It’s no secret to anyone that the SEC is the best conference in college baseball and has been for a long time. Last year alone 9 of the 14 teams in the SEC advanced to a regional, with 4 of them advancing to the College World Series. Every team in the SEC has a chance to compete week in and week out leading to some of the most exciting college baseball games of the year.

Conference Predictions

Before I make my predictions for SEC pitcher and player of the year, I want to preface by saying that Chase Dollander and Dylan Crews are almost certainly going to be the pitcher and player of the year, respectively. These two guys are expected to go number one and number two in this year’s MLB draft and are obvious choices for the predicted awards, so I am going to mix it up a little bit and highlight some different guys.

SEC Pitcher of the Year: Hurston Waldrep, Florida

Hurston Waldrep transferred from Southern Miss over the off-season after posting phenomenal numbers  in 2022 for a program that hosted a Super Regional. Last season, Waldrep went 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA and a whopping 14 K/9. If he’s able to improve on these numbers while also competing in the SEC, there’s a great chance he competes for SEC pitcher of the year.

SEC Player of the Year: Paul Skenes, LSU

Paul Skenes has a very real chance to win this award regardless of the presence of Dylan Crews simply because Skenes is a two-way player. The only guy that I can think of in recent memory who is as dominant on the mound and at the plate as Skenes in college baseball is Brendan McKay, who went on to win the Golden Spikes Award back in 2017 for Louisville. Last year at Air Force, Skenes hit .314 with a 1.046 OPS while also maintaining a 2.73 ERA on the mound. Skenes was a huge get in the transfer portal for LSU this year.

 SEC Freshman of the Year: Grayson Saunier, Ole Miss

While it is almost impossible to predict how well guys’ talents will transfer from high school to college, Ole Miss freshman pitcher Grayson Saunier appears to have all the stuff you need to compete at the highest level in college baseball. He’s listed at 6’4” 200 pounds, sits 91-94 with his fastball, and has a huge wipeout slider. A part of the reason I am picking him for this award is because Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco announced just Wednesday morning that Saunier is starting the season in the weekend rotation. And if the kid sticks there all season long and produces, he’s going to have quite the résumé for SEC Freshman of the Year.

SEC West Predicted Standings

1. LSU

It should be no surprise that LSU is the pick to win the SEC West. They are the odds-on favorite right now to win the entire SEC, and rightfully so because they have assembled what could end up being one of the best college baseball rosters of all-time. Dylan Crews and Tre Morgan have been staples in this lineup since the day they arrived in Baton Rouge, along with outfielder Josh Pearson and shortstop Jordan Thompson. Adding the likes of Tommy White, who led the NCAA in homeruns as a freshman at NC State, and Paul Skenes, a freak two-way player from Air Force, gives opposing teams no good way to navigate their lineup. Skenes, along with Christian Little and Thatcher Hurd, give LSU a much-needed boost for a pitching staff that already includes Top 100 draft prospects in Blake Money, Ty Floyd, and Grant Taylor. Watch out for this team all season long.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects.  

OF Dylan Crews (#1

RHP/1B Paul Skenes (#6) *Transfer from Air Force*

RHP Grant Taylor (#27)

1B Tre’ Morgan (#42)

RHP Ty Floyd (#73)

RHP Christian Little (#78) *Transfer from Vanderbilt*

RHP Blake Money (#100)

RHP Thatcher Hurd (2024, #2) *Transfer from UCLA*

3B/DH Tommy White (2024, #8) *Transfer from NC State*

OF Paxton Kling (2024, #31) *Freshman*

SS Gavin Guidry (2024 #36) *Freshman*

2. Ole Miss

Predicting Ole Miss at #2 in the SEC West may come as a surprise due to the impact players that they lost after last year’s National Championship run, but Head Coach Mike Bianco has done an excellent job replacing everyone who left. The Rebels are bringing back five starters in the lineup, including likely top 10 pick Jacob Gonzalez at shortstop, to match up with transfers Ethan Groff (who hit over .400 for Tulane last year) Ethan Lege, (JUCO All-American) and Anthony Calarco, a Northwestern transfer. The latter will attempt to fill the massive shoes left behind at first base after Tim Elko’s departure. Look out for sophomore Hunter Elliott to improve upon an already stellar freshman campaign as the ace of the pitching staff. Joining him the weekend rotation to start the year is stud freshman Grayson Saunier and transfer Xavier Rivas. If they can keep away the championship hangover, this team should compete all season long.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

SS Jacob Gonzalez (#3)

LHP Hunter Elliott (2024, #39)

3. Texas A&M

Texas A&M is coming off a season where they advanced to the College World Series by sweeping both their Regional and Super Regional appearances. While they did ultimately come up short in Omaha, this team played incredible baseball throughout the entire season. They were 19-11 in SEC play which is astounding considering the talent you see every year in the SEC. They’re bringing back four of their top offensive producers from last year in hitters Ryan Targac, Jack Moss, Austin Bost, and Brett Minnich. On the pitching side they bring back Nathan Dettemer, a top MLB draft prospect, and SEC all-freshman team member Chris Cortez.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

RHP Nathan Dettmer (#46)

1B Jack Moss (#65)

RHP Chris Cortez (2024, #76)

4. Arkansas

Year in and year out, Arkansas is always in the hunt to make it to Omaha. Head Coach Dave Van Horn is one of the best coaches in college baseball today. While this Razorbacks team is losing a lot of bats, their pitching staff is probably the second-best staff in the SEC. Arkansas brings back the likes of Hagen Smith, Jaxson Wiggins, Will McIntyre, Brady Tygart, and Zach Morris, all of whom threw very significant innings a year ago. The strength of this pitching staff will allow Arkansas to compete for the SEC once again. They get a slight knocking in my predictions because they have to face Ole Miss, Vandy, and LSU on the road, which is about as tough as it gets in college baseball.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

RHP Jaxon Wiggins (#40)

LHP Hunter Holton (#86)

LHP Hagen Smith (#25)

RHP Brady Tygart (2024, #46)

2B Peyton Stovall (2024, #53)

5. Alabama

I think this is where things start to take a serious drop in the competition for the SEC West. While Alabama is returning their entire weekend rotation and much of their starting lineup, I still don’t expect this team to be great. They dominated non-conference games early in the year in 2022, but once SEC play started they went 12-17 and did not do much to impress. On top of that, Alabama is lost two of their better offensive producers in Zane Denton and Owen Diodati, leaving them with much to be desired after a mediocre 2022 season.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

LHP Grayson Hitt (#30)

RHP Ben Hess (2024, #22)

6. Auburn

Auburn might be one of the most interesting teams in college baseball over the past two seasons. They had a very late surge in 2022 and ended up making it to Omaha, but this is a team who may very well end up missing the SEC tournament in 2023. All of their top offensive production and top arms either graduated or was drafted. The reason I give them the edge over Mississippi State is because the pitching that they do have returning from last season could develop into some pretty good arms. Joseph Gonzalez, Chase Allsup, and Chase Isbell all look to improve upon strong 2022 seasons and lead this team deep into the tournament once again this spring.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

RHP Joseph Gonzalez (#41)

SS Cole Foster (#83)

7. Mississippi State 

After an unbelievably disappointing 2022 season coming off a National Championship in 2021, I expect Mississippi State to be just as bad this year. While they didn’t have much talent to begin with last season, almost all of what they did have is gone. Stud pitcher Landon Sims left the building and almost all of their top offensive producers from last season are no longer with the program. This team year in and year out is typically good and there’s a chance they finish higher than seventh in the SEC West. But with the talent you see in the program right now I would not expect much. One potential bright spot is Samford transfer Colton Ledbetter, who put up two seasons of incredible numbers before transferring to State this fall.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

OF Colton Ledbetter (#69) *Transfer from Samford*

SEC East Predicted Standings

1. Tennessee

Everyone knows of the insane success Tennessee had in the 2022 regular season before failing to make it to Omaha, which was a massive let down after what this team did during the regular season. Every one of their leading contributors on offense either graduated or is now playing professional baseball. While that is a slight concern, they did bring in Alabama transfer Zane Denton, Cincinnati transfer Griffin Meritt, and Kansas transfer Maui Ahuna to bolster their lineup. Truthfully, all the bats in this lineup leaving doesn’t concern me when they return what is easily the best weekend rotation in college baseball. The combination of Chase Dollander, who is the best pitcher in college baseball, Drew Beam, and Chase Burns is a rotation like no other anywhere else in the country. Look to these three starting pitchers to dominate every weekend again this year and lead Tennessee back to the elusive College World Series.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

RHP Chase Dollander (#2)

SS Maui Ahuna (#16) *Transfer from Kansas*

C/OF Jared Dickey (#64)

RHP Chase Burns (2024, #3)

1B Blake Burke (2024, #32)

RHP Drew Beam (2024, #50)

2B/3B Christian Moore (2024, #57)

2. Vanderbilt

While most teams throughout the country would be pleased with going 14-16 in SEC play, it was a bit of a disappointing year for Vandy in 2022. After going 14-16 in the SEC and losing out in their Regional, it was a big letdown after the talent they had throughout the roster. This year they return one of my favorite players to watch in college baseball in Enrique Bradfield Jr, a stud centerfielder that is one of the best defensively in the game and who will likely lead the nation in stolen bases again this spring. Along with Bradfield on the offensive side they return Parker Noland and Calvin Hewitt who look to improve upon strong 2022 campaigns. Vandy has an edge with their pitching staff who returns Carter Holton, Devon Futrell, Thomas Schultz, Nick Maldonado, and Brett Hansen, all of whom had extremely good 2022 campaigns and provides the Commodores with a lot of experience going into SEC play this year.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

OF Enrique Bradfield (#8)

RHP Patrick Reilly (#28)

LHP Hunter Owen (#92)

C/OF Jack Bulger (#99)

LHP Carter Holton (2024, #9)

RHP Andrew Dutkanych IV (2024, #13) *Freshman*

3. Florida 

Florida was one of the toughest teams to predict in the entire SEC. After coming off a pretty strong 2022 season, Florida lost a lot of key contributors offensively, but return stud outfielder Wyatt Langford, who has a chance to be the SEC Player of the Year, and senior catcher BT Riopelle. What Florida may lack a little early in the year offensively, they will make up for with an incredible rotation that brings back starter Brandon Sproat, Brandon Neely and Southern Miss transfer Hurston Waldrep. The combination of these three guys should make up a top three rotation in the SEC, with the potential to push Tennessee for the best rotation in the country by season’s end.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

OF Wyatt Langford (#4)

RHP Hurston Walrop (#10) *Transfer from Southern Miss)

RHP Brandon Sproat (#34)

2B/3B Colby Halter (#81)

LHP Pierce Coppola (2024, #15)

1B/LHP Jac Caglianone (2024, #30)

4. South Carolina

South Carolina is where I think the talent starts to drop off in the SEC East. This is a program that’s hovered around .500 over the last couple seasons and they will continue to do so this year. While they are returning very little significant offensive production, they are returning the four pitchers with the most innings pitched last season. Look for ace Will Sanders and Noah Hall to lead this team’s rotation, with Cade Austin being the top guy out of the pen who can potentially make a spot start when needed. Playing 30 conference games in the SEC is a brutal schedule and having the depth and experience in their pitching staff will help them stay alive.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

RHP Will Sanders (#13)

5. Georgia

After a Regional appearance in 2022, I don’t expect to see Georgia back there this postseason. The Bulldogs were an interesting team last season on paper as they didn’t have the most eye-popping stats, but they went 15-15 in SEC play and advanced to Regional. They return Connor Tate, and Parks Harber, who were tied for the team lead in home runs last year, along with a few guys who have serious experience in their pitching staff. That being said, I don’t expect much out of this Georgia team in 2023.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

LHP Jaden Woods (#50)

C Corey Collins (#95)

6. Kentucky

Kentucky could end up with the worst record in the SEC this year, but because of their random deep run in the SEC tournament last year I’m not predicting them in the bottom spot just yet. What little offensive production they did have last year is gone and there’s not a whole lot going on for them in the pitching staff after losing their best reliever. But they have brought in 12 transfers and in an attempt to bolster this roster. One thing the Wildcats have going for them this season is that while you do play 10 of the 13 other SEC teams, Kentucky avoids having to play both LSU or Ole Miss this year, which are six games they would be completely and totally outmatched in. Expect Kentucky to be one of the three worst teams in the SEC.

Key Prospects:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

LHP Magdiel Cotto (#57)

7. Missouri

Simply put, Missouri just doesn’t have a very good baseball team. They missed the SEC tournament last year while having Torin Montgomery and Josh Day on the roster. I can’t imagine them improving upon 2022’s 10-20 SEC record  after losing those two guys. There’s not a whole lot to talk about with this Missouri team compared to the rest of the SEC because the talent level is just not there. Missouri will miss the SEC tournament again and be the worst team in the SEC.

Key Player:

Unless otherwise noted, rankings in parentheses are from Baseball America’s 2023 or 2024 Top 100 College Draft Prospects. 

3B Luke Mann (not ranked)