10 Surprise Teams of the 2022 College Baseball Season

Image credit: Louisville's Ben Metzinger (Photo courtesy of Louisville)

The early days of the college baseball season are always ripe for learning, as the first look at teams since the previous spring gives you a peek at what to expect the rest of the way. 

The 2022 season, however, has been an even more extreme example, as it represents something of a return to normalcy in the sport after a 2021 season where many teams played more limited schedules, some teams didn’t compete outside of their conference and some didn’t play at all. 

With six weeks in the books, here are 10 surprises of the college baseball season so far. 

Bethune-Cookman

One of the small handful of teams that opted to sit out all of the 2021 season not by the order of a conference, Bethune-Cookman returned to the field this season, now as a member of the SWAC, and is off to a 5-1 start in conference play. It’s not just any 5-1 start, either, as the Wildcats have swept defending SWAC champion Jackson State and won a series against perennial title contender Alabama State. 

Georgetown

Georgetown hasn’t finished over .500 overall since 1986, but under second-year coach Edwin Thompson, the Hoyas are off to a 16-9 start, putting that streak in serious peril. Georgetown is also one of the highest-profile and longest-running programs in college baseball to have never made a postseason appearance. While that streak will be tougher to break in 2022, the successes of this season have to have those around the program thinking in those terms for the first time in a long time. 

Ivy League

The entire conference gets lumped in here together, because except for Pennsylvania playing 14 local games in 2021, the Ivy League didn’t play at all last season. All they’ve done this season collectively is win games against Auburn, Miami, UCLA, Texas A&M and Washington, with Penn even going so far as to win its series on the road against the Aggies. And with three teams currently inside the top 70 in RPI, eyeing an at-large bid isn’t out of the question for the Ivies. 

Kennesaw State

Hitting right around .300 as a group, the Owls’ offense has been its calling card, led by Mississippi State transfer Josh Hatcher, who has hit for the cycle twice already this season. At this early juncture, KSU finds itself sitting atop the ASUN standings with a 6-0 record. It also has a 17-7 overall record and sits 21 in RPI. The ASUN has produced at-large teams in the past, most notably in 2018, when both Stetson and Jacksonville finished with top-25 RPIs, and KSU could be on that kind of path. 

Louisville

After missing out on the postseason in 2021 and losing first overall pick Henry Davis to the draft alongside a few other key pieces from the lineup, it was tough to gauge what to expect from Louisville in 2022. But so far, the Cardinals have shown that they should be considered contenders in the ACC, as they’re 20-5 overall and 6-0 in league games, led by an offense that is statistically among the nation’s best. 

Nevada-Las Vegas

Through three weekends of conference play, it’s not defending champion Nevada, perennial contender San Diego State or even the only Mountain West program with a national title in Fresno State standing atop the league standings. It’s UNLV, which is 8-1 thanks largely to an offense that’s hitting .317/.413/.510 as a group. The Rebels are looking for their first MWC title of any kind since 2014 and first outright MWC regular-season title since 2005. 

North Carolina

A series sweep at the hands of Miami last weekend sidetracked North Carolina, but otherwise, it has been nothing but a positive season for the Tar Heels, who were seen as a team going into the season that might have to fight just to get into the postseason. Led by a more physical lineup and a pitching staff that has been among college baseball’s leaders in ERA all season, UNC is 19-6 and 5-4 in the ACC and looks closer to a top-tier ACC team than a bubble team at this point. 

Purdue

The obvious caveat for Purdue is that it hasn’t played a schedule that anyone would view as challenging, but even through that lens, it’s impressive that a program that went 15-25 last season and 20-34 in 2019, the last time it played a regular schedule, is off to an 18-2 start. Even if Purdue’s performance levels off in a big way over the second half of the season, 2022 will have been a big success. 

San Diego

San Diego, a proud program that hasn’t been to the postseason in nine years, has put itself in position to return to playing June baseball by starting the season 16-7 with a 5-1 record in the WCC. Just as importantly, the RPI is in its favor. The Toreros woke up Thursday morning the No. 5 team in RPI, and with the WCC currently the No. 6 RPI conference in the country, they have staying power as an at-large team and hosting isn’t out of the question as long as they keep winning. 

Texas State

Texas State had a bit of a disappointing season in 2021 with a veteran club, but it seems to have made up for that with its performance so far in 2022. The Bobcats are 20-6 with a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt and find themselves ranked No. 19 in the Top 25. Texas State will have to keep winning to keep its RPI, currently No. 44, in at-large range, but its first postseason appearance since 2011 will be in the offing if it does so.