Clemson was ranked No. 9 in Baseball America’s preseason Top 25 college baseball rankings on Monday — the second highest-ranked ACC school behind Wake Forest, which was ranked No. 1.
The Tigers were also ranked one spot ahead of ACC rival Virginia, which placed 10th. Defending national champion LSU was ranked No. 2, followed by Arkansas, Florida, and Oregon State to round out the top five.
TCU placed sixth, followed by a pair of SEC schools in Vanderbilt and Tennessee at Nos. 7 and 8.
Other ACC schools that appeared in Baseball America’s preseason rankings were Duke (No. 16), North Carolina (17), and NC State (22).
Previously, Clemson placed 10th in D1 Baseball’s Top 25 preseason rankings, which debuted on Jan. 16.
Clemson is coming off an impressive season in coach Eric Bakich’s first year as head coach. The Tigers finished the regular season 39-17 overall and 20-10 in ACC play. They won 16 consecutive games, including going 4-0 in the ACC tournament to capture the program’s 16th ACC championship overall and 11th ACC tournament title — the first since 2016.
The Tigers’ season ended in the Clemson Regional when they lost to Charlotte.
Clemson opens the 2024 season on Friday, Feb. 16 with a three-game home series against Xavier at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.