Once again the University of Tampa is the top-rated baseball team in the Sunshine State Conference coach’s poll.

MELBOURNE, Fla. –  Sunshine State Conference coaches have selected the University of Tampa as the preseason number one for the 17th time in the last 18 polls. With 100 points and 10 first-place votes in the ranking, the Spartans are expected to raise the league trophy for the 23rd time in program history.

Rollins placed second with 89 points and picked up the remaining first-place vote. Florida Southern holds third place with 79 points, followed by Saint Leo and Barry with 70 and 68 points, respectively. Nova Southeastern takes up camp in the middle of the poll with 52 points. Deeper in the rankings, Florida Tech (40 points), Embry-Riddle (38 Points), Lynn (29 points), Eckerd (27 points), and Palm Beach Atlantic (13 points) round out the preseason listing.

2024 SSC BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Tampa won the 2023 conference title and earned an AQ to the NCAA tournament following a 26-4 (.867) record in league play. Along with UT, Barry, Florida Southern, and Rollins received a playoff berth last season. Barry and Rollins emerged victorious from South Regionals #1 and #2, meeting in a best-of-three-game super regional in Winter Park. The Tars bested the Buccaneers, 7-4 and 7-1, in back-to-back days to punch a second consecutive ticket to the NCAA finals site. In Cary, North Carolina, the Tars went 3-2 to finish as national runner-up.

Following Rollins’ 2023 post-season performance, SSC teams have reached the NCAA Division II World Series 46 times. While seven league programs have reached the final tournament, only four programs have won a national championship. Florida Southern continues to lead the SSC and NCAA Division II with nine national baseball titles, the last coming in 2005. Tampa won the league’s most recent title in 2019 and is right behind FSC with eight championships. Lynn won it all in 2009, and NSU went all the way in 2016.

Barry, Lynn, and Palm Beach Atlantic will open up the 2024 season in non-conference action on Thursday, February 1st. League play begins on Friday, February 23rd, with 10 teams taking the field.

Below are the full results of the 2024 SSC preseason coaches’ poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).

2024 SSC BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Rank

School (FPV)

Total Points

1Tampa (10)1002Rollins (1)893Florida Southern794Saint Leo705Barry686Nova Southeastern527Florida Tech408Embry-Riddle389Lynn2910Eckerd2711Palm Beach Atlantic13

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