College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball's final top 25 before conference tournaments

Jonathan Wagner

For every college baseball league with a conference tournament, the regular season is now complete. The battle for conference tournament titles will begin this week, but first it’s time to predict D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings.

The final full weekend of the regular season featured five matchups between two ranked teams. Those were No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 24 South Carolina, No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 Arkansas, No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 6 Oregon State, No. 11 Duke vs. No. 7 North Carolina and No. 17 NC State vs. No. 8 Wake Forest.

Six teams ranked in last week’s top 25 lost their series over the weekend. With teams fighting for their spots in the postseason, most of those series losses were extremely important.

Here is a full look at how we expect D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings to look on Monday morning. There is one new team but plenty of movement throughout.

1. Tennessee

Previous: No. 1
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 46-10 (22-8 in SEC)

Yet again, Tennessee will remain in the top spot in this week’s rankings. The Vols started their week with a 10-0 midweek victory over Belmont, and ended it with a three-game series sweep over No. 24 South Carolina. Tennessee picked up 9-3, 8-3 and 4-1 victories to pick up their final three wins of the regular season, clinching a share of the regular season SEC title along the way.

2. Kentucky

Ryan Nicholson rounds bases after home run — Photo by Morgan Simmons (UK Athletics)

Previous: No. 2
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 39-12 (22-8 in SEC)

Kentucky also will likely stand pat at No. 2 in this week’s D1Baseball top 25. The Wildcats hosted Vanderbilt over the weekend and won the series to finish tied with Tennessee at the top of the SEC. Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt 10-5 in the opener and 17-7 to take the series, but fell 12-4 in the finale to fall just short of the outright SEC title.

3. Clemson

Cam Cannarella-Clemson-UCF — (Clemsonbaseball/Twitter)

Previous: No. 4 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 40-13 (20-10 in ACC)

Clemson fell short of winning the regular season ACC championship, but they ended the regular season on a high note. The Tigers picked up a three-game sweep at home against Boston College, earning 12-10, 11-6 and 10-0 victories along the way. Clemson finishes the regular season 40-13 overall and 20-10 in the ACC.

4. Texas A&M

Braden Montgomery Texas A&M — Credit: Texas A&M athletics

Previous: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 44-11 (19-11 in SEC)

Texas A&M’s series against No. 3 Arkansas this weekend was the headline of the college baseball slate, and it delivered. The first game went to extra innings after a lengthy weather delay, and the Aggies won it 1-0. Arkansas won 6-3 on Friday to even the series, but Texas A&M dominated in the series finale to pick up a 14-4 win and take the series.

5. Oregon State

Previous: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 41-13 (19-10 in Pac-12)

This weekend’s series at No. 14 Arizona was massive for Oregon State, and they showed up. The Beavers took the opening two games with 9-2 and 16-1 victories to clinch the series. While Arizona won the finale 4-3, Oregon State still won the series and finished the regular season 41-13 overall and 19-10 in the Pac-12. They are likely to re-join the top five in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings.

6. Arkansas

Jun 22, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks starting pitcher Hagen Smith (33) pitches against the Ole Miss Rebels during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Previous: No. 3 (-3)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 43-12 (20-10 in SEC)

Arkansas ended the regular season on the road at No. 5 Texas A&M, and the most intriguing series on the weekend’s slate lived up to the hype. After falling 1-0 in the opener in extra innings, Arkansas responded with a 6-3 victory on Friday to tie the series up. The Razorbacks weren’t able to take the series on Saturday and fell 14-4, but it was still a strong regular season nonetheless.

7. North Carolina

Dalton Pence — © Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous: No. 7
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 41-12 (22-8 in ACC)

This weekend’s series was a big one for North Carolina, as they were in Durham to take on No. 11 Duke to end the regular season. After falling 5-3 in the opener on Thursday, UNC responded with consecutive victories, 6-4 and 14-6, to come back and win the series. That also gave the Tar Heels the outright regular season ACC crown, which keeps them firmly established in the top seven in this week’s D1Baseball top 25.

8. Oklahoma

Scott Mudler — © BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous: No. 12 (+4)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 34-18 (23-7 in Big 12)

Oklahoma has dominated in the Big 12 this season. The Sooners finished the regular season on the road at Cincinnati, and won the first two games in a doubleheader to clinch the series. Those two wins came via 14-6 and 12-8 final scores. Oklahoma fell 10-6 to Cincinnati in the finale to fall just short of a series sweep, but they still end the regular season an impressive 23-7 in the Big 12, and they are a strong candidate to leap into the top ten.

9. Florida State

Daniel Cantu — © Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous: No. 10 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 39-14 (17-12 in ACC)

Florida State’s last midweek game of the season didn’t go how they wanted it to, falling 10-5 at Stetson to begin the week. The Seminoles then hosted Georgia Tech in the regular season finale, and won the weather-impacted series. Florida State won 8-3 in the opener before clinching the series with an 11-3 victory. Georgia Tech took the finale 11-10, but it was still a strong series win for the Seminoles.

10. NC State

Alec Makarewicz NC State Wolfpack — NC State third baseman Alec Makarewicz celebrates after a home run. (Photo credit: Harrison Eaton/NC State Athletics).

Previous: No. 17 (+7)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 32-19 (18-11 in ACC)

NC State is on quite the run heading into the postseason. Their regular season ended on a very high note, as the Wolfpack hosted No. 8 Wake Forest and swept them to enter the hosting mix. NC State won 14-3, 2-1 and 9-6 to earn the sweep, finishing the regular season 32-19 overall and 18-11 in the ACC. They are likely to make a big jump in the rankings this week, and we expect them to enter the top ten.

D1Baseball Top 25 Predictions: 11-25

Jacob Jenkins-Cowart — © Andrew Craft / USA TODAY NETWORK

11. Georgia (-2)
12. East Carolina (+1)
13. Duke (-2)
14. Virginia (+4)
15. UC Irvine
16. Mississippi State
17. Oklahoma State (+2)
18. Wake Forest (-10)
19. Indiana State (+1)
20. UC Santa Barbara (+2)
21. Louisiana
22. Arizona (-8)
23. Oregon
24. Texas (+1)
25. Louisiana Tech (NR)

Louisiana Tech is the lone new team to join the D1Baseball top 25 rankings in our predictions this week. They take the place of South Carolina (previously No. 24), who drops out after being swept by Tennessee.