College Baseball Power Rankings: Top ten shaken up as postseason inches closer
This time of the year is a great one for college baseball. Teams continue to try and build their resumes as the postseason inches closer. Just four weeks remain until conference tournaments begin, and it’s time to update this week’s college baseball power rankings.
We do have some changes within the top ten, and even top five this week. One team re-enters the top five, while two new teams enter the top ten. Overall, there are two new faces in this week’s top 25.
Last weekend was headlined by a top five matchup between Tennessee and Kentucky in Lexington. This weekend, there are four matchups between ranked teams.
Here is how our college baseball power rankings look this week.
1. Texas A&M
Record: 36-5 (13-5 in SEC)
Previous: No. 1
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 1
The Aggies had a solid weekend in Tuscaloosa against Alabama, taking two out of three to win the series and improve to 13-5 in SEC play. Texas A&M still has just five losses on the year at 36-5, and hold firm in the top spot in our college baseball power rankings yet again.
2. Arkansas
Record: 35-6 (14-4 in SEC)
Previous: No. 2
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 2
Arkansas again sits in the position of No. 2, feeling pretty comfortable in that spot just behind Texas A&M. The Razorbacks took two out of three at South Carolina this past weekend, and currently sits at 35-6 overall and 14-4 in SEC play. A late-season matchup between Texas A&M and Arkansas looms large, and that series will be must-watch in the final week of the regular season.
3. Tennessee
Record: 34-7 (12-6 in SEC)
Previous: No. 3
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 3
Tennessee hit the road last weekend for an intriguing weekend series at Kentucky, and the atmosphere certainly delivered. It was a grind until the very end, but the Vols took the rubber game to win the series and improve to 12-6 in the SEC. It was a very impressive showing for Tennessee, who now sits in a great spot at No. 3.
4. Clemson
Record: 32-8 (13-5 in ACC)
Previous: No. 6 (+2)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 5
Clemson has gone 2-2 since our college baseball power rankings last week, but move up two spots into the No. 4 spot this week. The Tigers took two out of three against Pitt over the weekend to take the series, and then fell 4-3 in a 15-inning marathon at Georgia in a midweek game. 32-8 is a tremendous record at this time of the year, and Clemson’s 13-5 mark in the ACC is enough to leap them back into the top four.
5. Kentucky
Record: 32-7 (15-3 in SEC)
Previous: No. 5
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 4
While Kentucky lost the series over the weekend to Tennessee, they showed that they belong as one of the best teams in the country. The Wildcats might have lost two out of three, but they remain 32-7 overall and 15-3 in first place in the SEC standings. The end to the season will be challenging, but Kentucky is pretty firmly established as a top five team at this point.
6. East Carolina
Record: 32-8 (11-4 in AAC)
Previous: No. 8 (+2)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 7
East Carolina is red hot right now, and the Pirates are off to one of their best starts ever. Sitting at 32-8 overall and 11-4 in the AAC, they look to be a safe bet to host and a very likely top eight at this point. After sweeping Wichita State and defeating NC State in a midweek battle, ECU moves up two spots and into the top six in this week’s college baseball power rankings.
7. Duke
Record: 29-12 (13-8 in ACC)
Previous: No. 7
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 6
Duke had to grind things out over the weekend at Virginia Tech, with a late comeback required to win the rubber game against the Hokies to take the series. They then went to Campbell in a midweek game and were stunned in a blowout 18-4 loss. Still, Duke is 29-12 overall and 13-8 in the ACC, and they hold firm at No. 7 this week.
8. Wake Forest
Record: 26-14 (11-10 in ACC)
Previous: No. 13 (+5)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 8
Wake Forest has played their way back into the hosting discussion, and they have a case to be in the top eight when it’s all said and done. The Demon Deacons are currently 26-14 and 11-10 in the ACC. They took two out of three at home against Florida State last weekend, before getting stunned in a 3-0 loss at Elon in the midweek.
9. Vanderbilt
Record: 30-11 (10-8 in SEC)
Previous: No. 12 (+3)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 11
Vanderbilt had a good weekend against Florida at home, led by RJ Austin. They ultimately took two out of three to take the series, allowing them to move back into the top ten in this week’s college baseball power rankings. They also defeated UT-Martin 5-4 in a midweek battle to improve to 30-11 overall, also sitting at 10-8 in league play.
10. Oregon State
Record: 31-9 (10-7 in Pac-12)
Previous: No. 4 (-6)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 9
It was a tough weekend for Oregon State on the road, as they went to Cal and lost all three in surprising fashion. The sweep has the Beavers moving down across the rankings, and they need to get back on track this week. They got off to a good start by beating Portland 7-2 on the road in a midweek game, but now need to take care of business down the stretch in Pac-12 play.
College Baseball Power Rankings: 11-25
11. Florida State (-2)
12. North Carolina (-1)
13. Coastal Carolina (+2)
14. Arizona (+8)
15. UC Irvine (+2)
16. Indiana State
17. Virginia (-7)
18. Louisiana (-4)
19. Oklahoma (NR)
20. Georgia (+3)
21. Oklahoma State (-3)
22. NC State (NR)
23. Alabama (-2)
24. South Carolina
25. Oregon (-6)
The two new teams in this week’s college baseball power rankings are Oklahoma (No. 19) and NC State (No. 22). They take the places of West Virginia (previously No. 20) and Dallas Baptist (previously No. 25), who fall out after losing their respective weekends.