The way folks think about this year’s Arkansas baseball team is the way the Diamond Hogs haven’t been imagined in years. Maybe ever.
When the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released Tuesday, coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks were ranked No. 4 in the country. That in and of itself is good – not the highest ever, but good. What the slotting did, however, is put Arkansas in the top four in the country in every single preseason college baseball poll in the land.
Every. Single. One.
The Diamond Hogs have deserved them under Van Horn’s watch. Since taking over in Fayetteville in 2003, Van Horn has led Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament every year but one. He’s also taken the Razorbacks to Omaha for the College World Series seven different times. In 2018, Arkansas finished as national runner’s up.
An NCAA Championship is about the only thing Van Horn and Arkansas have yet to accomplish. It won’t be any easier in 2024, either. Three of the teams in front of Arkansas in the coaches poll? SEC teams.
Here is the complete breadown.
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Wake Forest | 751 (15) |
| 2 | LSU | 731 (11) |
| 3 | Florida | 727 (5) |
| 4 | Arkansas | 672 |
| 5 | TCU | 643 |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | 576 |
| 7 | Oregon State | 543 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 529 |
| 9 | Clemson | 484 |
| 10 | Texas A&M | 468 |
| 11 | Virginia | 431 |
| 12 | East Carolina | 391 |
| 13 | Texas | 381 |
| 14 | Duke | 351 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 342 |
| 16 | North Carolina State | 289 |
| 17 | Alabama | 197 |
| 18 | UC-Santa Barbara | 187 |
| 18 | Coastal Carolina | 187 |
| 20 | Iowa | 186 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 169 |
| 22 | Texas Tech | 157 |
| 23 | Stanford | 121 |
| 24 | UCLA | 80 |
| 25 | Northeastern | 71 |
Others Receiving Votes
Kansas State 65; UC Irvine 51; Oregon 42; Oklahoma State 41; Auburn 35; Southern Miss 21; Dallas Baptist 21; Troy 19; Ole Miss 16; Florida State 13; UNCW 12; Arizona 10; Oral Roberts 9; Indiana State 8; Connecticut 7; USC 6; Georgia 6; Campbell 6; Kentucky 5; West Virginia 4; Indiana 4; Georgia Tech 4; Maryland 3; Hawaii 3