FAYETTEVILLE -- Perhaps it was naive thinking on his part, but head coach Dave Van Horn told his players before Christmas break that they wouldn't be ranked in any of the preseason polls.

Although his reasoning - losing a lot of players to the MLB Draft or graduation - was sound, he underestimated the respect his program has nationally as he enters his 17th season at Arkansas.

Sure enough, the Razorbacks were a top-25 team in all six major preseason polls and check in at No. 16 in the first HawgBeat composite poll - which combines those rankings - of 2019.

They are ranked as high as No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and as low as No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball. Perfect Game has Arkansas at 13th nationally, while it is 15th and 16th in the NCBWA and D1Baseball poll, respectively. The Razorbacks check in at No. 18, according to Baseball America.

Arkansas is one of eight SEC teams in the top 20, with LSU edging out Vanderbilt for the top spot despite both teams being No. 1 in three polls. Perfect Game putting Oregon State ahead of the Commodores at No. 2 prevented there from a tie atop the composite poll.

Five of the ranked SEC teams are on Arkansas' schedule, including the series against No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 18 Auburn, No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 14 Mississippi State coming in consecutive weekends. The Razorbacks then have two conference series before hosting the No. 1 Tigers on May 10-12.

The only non-conference opponent on Arkansas' schedule that appears in composite poll is Texas, which is tied with Auburn for No. 18. The Razorbacks will play a two-game midweek series in Austin, Texas, on March 19-20.

Here is a complete rundown of the 2019 HawgBeat preseason composite poll (SEC teams in bold, Arkansas opponents in italics):

1. LSU - 147 points

2. Vanderbilt - 146

3. UCLA - 130

4. Texas Tech - 129

5. Florida - 122

6. Oregon State - 119

7. North Carolina - 117

8. Stanford - 108

9. Louisville - 107

10. Florida State - 92

11. Ole Miss - 91

12. Georgia - 71

13. East Carolina - 68

14. Mississippi State - 62

15. Baylor - 58

16. Arkansas - 57

17. Clemson - 43

t-18. Auburn - 40

t-18. Texas - 40

20. TCU - 38

21. Oklahoma State - 37

22. Coastal Carolina - 31

23. Michigan - 26

24. Cal St.-Fullerton - 13

25. N.C. State - 12

Receiving votes: Duke (11), Georgia Tech (9), UConn (6), Wake Forest (6), Southern Miss (5), UC Irvine (4), Minnesota (2), Missouri State (2)