Cal Poly Baseball Achieves Program-Best D1Baseball Top 100 Teams Ranking
10/9/2026 1:15:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly baseball team has achieved a milestone despite the fact the 2027 season opener is more than four months away.
For the first time since D1Baseball.com started publishing a list of its Top 100 College Baseball Programs in 2015, Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs have cracked the top 50.
Cal Poly earned a No. 46 ranking from the website's six national writers
"Our ultimate goal here is to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye toward the next five to 10 years," the writers said.
Programs are awarded points for making regionals, winning regionals, reaching the College World Series, and winning the national championship in the last five (completed) seasons, and a fewer amount of points for success between six and 10 years ago. Points also were awarded for regular-season conference championships, acknowledging teams that had great regular seasons but failed to win a one-bid conference tournament.
The list is updated every two years. The Mustangs made the inaugural list in 2015 at No. 52, then slipped to 74th in 2017 and 99th in 2019 before dropping off the list in both 2022 and 2024.
"The big jump back into the top 100 comes on the heels of the first back-to-back regional appearances for the program since 2013-2014 and the first-ever super regional appearance for the program just last year," wrote Joe Healy, one of the website's national writers.
"Before the back-to-back regional trips in 2025 and 2026, the Mustangs hadn’t been to the postseason since 2014, but don’t let that fool you, as they spent time in the interim as a consistent winner in the regular season that just struggled to get over the hump and back to playing June baseball.
"The program has won 30 or more games in seven of the last 10 completed seasons and it has won 35 or more in four of the last five," Healy added. "Along the way, it has existed as one of the most consistent developers of professional talent on the West Coast, a knack most recently observed by having seven players drafted in the 2026 draft."
Georgia Tech, Cal Poly's season-opening opponent Feb. 19-21 in Atlanta, drew a No. 29 ranking. The Yellow Jackets won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament crowns under first-year head coach James Ramsey, but as the No. 2 national seed did not advance beyond regional play, finishing 50-11.
The Mustangs' next two foes for weekend series also are in the Top 100 -- Southern California at No. 47 and San Diego State at No. 95. Cal Poly visits the Trojans on the weekend of Feb. 26-March 1 and hosts the Aztecs on March 5-7.
From the Big West, joining Cal Poly in the rankings are No. 39 UC Santa Barbara and No. 52 UC Irvine.
Cal Poly returns 16 players, including five position starters (35 or more starts) and eight pitchers, along with four redshirts off last year's squad which finished 39-24, captured both the regular season and tournament titles in the Big West and won the NCAA Los Angeles Regional at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium with a 3-0 mark before falling twice to West Virginia in the Morgantown Super Regional.
The returning starters include first baseman/designated hitter Braxton Thomas, second baseman Jake Downing, shortstop Nate Castellon, outfielder Dante Vachini, first baseman/designated hitter Gavin Spiridonoff and pitcher Corden Pettey. Relief pitchers Brady Estes (27 appearances, two saves), Josh Morano (22 appearances, three wins) and Troy Cooper (21 appearances, two wins) also return.
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