Wake Forest (May 18-20).
PERFECT GAME – No. 15
Down one line from D1Baseball’s No. 14 ranking, Perfect Game ranked Virginia Tech No. 15 in its season-opening top 25 poll, signifying another program-first appearance for the Hokies (since at least 2013).
While D1Baseball favored Tech in its ACC comparisons against Louisville and Miami – as well as its consideration against TCU and UCLA – Perfect Game disagreed, presenting the Hokies as the fifth strongest ACC program out of the gates. Within the ACC, Perfect Game has Tech clocked behind No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 7 Louisville, No. 9 Miami, and No. 13 North Carolina while leading No. 19 Virginia and No. 21 NC State.
On the flip side, Perfect Game backed Tech in its outlooks against three teams that were ranked higher than the Hokies by D1Baseball: Oklahoma State (No. 18), Maryland (No. 22), and East Carolina (unranked).
Virginia Tech finished the 2022 season ranked No. 10 in Perfect Game’s year-end poll release.
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER – No. 28
Known as college baseball’s oldest poll dating back to 1959, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ranked Virginia Tech No. 28 in its annual “Fabulous 50” preseason selections.
Of the 10 ACC programs appearing in the poll’s top 50, Tech drew the seventh most points behind No. 6 Louisville, No. 8 Miami, No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 16 Virginia, and No. 23 Georgia Tech. The Hokies were late bloomers in last season’s CBN polls, cracking the outlet’s top 30 for the first time on April 25 (No. 26) before peaking on May 23 at No. 2.
This season, Tech is scheduled to face seven ACC programs within CBN’s preseason top 50, including matchups at No. 32 Florida State and against No. 42 Clemson.
As of Jan. 17, three of the remaining six nationally respected college baseball polls – Baseball America, NCBWA and USA TODAY Sports (coaches poll) – have yet to release their preseason rankings.
Virginia Tech opened its 2023 regular season schedule on Friday, Feb. 17, at College of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The Cougars (37-20 overall) won the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association’s regular season championship courtesy of their 19-5 league record.
