Arkansas finishes 6th in final coaches' poll

Arkansas NCAA college baseball coach Dave Van Horn, right, follows team practice at TD Ameritrade Park, as Casey Martin throws in Omaha, Neb., Friday, June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

— Arkansas baseball recorded another program first Thursday.

Coaches' Final Top 25

1 Vanderbilt

2 Michigan

3 Louisville

4 Mississippi State

5 Texas Tech

6 Arkansas

7 Florida State

8 UCLA

9 Auburn

10 Stanford

11 Oklahoma State

12 East Carolina

13 North Carolina

14 Ole Miss

15 Georgia

16 LSU

17 Georgia Tech

18 Duke

19 West Virginia

20 Miami

21 Texas A&M

22 UC-Santa Barbara

23 Oregon State

24 North Carolina State

25 Creighton

The Razorbacks’ run to the College World Series and 46-20 record resulted in a final ranking of No. 6 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, marking the first time Arkansas has been ranked in the top 10 of the final poll in consecutive seasons. The Razorbacks finished No. 2 last year when they were runner-up to Oregon State at the College World Series.

National champion Vanderbilt was ranked No. 1 in the final coaches' poll, followed by national runner-up Michigan at No. 2. The top five was rounded out by Louisville, Mississippi State and Texas Tech.

Other SEC teams ranked in the final poll included Auburn (9), Ole Miss (14), Georgia (15), LSU (16) and Texas A&M (21). Tennessee received the most votes among teams that were not ranked in the final poll.

This is the 14th time Arkansas has finished ranked in the final coaches’ poll, which began in 1992. The Razorbacks have finished ranked 12 times under 17th-year head coach Dave Van Horn.

Arkansas has been ranked to end three consecutive seasons, tied for the second-longest streak in program history. The Razorbacks were ranked to end five consecutive seasons from 2009-13.

Prior to the coaches’ poll, Arkansas was ranked nine times in the final poll by either Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, including four times in the top 10.

The Razorbacks have had six final top-10 rankings under Van Horn and 10 total - all coming during years in which Arkansas reached the College World Series.

Counting preseason polls, the Razorbacks have been ranked by coaches in 41 consecutive polls since March 2017.

Arkansas was ranked No. 12 by coaches in the 2019 preseason, but never fell below No. 10 once weekly rankings began following the start of the season.

The Razorbacks, who won 40 of their first 53 games, were ranked as high as No. 4 for two weeks in May. Arkansas entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 5, which correlated with its No. 5 national seed in the tournament.

Arkansas Postseason Rankings All-Time

Year: Final Ranking (Poll)

2019: 6 (Coaches)

2018: 2 (Coaches)

2017: 18 (Coaches)

2015: 8 (Coaches)

2013: 18 (Coaches)

2012: 3 (Coaches)

2011: 23 (Coaches)

2010: 14 (Coaches)

2009: 7 (Coaches)

2007: 21 (Coaches)

2006: 22 (Coaches)

2004: 8 (Coaches)

2002: 22 (Coaches)

1999: 20 (Coaches)

1990: 12 (Baseball America)

1989: 10 (Baseball America)

1987: 5 (Baseball America)

1986: 19 (Baseball America)

1985: 4 (Baseball America)

1983: 24 (Collegiate Baseball)

1980: 19 (Collegiate Baseball)

1979: 2 (Collegiate Baseball)

1978: 18 (Collegiate Baseball)

Note: The coaches’ poll began in 1992 and is the poll used by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and WholeHogSports.com. Baseball America began its top 25 poll in 1985. Collegiate Baseball has released a final poll each year since 1959.