On Friday, the winding journey to the College World Series in Omaha begins in earnest. Lo: You indeed do hear the approaching hoof-beats of meaningful, for-keeps baseball. In February, no less!

So to set the tone for all of this action to come, let's preview the upcoming season. Consider this your first look at who's going to replace Vanderbilt atop the college baseball heap (note: it quite possibly could be Vanderbilt!). 

To get started, let's take a look at some composite rankings. What we've done is taken each of the six major preseason polls (Baseball America, Perfect Game, Coaches' poll, D1Baseball.com, Collegiate Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association) and assigned points to each team ranked in the top 25 of each poll. No. 1-ranked teams get 25 points, no. 2-ranked teams get 24 points, all the way down to the no. 25-ranked teams, which get one point. So we add all the points up -- across, again, all six major polls -- and arrive at our composite rankings. So here they are, with point totals in parentheses ... 

Composite preseason top 25

1. Vanderbilt (150 points)
2. Virginia (140)
3. TCU (130)
4. Florida (128)
5. LSU (126)
6. Houston (112)
7. Texas (111)
8. UCLA (108)
9. Oklahoma State (103)
10. Louisville (95)
11. Texas Tech (89)
12. South Carolina (82) 
13. Miami-FL (81)
14. Florida State (64)
15. North Carolina (63)
16. Rice (53)
17. Oregon (51)
18. Cal State Fullerton (41)
19. Maryland (34)
20. Arizona State (33)
21. Mississippi State (26)
22. Ole Miss (23)
T-23. Cal Poly (18)
T-23. Stanford (18)
T-23. UC-Santa Barbara (18)

Others: Texas A&M (14), Arkansas (10), Kennesaw State (9), Alabama (6), Central Florida (4), Liberty (4), Nebraska (3), Clemson (2), College of Charleston (1), Tennessee (1)

As you may have already surmised, Vanderbilt, by virtue of its 150 points, was ranked atop all six polls. Virginia, the team that lost the CWS final to Vandy last year, checks in at second. Of last year's eight CWS teams (Vandy, Virginia, Texas, Ole Miss, TCU, UC-Irvine, Texas Tech and Louisville), seven are present in the composite top 25 (Cal-Irvine being the only absentee). Continuity!

To hear the pundits tell it, Vanderbilt has a strong chance to repeat as champs. (USATSI)
To hear the pundits tell it, Vanderbilt has a strong chance to repeat as champs. (USATSI)

And what of the conferences? Let's add up all the "poll points" by conference and see what comes out of the wash. Consider these to be your preseason conference "Power Rankings" ... 

Preseason conference power rankings

1. SEC, 566 points
2. ACC, 445
3. Big 12, 433
4. Pac-12, 210
5. American Athletic Conference, 116
6. Big West, 77
7. Conference-USA, 53
8. Big Ten, 37
9. Atlantic Sun, 9
10. Big South, 4
11. Colonial Athletic Association, 1 

No surprise to see the perennially strong SEC on top. After all, they placed three teams in the top five of the composite rankings, and of the conference's 14 schools, six cracked the top 25 and 10 received at least one poll point.

In all, Division I baseball has 32 conferences, so, obviously, 21 of those conferences failed to place a single team in any of the six preseason polls. 

Now let's talk individual players, and let's talk about them with an eye toward the June MLB draft. To this end, I consulted with draft analyst Chris Crawford (@CrawfordChrisV), author of the essential and annual "Draft to the Show" draftbook. Said e-book is presently available for the exceedingly nominal cost of $2.99, and it's an exhaustive first look at the entire draft landscape leading up to the June event. Here, then, are Crawford's top 10 draft-eligible college prospects heading into the 2015 season (note: brief comments under each name are mine) ... 

Top 10 draft-eligible college prospects

1. Mike Matuella, RHP, Duke

Big pitcher's frame, plus fastball, three-pitch repertoire -- including one of the best curves in the draft. 

2. Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt

A bit undersized for a right-hander, but good fastball (touches mid-90s), two plus breaking balls and a workable changeup. 

3. Nathan Kirby, LHP, Virginia

Solid velo by lefty standards, good movement on fastball, wipeout slider, decent change with potential to improve. 

4. Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville

MLB-average velo on a fastball that he keeps low and gets grounders from, plus slider, foundations of a solid changeup. Somewhat stressful delivery needs improvement if he's to stick as a starter.

5. Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt

Lead-off type with good speed, disciplined approach at plate and ability to hit to all fields. Has potential to stick at short. 

6. Richie Martin, SS, Florida

Good contact skills, gap power potential, knowledge of strike zone, should stick at short and remain a defensive asset all the way up the ladder. 

Scouting video, blah, blah, blah. Let's make with the Richie Martin hidden-ball sorcery ... 

7. Alex Bregman, SS, LSU

All-fields hitter with strong, level swing; solid power potential at big-league level; will likely be moved off short as a pro. 

Let's go back to Mr. Bregman's high school days, shall we?

8. Ian Happ, 2B/OF, Cincinnati

Switch-hitter; excellent hitter for average; has pop, especially to pull side; likely destined for a corner outfield spot. 

9. Kyle Cody, RHP, Kentucky

Strong-bodied right-hander who, according to Crawford, can hit 97 with some regularity. Secondary offerings need refinement, and delivery needs to be more consistent. 

10. Cody Ponce, RHP, Cal-Poly Pomona

Listed at 6'6", 240; plus velocity; slider has plus potential although it lacks consistency; change is work in progress but has promise; control lacking at times. 

Of note: The NCAA is using a different baseball this season, after seeing run-scoring levels crater in recent years. Specifically, the new ball will have flatter seams, which, by extension, figure to make the pitcher's job a bit more difficult. Via NCAA.org, here's a look ... 

That's something to keep in mind as the early statistical returns start coming in.

Finally, let's have a quick look at some notable out-of-conference games on the schedule. What follows, sorted by date, is every out-of-conference tilt between any two teams listed above in the composite rankings. As you'll soon see, the season gets off to fast start this coming weekend with some potentially high-leverage match-ups ... 

Notable out-of-conference games

February

2/13 - Oklahoma State @ Arizona State
2/13 - Texas @ Rice
2/13 - College of Charleston @ South Carolina
2/13 - Liberty @ Kennesaw State
2/14 - Oklahoma State @ Arizona State
2/14 - Texas @ Rice (doubleheader)
2/14 - College of Charleston @ South Carolina
2/15 - Oklahoma State @ Arizona State
2/15 - Texas @ Rice
2/15 - Cal State Fullerton vs. Louisville (Clearwater, Fla.)
2/15 - College of Charleston @ South Carolina
2/20 - Alabama @ Houston
2/20 - Florida @ Miami (FL)
2/20 - TCU @ Arizona State
2/20 - UCLA @ North Carolina
2/20 - Stanford @ Cal State Fullerton
2/20 - Arkansas vs. Central Florida (Mobile, Ala.)
2/21 - Alabama @ Houston
2/21 - Florida @ Miami (FL)
2/21 - TCU @ Arizona State
2/21 - UCLA @ North Carolina
2/21 - Maryland vs. Central Florida (Mobile, Ala.)
2/21 - Stanford @ Cal State Fullerton
2/22 - Alabama @ Houston
2/22 - Florida @ Miami (FL)
2/22 - TCU @ Arizona State
2/22 - UCLA @ North Carolina
2/22 - Stanford @ Cal State Fullerton
2/22 - Arkansas vs. Maryland (Mobile, Ala.)
2/27 - Cal Poly @ TCU
2/27 - South Carolina @ Clemson
2/27 - Stanford @ Rice
2/27 - Ole Miss @ Central Florida
2/27 - Oregon @ UC-Santa Barbara
2/28 - Cal Poly @ TCU
2/28 - South Carolina vs. Clemson (Greenville, S.C.)
2/28 - Stanford @ Rice (doubleheader)
2/28 - Ole Miss @ Central Florida
2/28 - Oregon @ UC-Santa Barbara

March

3/1 - Cal Poly @ TCU
3/1 - Clemson @ South Carolina
3/1 - Stanford @ Rice
3/1 - Ole Miss @ Central Florida
3/3 - Rice @ TCU
3/4 - Central Florida @ Florida
3/5 - Texas @ Stanford
3/6 - Vanderbilt @ UCLA
3/6 - LSU vs. Houston (Minute Maid Park)
3/6 - Texas Tech @ Cal State Fullerton
3/6 - Texas @ Stanford
3/6 - Nebraska vs. Texas A&M (Houston, Texas)
3/7 - Texas A&M vs. Houston (Minute Maid Park)
3/7 - Texas Tech @ Cal State Fullerton
3/7 - TCU @ UCLA
3/7 - Texas @ Stanford
3/8 - Vanderbilt vs. TCU (Dodger Stadium)
3/8 - LSU vs. Nebraska (Minute Maid Park)
3/8 - Texas Tech @ Cal State Fullerton
3/8 - Texas @ Stanford
3/10 - Ole Miss @ Louisville
3/10 - Central Florida @ Florida State
3/11 - Ole Miss @ Louisville
3/11 - Central Florida @ Florida State
3/17 - Rice @ Houston
3/17 - Florida State @ Florida
3/24 - Cal State Fullerton @ Nebraska
3/25 - Virginia @ Liberty
3/25 - Cal State Fullerton @ Nebraska
3/27 - Texas @ Nebraska
3/28 - Texas @ Nebraska
3/29 - Texas @ Nebraska
3/31 - Florida vs. Florida State (Jacksonville)

April

4/7 - Rice @ Texas A&M
4/8 - Liberty @ North Carolina
4/14 - Houston @ Rice
4/14 - Florida @ Florida State
4/14 - Maryland @ Liberty
4/14 - Cal State Fullerton @ UCLA
4/17 - Cal State Fullerton @ Maryland
4/18 - Cal State Fullerton @ Maryland
4/19 - Cal State Fullerton @ Maryland
4/22 - Liberty @ Virginia

May

5/4 - College of Charleston @ Clemson
5/12 - Vanderbilt @ Louisville
5/12 - Rice vs. Houston (Sugar Land, Texas)
5/12 - UCLA @ Cal State Fullerton
5/12 - Liberty @ Maryland

Thus begins the march to late May, when the 64-field tournament will be announced. Please do enjoy this, our baseball in all its pleasing forms!