Baseball America released its 2026 college baseball preseason Top 25 rankings on Monday.

Clemson is ranked No. 20 in the Baseball America preseason Top 25.

UCLA is the preseason top-ranked team, with LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Auburn rounding out the top five.

Clemson is one of seven ACC teams ranked in the Top 25, joining No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 12 Florida State, No. 14 Virginia, No. 18 Louisville and No. 25 Miami.

Clemson finished the 2025 season with a 45-18 overall record under head coach Erik Bakich. The Tigers hosted an NCAA Regional for the third year in a row as well. The 2026 Tigers are led by junior righthander Aidan Knaak, a two-time, first-team All-ACC selection.

Here’s what Baseball America wrote about Clemson entering the 2026 campaign:

Clemson has moved steadily forward under Erik Bakich, building credibility through consistency rather than flashes. Over his first three seasons, the Tigers have won 133 games, reached a super regional in 2024 and remained competitive annually in a league that rarely offers grace. The trajectory is clear. The next step is not relevance but breakthrough. This offseason reflected that intent. Clemson retained much of its core while making targeted portal additions designed to complement, not overhaul, the roster. The result is a team with enough depth to contend deep into June, even as the path through a loaded conference remains unforgiving.

Clemson opens the 2026 season at home on Feb. 13 with a three-game series against Army.

The Tigers were also recently ranked No. 20 in the Perfect Game preseason ranking and were ranked No. 19 in the D1Baseball preseason ranking.