South Carolina baseball picks up nice preseason ranking from national outlet

South Carolina baseball fans got their first glimpse of the 2024 YardCocks this weekend with some intrasquad scrimmages. The actual season begins on February 16th as the Gamecocks welcome the Miami (OH) Redhawks to Columbia for a 3-game series.

Expectations are high for the garnet and black. South Carolina baseball made their way to a Super Regional last season for the first time since 2018, and USC hosted a Regional (as a 1-seed) for the first time since 2016. The return of the majority of the lineup and some intriguiing pitchers from the transfer portal has filled Gamecock fans with hope that a trip to Omaha (the team's first since three-straight national championship seres, including two titles) could be in line for the 2024 season.

Most of the national perception surrounding Carolina is positive. College Baseball Central ranked the Gamecocks 11th in their preseason poll, and Perfect Game slotted USC in as their 13th-best team in the country this preseason. However, D1Baseball is not as high on South Carolina baseball, ranking Mark Kingston's squad 25th before the season begins.

Another major outlet is in line with the more optimistic views of the program. Baseball America ranks the 2024 version of the South Carolina baseball team in the 12-spot in their preseason poll. The 12th ranking is 7th among SEC programs in Baseball America's poll. The rival Clemson Tigers are 9th and border rival North Carolina is 17th.

The enitre poll can be seen below:

1. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2. LSU Tigers
3. Arkansas Razorbacks
4. Florida Gators
5. Oregon State Beavers
6. TCU Horned Frogs
7. Vanderbilt Commodores
8. Tennessee Volunteers
9. Clemson Tigers
10. Virginia Cavaliers
11. Texas A&M Aggies
12. South Carolina Gamecocks
13. Texas Longhorns
14. East Carolina Pirates
15. Stanford Cardinal
16. Duke Blue Devils
17. North Carolina Tar Heels
18. Texas Tech Red Raiders
19. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
20. Iowa Hawkeyes
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
22. NC State Wolfpack
23. Auburn Tigers
24. Northeastern Huskies
25. UC-Irvine Anteaters