College baseball is back. And the SEC, to be frank, never left. Possessor of the past 4 College World Series titles, the league of “It Means More” has nothing to prove. But prove it the league shall, starting on Friday with the return of hardball. Omaha is many miles and weeks away, but here’s where the squads of the SEC start 2024.

14. Missouri (30-24 last season)

One of only 4 SEC teams not to make the NCAA Tournament a year ago, Mizzou hired Kerrick Jackson to take over their program. Jackson’s work will begin with adding more SEC-level talent. It’s a rough task, but he helped recruit the last Mizzou team to make the NCAA Tournament in 2012.

13. Mississippi State (27-26 last season)

The story in Starkville a season ago was that the pitching absolutely dried up. With a 7.01 team ERA, State was destined for the bottom of the West. It’s been a brutal couple seasons for Chris Lemonis since the 2021 title, and 2024 seems unlikely to change that arc.

12. Ole Miss (25-29 last season)

Along the same lines, 2023 wasn’t a great year for the 2022 CWS champs. With a 6.40 team ERA, both Mississippi schools struggled mightily to get anybody out. The Rebels have too much talent to stay down for long, but the West is a brutal climb.

11. Georgia (29-27 last season)

OK, so the bottom 4 teams in this ranking are the bottom 4 in ERA last season. But Georgia, with Charlie Condon, has the chance to hit enough to overcome thin pitching. A draft-eligible sophomore, Condon opens the year in the mix to be the No. 1 overall player selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. And Wes Johnson, former LSU pitching whisperer, is now UGA’s head coach. Don’t sleep on the Bulldogs working into the NCAA field this season.

10. Kentucky (40-21 last season)

A year ago, Kentucky rode a hot start and a smallball approach to 40 wins and a season that probably saved Nick Mingione’s job. Can Kentucky replicate the feat? Their pitching is talented and Devin Burkes is one of the league’s best catchers.

9. Alabama (43-21 last season)

After last year’s midseason gambling scandal turned the program upside down, Alabama rallied for an amazing run to close the year. Rob Vaughn — a 2-time Big Ten Coach of the Year at Maryland — is the new sheriff in town, and he’s got a great pitching stopper in Alton Davis. The offense will be a work-in-progress after freshman All-American Coby Shelton transferred to Florida.

8. Auburn (34-23 last season)

Any team with Ike Irish is going to hand around the SEC and make life difficult. In a league full of brilliant freshmen, Irish might have been the best pure hitter. If Auburn’s pitching depth returns, the Tigers could be a surprise team in the West.

7. South Carolina (42-21 last season)

Ethan Petry is another entry into the now-sensational sophomores of the SEC, and it’s worth noting that Carolina finished last year 2nd in the SEC in ERA (4.19). The East race is packed at the top, but it wasn’t that long ago that Carolina was one of the sport’s top dogs. Mark Kingston hasn’t made it to Omaha yet, but the Gamecocks might just take that as a challenge.

6. Texas A&M (38-27 last season)

A year ago, A&M might have underachieved a bit, finishing 13th in the league in batting average and in the middle of the pack in home runs. That won’t happen again and 2 reasons are returnee Jace LaViolette and transfer Braden Montgomery, who starred at Stanford and is projected as a potential top-10 pick. Jim Schlossnagle didn’t have the instant impact of Jay Johnson, but don’t bet against him this season. Baseball America ranked the Aggies No. 11 in its preseason Top 25.

5. Tennessee (44-22 last season)

This one might get contentious, but after multiple seasons of late underachieving, the Vols have to earn a spot at the top of the SEC. Chase Burns left, but Drew Beam returns. UT lost a ton of bats, but the Vols had bats to give and return Christian Moore and added transfer Billy Amick. Will they produce late? Tennessee betting sites like the the Vols’ odds of doing damage in Omaha.

4. Vanderbilt (42-20 last season)

Vanderbilt gets forgotten in the SEC beauty contest, but that’s a mistake. Carter Holton and Devin Futrell will be an outstanding 1-2 pitching punch. Jonathan Vastine is a great shortstop and transfer outfielder Jacob Humphrey could be one of the league’s top base stealers. Sleep on Vandy at your own peril. Baseball America isn’t. The Vandy Boys start the season ranked No. 7 in the nation.

3. LSU (54-17 last season)

Hail the conquering heroes. Now LSU gets to find out how to repeat with a target on its back. Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews left as CWS champions, but Tommy White will be. Better, still, these Tigers are loaded with quality pitching. It won’t be a repeat of Skenes and Hope. Thatcher Hurd, Luke Holman and Gage Jump are top-50 arms. Also, watch for freshman Cameron Johnson, who basically has no equivalent … which is the same thing we were saying about Skenes a year ago. Baseball America ranked the Tigers No. 2. Louisiana betting apps clearly like the Tigers’ chances of repeating as CWS champs.

2. Florida (54-17 last season)

The Gators just missed the title a year ago and could be better. Jac Caglianone with another year of experience under his belt is absolutely other-worldly. Team him with Shelton’s arrival and a talented rotation of Cade Fisher, freshman Liam Peterson and Caglianone, and it’s easy to understand why this team is considered a threat to win it all. Most years, UF would have enough to be our No. 1. But this isn’t most years …

1. Arkansas (43-18 last season)

It’s their turn. It’s just flat their turn. Hagen Smith has that ace pitching vibe that says nobody is going to hit him in a big game. Kendall Diggs and transfer Wehiwa Aloy will be a 1-2 power punch, and Arkansas is going to claim the crown they have been seeking. Nine of the 14 SEC coaches picked the Hogs to win the tournament, and Baseball America ranked them No. 3.