MLB Draft candidates: Five college baseball programs to watch in 2026 as NCAA season kicks off

College baseball's regular season will kick off tomorrow. CBS Sports will, in keeping with tradition, honor the moment by publishing our preseason ranking of the top 30 prospects in this year's Major League Baseball draft class. Today, as a teaser of sorts for that article, we're choosing to highlight some of the college programs with the most 2026 Draft-relevant players.

Below, we've evaluated five programs that have both star quality and depth. To state the obvious: there were more than five teams who were considered for this piece, meaning that we had to break a few ties with the tried-and-true methodology known as a coin flip.

Got it? Good. Now, let's get to it. 

1. Virginia Cavaliers

UVA lacks the quantity possessed by the other programs in this piece. The Cavaliers nevertheless make up for it with quality. Outfielder AJ Gracia, a transfer from Duke, has a loose left-handed swing and feel for both contact and the zone alike. Shortstop Eric Becker, meanwhile, has hit .366/.459/.637 with 17 home runs and nine stolen bases in his first 95 games and is expected to remain at the six as a professional. Each should be selected in the top half of the first round if they perform to expectations. Keep an eye on infielder Joe Tiroly, too. He transferred from Rider after hitting .377/.481/.749 in 2025.

2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets will field a lineup that could include three top-50 picks: outfielder Drew Burress, catcher Vahn Lackey, and infielder Jarren Advincula. Burress and Lackey in particular have the chance to go high come July. Burress is a smaller outfielder whose pull-and-lift approach allows him to generate more power output than you might expect. Lackey, on the other hand, is an athletic backstop who should have no trouble remaining behind the plate at the next level. Advincula, for his part, hit .342/.410/.506 last season with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 55 games with California.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks placed only two players in the top 30 rankings, catcher Ryder Helfrick and right-hander Gabe Gaeckle, yet they had several others in the running for consideration. That group includes (among others) right-hander Carson Wiggins, lefties Hunter Dietz and Ethan McElvain, infielders TJ Pompey and Camden Kozeal, and outfielder Kuhio Aloy. Many of those players have serious questions to answer -- for example: Wiggins may not even pitch after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Dietz has thrown fewer than two combined regular season innings across two collegiate seasons -- limiting them to third on this list, but there aren't many teams with more immediate players of pro interest.

4. Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies will field a roster that includes two players who made the cut for our top 30. Shortstop Chris Hacopian demonstrated he can really hit during his time at Maryland. He's not going to stick at shortstop for the long haul, though, and that may cause him to slip outside of the top 10 come July. Outfielder Caden Sorrell is highly athletic with a fast bat, but needs to make more contact to solidify his draft positioning. Left-hander Shane Sdao (returning from Tommy John surgery), third baseman Gavin Grahovac, and reliever Clayton Freshcorn will also be of note to scouts.

5. TCU Horned Frogs

The main name worth knowing on TCU's roster belongs to outfielder Sawyer Strosnider. He's a quick-twitch athlete with a chance to establish an even higher baseline of performance than he did last year, when he batted .350/.420/.650 with 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 56 games. Right-hander Tommy LaPour also harbors first-round dreams thanks to his size, strength, and strike-throwing ability. There's also well-rounded outfielder Chase Brunson, who may land in the second round.