DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 24th year with its 2021 weekly surveys, and NCAA champion Mississippi State made its first No. 1 ranking count in the final Top 30 survey.
The Bulldogs won their first NCAA team championship in any sport in more than 135 years of intercollegiate competition and kept the Southeastern Conference's streak of No. 1 rankings preseason Florida, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt · intact for the full campaign. This is the first time in NCBWA poll annals that one circuit had a No. 1 team in all Top 30 and 35 rankings.
All 16 teams in the NCAA Super Regionals also were among the Top 20, and some notable jumps in the ratings appear in this week's compilations.
Some notable changes from the previous June 8 NCBWA survey in the standings are Mississippi State from No. 8 to No. 1 (State was preseason 7), Vanderbilt No. 2 from 3 (preseason 3), NC State No. 3 from 12 (preseason 11), Stanford No. 5 from 9 (preseason received votes), Virginia No. 6 from 14 (preseason 15), and UCLA from No. 24 to 19 (preseason 2).
There have been 14 conferences (10 in the final poll) represented in all the standings of 2021, and there were 15 different conferences included in the COVID-19 abbreviated NCBWA polls in 2020. In 2020, the writers predicted that eventual NCAA winner Vanderbilt would be No. 1 in the preseason rankings.
The 2021 poll voters come from among 33 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. The '21 season features 302 NCAA Division I baseball-playing schools, and for more information or to join the NCBWA please go to ncbwa.com.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Trophy, Regional Players of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors Division I Players of the Week, the Stopper of the Year, and publication and writing contests.