Tennessee baseball ranking: Where are Vols in Baseball America's 'way too early' top 25?

Tennessee baseball reached the mountaintop of college baseball in 2024 when Tony Vitello's squad defeated Texas A&M in Omaha, Nebraska to win the program's first College World Series title.

It's a moment that captivated the rise of the Vols' program under Vitello in his six years in the manager's chair after Tennessee had come up short in previous trips to the CWS the last three years. It's also a moment that was shown front and center at the 2024 MLB draft, as eight Vols were selected across the three-day event , including Christian Moore going No. 8 overall to the Los Angeles Angels.

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But it's never too early to look ahead to next season, as evidenced by Baseball America's Teddy Cahill releasing his "way too early" top 25 for the 2025 college baseball season, where the Vols came in at No. 7 behind several SEC teams.

Here's what to know of the rankings, and where Tennessee ranks in them:

Where does Tennessee rank in Baseball America top 25 poll?

Vitello's defending national championship squad comes in at No. 7 overall, behind LSU, Florida and Texas A&M in the SEC.

Here's what Cahill had to say on the Vols at No. 7:

"It’s been a tough go for reigning champs in recent years. Mississippi State and Mississippi missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the two seasons following their titles. LSU had to scramble after a poor start to the SEC season to get in. Can Tennessee avoid a similar hangover in 2025?

The good news is the Volunteers bring back center fielder Hunter Ensley, Freshman All-American shortstop Dean Curley and a couple of key arms in Nate Snead and Dylan Loy. The bad news is they must replace six regulars in the lineup, their entire rotation and the back end of the bullpen. Tennessee has a high-level recruiting class and hit the portal hard, bringing in high-level players like infielders Gavin Kilen (Louisville) and Andrew Fischer (Mississippi). Figuring out how the pieces best fit together will be critical for Tennessee this fall."

The Vols finished 60-13 overall in the 2024 season, which also included winning the SEC Baseball Tournament. Tennessee lost Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Billy Amick, Dylan Dreiling, Drew Beams, Kavares Tears, AJ Causey and Aaron Combs to the MLB draft — five of its nine starters in Game 3 vs. Texas A&M in the CWS.

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Baseball America's 'way too early' top 25 rankings for 2025

LSU was ranked No. 1 in Baseball America's ranking with Florida, Florida State, Clemson and Texas A&M rounding out the top five, respectively. Including Tennessee, 11 SEC teams found a spot on the "way too early" top 25 list.

Here's the full list of Baseball America's "way too early" top 25 for the 2025 College Baseball season:

1. LSU
2. Florida
3. Florida State
4. Clemson
5. Texas A&M
6. Virginia
7. Tennessee
8. Arkansas
9. Duke
10. Oregon State
11. Georgia
12. North Carolina
13. NC State
14. Oregon
15. Oklahoma State
16. Mississippi State
17. South Carolina
18. Vanderbilt
19. Texas
20. Arizona
21. Indiana
22. Stanford
23. Kentucky
24. Southern Miss
25. Wake Forest

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball ranking: Where are Vols in Baseball America's 'way too early' top 25?