While Texas is the pre-season favorite to win the 2010 College World Series, the Virginia Cavaliers earned its highest pre-season ranking in school history, coming in No. 3 according to Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I pre-season baseball poll. This also matches the highest ranking Virginia Baseball has ever received, having been ranked No. 3 in 2007.
Virginia is ranked only behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 LSU, who played for the title last year and are perennial powerhouses.
The ACC is the only conference with more than three schools in the top 20. Virginia is ranked the highest, followed by No. 6 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Florida State to round out the top 10. Miami (12), North Carolina (13) and Clemson (16) also rank amongst the top 20.
The Wahoos, who captured the ACC Championship as the lowest seed to ever do so, and who won the NCAA Irvine "Regional of Death" and Oxford Super Regional en route to the program's first College World Series appearance, return the overwhelming majority of last year's letterwinners, and the entire starting lineup, including All-Americans Jarrett Parker and Danny Hultzen. Add to this a top-10 recruiting class, and you're looking at one of the strongest CWS contenders in the country.
The 'Hoos throw the first pitch, on the road, February 19 in a 3-game series against East Carolina, pre-season ranked No. 18. For a detailed rundown on the top 40 teams, see the Jan. 8, 2010 edition of Collegiate Baseball newspaper.