FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas' highest ranking in the 2019 preseason is courtesy of 31 voting baseball coaches across the country.
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 12 in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll that was released Thursday, one day prior to the start of preseason practice nationwide. Four other preseason polls have ranked Arkansas 13th, 16th, 18th and 25th.
2019 Preseason Coaches' Poll
1 LSU
2 Vanderbilt
3 Florida
4 Texas Tech
5 Oregon State
6 North Carolina
7 UCLA
8 Louisville
9 Stanford
10 Ole Miss
11 Florida State
12 Arkansas
13 Georgia
14 East Carolina
15 Mississippi State
16 TCU
17 Baylor
18 Texas
19 Clemson
20 Auburn
21 Oklahoma State
22 Coastal Carolina
23 North Carolina State
24 Cal State Fullerton
25 Michigan
Ambiguity about the Razorbacks' place nationally comes after Arkansas finished national runner-up finish last season and a large roster turnover going into this year. The Razorbacks lost a dozen players off its 2018 College World Series roster, including five starters in the field, a starting designated hitter, two starting pitchers and two ace relievers.
But the Razorbacks also have some key pieces returning, including four players - pitchers Isaiah Campbell and Matt Cronin, infielder Casey Martin and outfielder Heston Kjerstad - who have garnered recognition as Preseason All-Americans by at least one publication.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday that he believes the Razorbacks have been "overranked" this preseason based on returning experience.
"I told the players in our meeting before we went home for the holidays that we would have to earn everything we get and that we wouldn't be ranked in any poll," Van Horn said. "Well, I was wrong there.
"I just felt like...there is still a lot to be proved. I still feel that way."
As usual, the Southeastern Conference was heavily represented with eight programs in Thursday's coaches' poll release. LSU, Vanderbilt and Florida manned the top three positions in the poll, followed by Ole Miss at No. 10.
Bolstered by the return of several starters, LSU has been ranked No. 1 in three of the five polls released this preseason. Vanderbilt is No. 1 in two polls.
“Everybody says the polls don’t have any value, but you never know,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri told USA Today. “Obviously, somebody thinks highly of our team....I’m not like a lot of coaches. I like polls.”
Three other SEC teams are ranked behind Arkansas. Georgia is ranked No. 13, Mississippi State is No. 15 and Auburn is No. 20. Texas A&M, South Carolina and Kentucky all received votes but were unranked.
Oregon State, which defeated Arkansas twice in the three-game College World Series championship round, is ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll. Texas Tech is ranked No. 4.
Texas, which will host Arkansas for two games in March, is ranked No. 18.
"I feel like (the rankings do not) really matter," Arkansas center fielder Dominic Fletcher said. "A lot of teams that start off unranked end up making it to Omaha, and teams that start off ranked high fall off the map.
"It just matters toward the end of the season."