| | | Record | Pct | CWS Recap | Head Coach | Preseason
Rank | Rank
before
CWS |
|---|
| 1 | Louisiana St. | 52-17 | .754 | 4-0 | Skip Bertman (17 yrs: 826-308-2) | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | Stanford | 50-16 | .758 | 3-1 (LSU) | Mark Marquess (24 yrs: 995-498-5) | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Florida St. | 53-19 | .736 | 2-2 (LSU) | Mike Martin (21 yrs: 1132-383-3) | 7 | 5 |
| 4 | South Carolina | 56-10 | .848 | DNP | Ray Tanner (13 yrs: 563-248-3) | 25 | 6 |
| 5 | Southern California | 44-20 | .688 | 1-2 (Fla. St.) | Mike Gillespie (14 yrs: 563-313-2) | 11 | 4 |
| 6 | Georgia Tech | 50-16 | .758 | DNP | Danny Hall (13 yrs: 511-253-0) | 9 | 7 |
| 7 | Clemson | 51-18 | .739 | 1-2 (La.-Laf.) | Jack Leggett (21 yrs: 716-420) | 24 | 3 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 51-17 | .750 | DNP | Dave Van Horn (6 yrs: 223-120) | NR | 8 |
| 9 | UL-Lafayette | 49-20 | .710 | 2-2 (Stanford) | Tony Robichaux (13 yrs: 462-289) | NR | 11 |
| 10 | Texas | 46-21 | .687 | 0-2 (Fla. St.) | Augie Garrido (32 yrs: 1284-622-8) | 15 | 9 |
| 11 | Houston | 48-18 | .727 | DNP | Rayner Noble (6 yrs: 217-147) | 6 | 10 |
| 12 | Arizona St. | 44-15 | .746 | DNP | Pat Murphy (13 yrs: 550-239-1) | 22 | 14 |
| 13 | Miami-FL | 41-19-1 | .683 | DNP | Jim Morris (19 yrs: 844-351-2) | 5 | 13 |
| 14 | Baylor | 45-17 | .726 | DNP | Steve Smith (6 yrs: 225-129-1) | 10 | 15 |
| 15 | Mississippi St. | 41-20 | .672 | DNP | Pat McMahon (8 yrs: 314-150) | NR | 16 |
| 16 | Loyola Marymount | 40-19 | .678 | DNP | Frank Cruz (4 yrs: 128-109-1) | 17 | 17 |
| 17 | UCLA | 38-26 | .594 | DNP | Gary Adams (26 yrs: 866-700-7) | 4 | 18 |
| 18 | San Jose St. | 41-24 | .631 | 0-2 (La.-Laf.) | Sam Piraro (15 yrs: 454-345-3) | NR | 12 |
| 19 | Penn St. | 45-19 | .703 | DNP | Joe Hindelang (18 yrs: 438-391-3) | NR | 19 |
| 20 | Florida | 43-23 | .652 | DNP | Andy Lopez (12 yrs: 483-239-3) | 18 | 20 |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 41-20 | .672 | DNP | George Greer (19 yrs: 577-416-6) | 21 | 21 |
| 22 | CS-Fullerton | 38-21 | .644 | DNP | George Horton (4 yrs: 174-76-1) | 2 | 22 |
| 23 | Rutgers | 40-18 | .690 | DNP | Fred Hill (17 yrs: 540-333-5) | NR | 23 |
| 24 | Alabama | 41-24 | .631 | DNP | Jim Wells (11 yrs: 480-203) | 3 | 24 |
| 25 | Auburn | 41-20 | .672 | DNP | Hal Baird (21 yrs: 779-394) | 12 | 25 |
