College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball's top 25 after three top ten teams fall
We saw quite a few top 25 matchups this week across college baseball, both in the midweek and on the weekend. After all of the action, it’s time to predict how D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings will look on Monday morning.
The week started with a pair of ranked midweek battles. No. 20 Georgia hosted No. 5 Clemson, as the Bulldogs won a 4-3, 15-inning marathon over the Tigers. No. 7 East Carolina also hosted No. 21 NC State, and the Pirates won 10-6 to sweep the two-game season series over the Wolfpack.
Over the weekend, we saw four top 25 weekend series. They were: No. 1 Texas A&M vs. No. 20 Georgia, No. 24 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Kentucky, No. 6 Duke vs. No. 10 Florida State and No. 9 Oregon State vs. No. 22 Oregon.
Sunday’s action featured eight rubber games with the series on the line. Three top 25 teams were already down 0-2 on the weekend, while six were up 2-0 in their series. Following the results from it all, here is how we are predicting D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings to look tomorrow.
1. Texas A&M
Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 38-6 (15-6 in SEC)
Texas A&M’s week got started with a high-scoring 13-11 midweek victory over Houston, and they then battled No. 20 Georgia over the weekend. The Aggies won the series opener 5-2, and then played a doubleheader on Saturday to decide the series. In the first game, Georgia jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the top of the first, but Texas A&M responded with eight of their own in the frame and scored 19 unanswered to win 19-9. The Aggies were unable to finish the sweep in the back half of the doubleheader, falling 5-4.
2. Arkansas
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 37-7 (16-5 in SEC)
Yet again, Arkansas is likely to stay in the No. 2 spot in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. The Razorbacks began their week with an 11-1 midweek victory over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and then hosted Florida over the weekend. There, Arkansas won 2-1 in the opener before winning 6-5 in the front end of a doubleheader to clinch the series. Florida took the finale 9-5 to end the series, but it was another strong week for the Razorbacks.
3. Tennessee
Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 37-7 (15-6 in SEC)
Tennessee was the only top five team to go undefeated this week. The Vols beat Western Carolina 12-4 in a midweek game to get the week started, then hosted Missouri over the weekend. After Tennessee won the opener 10-1, the rest of the weekend was a tight one. The Vols were able to come away with a pair of 3-2 victories to clinch the series win and sweep.
4. Clemson
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 34-9 (15-6 in ACC)
Clemson took on No. 20 Georgia in a top 25 midweek matchup in Athens, and it became a marathon. The game went 15 innings, with Georgia eventually winning it 4-3. Clemson then hit the road for a trip to Louisville over the weekend in what turned out to be another tight weekend. After winning the opener 12-11, Clemson fell 7-6 and entered Sunday needing a win to take the series. They got just that with a run-rule 17-7 victory.
5. East Carolina
Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 35-8 (14-4 in AAC)
East Carolina’s week began in great fashion, winning a 10-6 midweek battle against No. 21 NC State. The Pirates then hit the road for a trip to Memphis and continued cruising, winning 14-0 on Friday and 14-3 on Saturday to secure the series victory. Looking for the sweep on Sunday, ECU got it as they won 8-3 to end the weekend. They could very easily move up again into the top six in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings.
6. Kentucky
Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-2)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 33-9 (16-5 in SEC)
Once again, Kentucky played in a very exciting SEC weekend matchup. This week, it was on the road against No. 24 South Carolina and the series was a wild one. After South Carolina won 6-5 in extra innings in the opener, Kentucky answered with a 15-13 win in the second game to even the series. In Sunday’s rubber game, the Wildcats were unable to get things going as they fell 10-0 in a run-rule defeat.
7. Florida State
Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 34-9 (13-8 in ACC)
This weekend’s series between Florida State and No. 6 Duke was a big one. The Seminoles entered having just won a 10-2 midweek game against North Florida, and their momentum didn’t stop there. Florida State took the first two games to secure the series win right away, winning 4-2 and 7-6. Looking for the sweep in the finale, the Seminoles suffered a blowout loss, falling 16-4. Even with the sour end to the week, Florida State will move up in this week’s D1Baseball top 25.
8. Oregon State
Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 33-10 (12-8 in Pac-12)
Oregon State was stunned last week in a brutal series sweep, but the Beavers got back on track. They first won 7-2 in a midweek trip to Portland, and then hosted No. 22 Oregon in a pretty big Pac-12 series over the weekend. Oregon State shut out Oregon 2-0 in the opener, and then won 4-2 in the second game to clinch the weekend. Looking for the sweep on Sunday, Oregon State fell just short by falling 7-1.
9. UC Irvine
Previous Ranking: No. 12
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 32-8 (14-4 in Big West
UC Irvine has quietly snuck their way back up in the rankings, and now surge back into the top ten. They won 9-7 at UCLA in a midweek contest to start the week, and then took care of business at UC Riverside over the weekend. UC Irvine won 15-1 in the opener and 15-7 in the second game to take the weekend, and finished the sweep with a 12-3 win on Sunday. The Anteaters move back into the top 25 in our D1Baseball predictions.
10. Duke
Previous Ranking: No. 6
Weekly Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 30-14 (14-10 in ACC)
After moving up to No. 6 in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings last week, Duke struggled this week. The Blue Devils first lost 18-4 in a midweek blowout at Campbell, and then returned home to lose the series against No. 10 Florida State. The Seminoles won 4-2 and 7-6 in the first two games to clinch the series. Duke was looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday, and did just that with a commanding 16-4 victory.
Predicting D1Baseball’s Top 25 Rankings: 11-25
11. North Carolina (+4)
12. Vanderbilt (-1)
13. Wake Forest (-5)
14. Virginia
15. South Carolina (+9)
16. Louisiana (+1)
17. Oklahoma State (+2)
18. Mississippi State (NR)
19. Arizona (-3)
20. NC State (+2)
21. Oklahoma (-3)
22. Georgia (-2)
23. Alabama
24. UC Santa Barbara (NR)
25. Indiana State
Two new teams join this week’s rankings in our D1Baseball top 25 predictions – Mississippi State and UC Santa Barbara. They take the places of Oregon (previously No. 22) and Coastal Carolina (previously No. 13).