Three Pac-12 schools featured in ‘25 best college baseball uniforms’

The best uniforms in college baseball is a wide-open discussion. There are so many teams and so many combinations that it’s hard to make even the top 25 discussion.

Well, Baseball America underwent the arduous task of ranking the top uniforms in college baseball, and as you’ve read in the title, three different Pac-12 schools were represented.

Arizona State, Washington and USC each found themselves among the top 25 best college baseball uniforms, according to Baseball America, who had this to say on the matter:

There’s something about baseball jerseys that just makes them ripe for debate. Maybe it’s something as simple as the fact that there are so many customizable pieces. There’s primary color, accent color, trim, patterns and the opportunity for subtle touches that draw a link back to the history of the program, history of the state or something else entirely.

Maybe it’s the fact that the relatively laid back pace of a baseball game gives an individual more time to admire (or despise) a particular look. When you watch a game on TV, for example, you can’t escape spending nine innings looking at the player on the pitcher’s mound. In basketball and hockey, and to a lesser extent, football, you don’t get those extended moments with the same regularity.

Maybe it’s the sport’s status as America’s Pastime that brings out debate between traditionalists who prefer timeless looks and non-traditionalists who lean toward edgier, more typically outlandish looks. Or perhaps it’s the idea that both of those sartorial viewpoints can coexist, making baseball quite the canvas of color and design.

If that’s the case, college baseball is the perfect such canvas. With more than 300 teams at the Division I level, there are more than 300 different approaches to uniforms out there. Some have more or less the same look they’ve had for decades, establishing strong brand identity with specific colors or combinations. Some have come back to throwback uniforms after years of using more modern looks. Others push the envelope in terms of design, drawing praise and criticism in equal measure.

Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but we’ve assembled our ranking of the 25 best uniforms in college baseball. The list leans heavily on the traditional looks that help define college baseball itself, but still pays tribute to some of the better new entrants into the uniform space.

Arizona State ranked the highest, checking in at No. 11 for their ‘Arizona State’s white’ as the post put it.

There are few jersey fonts more iconic than the “Devils” across the front of an Arizona State jersey. The Sun Devils have experimented with some other jerseys through the years, but some version of this top continues to come back to the forefront time and again.

Washington’s ‘pinstripe’ found its way to No. 18 on the list:

Although Washington is a program that has experimented with various looks in recent years, it has time and again fielded teams with attractive jersey tops. The purple and gold color scheme really helps create a distinctive look, and that’s showcased well with this pinstripe top.

And USC rounded out the group at No. 24 for their ‘black’ uniform:

This top is actually just the latest in a line of sharp black jerseys USC has produced through the years. Black jerseys can be a difficult thing to do well if black isn’t in the primary color scheme, but USC does a really nice job of using it alongside cardinal and gold.

Here’s how the full list looked:

1. LSU’s ‘Championship Gold’
2. Oklahoma State’s orange
3. Ole Miss’ powder blue
4. Mississippi State’s maroon
5. North Carolina’s Tar Heel blue
6. Clemson’s white
7. Tulane’s white sluggerbird
8. Miami’s orange
9. Notre Dame’s all blue
10. Arkansas’ cream
11. Arizona State’s white
12. Pittsburgh’s throwback blue
13. Coastal Carolina’s teal
14. Florida State’s garnet
15. Michigan’s cream
16. Texas’ white
17. Ohio State’s throwback gray
18. Washington’s white pinstripe
19. Texas A&M’s maroon
20. Iowa’s yellow
21. St. John’s skyline
22. Tennessee’s orange
23. Florida’s blue
24. USC’s black
25. UC Irvine’s pinstripe

So it begs the question — how would you rank the top uniforms in the Pac-12 among all the baseball teams? Would you agree with the Sun Devils at No. 1 in the conference?

Throw your favorites below in the comments!