TUCSON, Ariz. – It won't be long now before the first pitch of the 2022 collegiate baseball season is delivered as one of the most notable annual, late December announcements concerning the top teams in the country has once again ushered in the official countdown to that aforementioned first pitch. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (CBN) announced its Division II Preseason Top 40 on Tuesday afternoon and among the top five teams in the reputable outlet's initial rankings is 2021 Central Region runner-up Southern Arkansas.

The Muleriders, Great American Conference Regular Season Champions a season ago, posted a 30-16 record overall last spring and advanced to the final day of the regional tournament for the fourth time in the program's NCAA Era. SAU is tabbed to a No. 5 ranking in the preseason poll after receiving 616 total points; the program's highest preseason positioning in the CBN poll since being ranked No. 4 in the 2010 edition of the rankings which were released in December of 2009.

Southern Arkansas lands as the outlet's top ranked team out of the highly-competitive Central Region. Minnesota State followed at No. 6 with 614 total points. Augustana enters at No. 13, while Henderson State fills in the region's top 20 representation at No. 18. Defending Central Region Champion Central Missouri begins the 2022 season at No. 24. Arkansas Tech holds the No. 35 spot and rounds out the ranked teams in the Central Region. Missouri Southern, St. Cloud State, Pittsburg State, Oklahoma Baptist and Northwestern Oklahoma all received votes in the preseason rankings.

SAU opens the 2022 campaign in 44 days at the Dugan Invitational from Hot Springs' Majestic Park. The Muleriders' February 3 opener is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch against the MIAA's Northwest Missouri.