Started By
Message

College Baseball is Largely a Function of Climate

Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:03 pm
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
22033 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:03 pm
Yes, it is early. But here are southern based schools (and southern California) currently ranked in the top 25.

Southern Miss (1)
Clemson (2)
UC Santa Barbara (3)
Florida (4)
UTSA (5)
Texas (6)
Ole Miss (9)
UAB (10)
UCLA (11)
USC (12)
Florida State (13)
Louisiana (14)
Texas A&M (15)
Baylor (16)
La Tech (22)
Charleston Southern (24)

Texas has 4. California has 3. The following states all have two representatives: Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Alabama has one. The 7 coastal southern states and southern California are home to 16 of the top 25. Other rankings have as many as 20 of 25 coming from those same states. College baseball success is clearly a function of climate.

With the growing number of modern facilities and indoor facilities, will yankee schools ever be able to catch up?

Or do they just not care about baseball?


Posted by PSS101
Member since Jun 2024
1462 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:08 pm to
The schools from the north or midwest invest in Hockey. The southern and west coast schools invest in baseball. There is a clear line.
Posted by TigerLunatik
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Jan 2005
106434 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:10 pm to
Baseball is a game better played in warm weather.
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
22033 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:13 pm to
Hockey seems to be making inroads in the south.
Posted by nicholastiger
Member since Jan 2004
54980 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:19 pm to
only ideal thing would be to push the season back but it's already late June to begin with
I don't know how you make it work further into July without impacting college summer leagues and the leadup to the draft

Posted by FahQGump
Auburn, Al
Member since Dec 2021
1804 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:19 pm to
Us baws in the south are born ball players bud. I hit a home run the first time I picked up a bat
Posted by Victor R Franko
Member since Dec 2021
2927 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:25 pm to
quote:

Or do they just not care about baseball?

Oh they care alright, just not until later in the year. Like earlier poster mentioned, they're big into hockey, really big like the south and west is for baseball. I've worked a lot in Phoenix during the spring and spring training for MLB. Those Yankees flood Phoenix and Tucson for the entire time of spring training.

They like baseball plenty, just a couple of months behind.
Posted by dstone12
Texan
Member since Jan 2007
39517 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:27 pm to
Expert level analysis.

Thanks man!
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
22033 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:28 pm to
quote:

Expert level analysis. Thanks man!


You are welcome!
Posted by billjamin
Houston
Member since Jun 2019
17468 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:29 pm to
quote:

Hockey seems to be making inroads in the south.

The south has enough people missing teeth for other reasons. We don't need anymore.
Posted by Drewbie
tFlagship
Member since Jun 2012
65424 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:31 pm to
quote:

The schools from the north or midwest invest in Hockey. The southern and west coast schools invest in baseball. There is a clear line.
A sacrifice I'm willing to make, but damnit I wish hockey would pick up down here. It's such an awesome sport.
Posted by Bryno1960
Off River Road
Member since Aug 2013
3703 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:34 pm to
quote:

Or do they just not care about baseball?


I think teams from the northern states absolutely care about baseball—they just don’t have the same opportunities to be outside early in the season. When LSU Tigers baseball played Dartmouth Big Green baseball and Northeastern Huskies baseball, it was reportedly the first time those teams had practiced or played outdoors this year. Meanwhile, LSU has been outside and working since fall ball.

That’s a pretty significant difference. Southern programs naturally have a weather advantage when it comes to preparation and early-season reps, and that can show up on the field.
Posted by MrWalkingMan
Republic of West Florida
Member since Aug 2010
8173 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 12:49 pm to
quote:

currently ranked in the top 25.

Yet you used RPI, which are not rankings
Posted by A12 Oxcart
On the float out in the Belt
Member since Dec 2022
1142 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 1:03 pm to
Kent State played pretty well against both LSU and Tennessee. 2-2 is not what I would have expected.
Posted by SEC Doctor
Member since Aug 2024
12232 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 1:16 pm to
Didn't college football have a recent stretch in which 18 out of 19 titles were won by teams in California or the Southeast?

I know large portions of the country don't care about college football.
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
22033 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 1:26 pm to
quote:

Yet you used RPI, which are not rankings


quote:

Rating Percentage Index (Sports): Used by the NCAA to rank teams (25% team winning percentage, 50% opponents' winning percentage, 25% opponents' opponents' winning percentage).
Posted by GamecockUltimate
Columbia,SC
Member since Feb 2019
9354 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 1:36 pm to
Charleston Southern or Coastal?
Posted by shinerfan
Duckworld(Earth-616)
Member since Sep 2009
28368 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 2:27 pm to
quote:


Us baws in the south are born ball players bud. I hit a home run the first time I picked up a bat



Have you considered a career as a military strongman on the Korean peninsula?
Posted by VFL67
Member since Feb 2025
1383 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 2:29 pm to
Has anyone seen NFLSU today?
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
22033 posts
Posted on 3/3/26 at 2:55 pm to
He may have moved up north where they don’t care about baseball yet.
Page 1 2
Jump to page
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 2Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow SECRant for SEC Football News
Follow us on X and Facebook to get the latest updates on SEC Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitter