DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continued its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 20th year with its 2017 weekly surveys. This season’s polls have been circulated from Feb. 20-June 28/29 following the 71st annual NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., as the Florida Gators (52-19) captured the 2017 NCAA championship and top spot in the final survey.
Florida, ranked No. 1 for the first time this season and winner of its first NCAA baseball title in 103 seasons at the university, was listed No. 2 in the 2017 NCBWA preseason poll under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. TCU held down the top position for three consecutive weeks, including the preseason survey, before then-15-0 Louisville of the Atlantic Coast Conference grabbed No. 1 in the March 13 and 20 surveys. Oregon State became the third team to hold down No. 1 and held that position for the next 11 weeks prior to the CWS.
Florida is the seventh different school to capture the NCAA Division I flag since the 2010 season. After LSU in 2009, South Carolina (2010 and ’11), Arizona (2012), UCLA (2013), Vanderbilt (2014), Virginia (2015), and Coastal Carolina (2016) won in Omaha. It was the initial NCAA diamond title for the last five winners.
The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. The final poll has representation by 10 different conferences among the 299 baseball-playing schools in the 2017 NCAA Division I ranks, and 13 total DI circuits were ranked in at least one ’17 NCBWA Top 30/35.
The preseason 2018 NCBWA DI Top 35 poll will be released in January 2018 after the 21st annual pre-’18 NCBWA All-America team is denoted. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to ncbwa.com.
The 2017 poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation.
FINAL NCBWA DIVISION I POLL (JUNE 28)
Rk. School Conference Record Pvs.
1. Florida SEC 52-19 4
2. LSU SEC 52-20 2
3. Oregon State Pac-12 56-6 1
4. TCU Big 12 50-18 5
5. Louisville ACC 53-12 3
6. Florida State ACC 46-23 10
7. Cal State Fullerton Big West 39-24 9
8. Texas A&M SEC 41-23 17
9. Long Beach State Big West 42-20-1 6
10. Kentucky SEC 43-23 7
11. Wake Forest ACC 43-20 8
12. Missouri State Missouri Valley 43-20 11
13. Mississippi State SEC 40-27 12
14. North Carolina ACC 49-14 15
15. Vanderbilt SEC 36-25 13
16. Sam Houston State Southland 44-23 14
17. Southern Miss Conference USA 50-16 21
18. Texas Tech Big 12 45-17 18
19. Davidson Atlantic 10 35-26 16
20. Stanford Pac-12 42-16 19
21. Arkansas SEC 45-19 22
22. Virginia ACC 43-16 23
23. Texas Big 12 39-24 20
24. Clemson ACC 42-21 24
25. Houston American Athletic 42-21 25
26. Arizona Pac-12 38-21 26
27. Auburn SEC 37-26 27
28. Dallas Baptist Missouri Valley 42-21 28
29. N.C. State ACC 36-25 29
30. Bethune-Cookman Mid-Eastern 36-25 30
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Baylor, BYU, FCGU, Indiana, Jackson State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Rice, Saint John’s, San Diego State, Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama, Tennessee Tech, UCF, UIC, USF, West Virginia, Yale.
Dropped out: None.
By conference: SEC 8, ACC 7, Big 12 3, Pac-12 3, Missouri Valley 2, American Athletic 1, Atlantic 10 1, Conference USA 1, Mid-Eastern Athletic 1, Southland 1.
