College Baseball Rankings: D1Baseball shakes up top 25 after nine ranked series losses in Week 6

It was a wild week on the diamond, with nine ranked teams losing their weekend series in the sixth week of the season. We now have some wholesale changes in the latest D1Baseball top 25 rankings as a result.

The weekend was headlined by five ranked matchups. No. 8 Texas hosted No. 2 LSU, No. 13 Florida hosted No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Clemson hosted No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 12 Alabama hosted No. 1 Tennessee, and No. 25 Troy hosted No. 24 Coastal Carolina.

Six ranked teams also lost their midweek game on Tuesday, just the beginning of a crazy week. Over the weekend, four teams were done playing after Saturday was completed. Entering Sunday, six teams had won their series after starting the weekend 2-0. 11 other teams were 1-1 entering a rubber game, while four teams had already lost their series at 0-2.

This week might be the most movement we’ve seen thus far in the season in the rankings. D1Baseball’s official top 25 rankings have movement starting right in the top five, spreading throughout the top ten and all the way down to the full top 25.

1. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 22-2 (5-1 in SEC)

Tennessee’s week started in rather stunning fashion, losing 7-6 to ETSU on Tuesday and then falling 6-5 at No. 12 Alabama on Thursday. The Vols needed to respond on Friday to even the series, and did just that with a 10-7 win. In Saturday’s pivotal rubber game, Tennessee won 9-2 to clinch the series, likely securing another week in the No. 1 spot.

2. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 3 (+1)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 23-2 (5-1 in SEC)

Arkansas kicked off its week with a couple of midweek wins, beating Oral Roberts 4-1 on Tuesday and 16-0 on Wednesday. They then hosted South Carolina for a three-game SEC series, and cruised to a series victory with a 12-2 win on Friday and a 12-3 win on Saturday. The Razorbacks were aiming for a sweep on Sunday, and got just that with another commanding win, this time 11-4.

3. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 24-2 (5-1 in SEC)

Georgia did not have a midweek contest this week, diving straight into a big weekend series at No. 13 Florida starting on Friday. The Bulldogs won a tight 8-7 game in Friday’s opener before dominating in a 17-2 win on Saturday to secure a series victory. Georgia entered Sunday looking for a sweep, and got it with a run-rule 15-4 win. The Bulldogs won the weekend in total 40-13, and continue to inch closer to the top of D1Baseball’s top 25.

4. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 20-3 (5-1 in ACC)

Florida State has been cruising to start the season, but fell 9-3 against Mercer on Tuesday to kick off this week. The Seminoles then traveled to Miami for a three-game series beginning on Thursday. After winning 14-1 on Thursday, FSU fell 9-6 on Friday to set up a rubber game on Saturday. There, the Seminoles prevailed with a 10-6 win, taking a big ACC series.

5. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 18-4

After beating Rutgers 7-3 on Tuesday to start the week, Oregon State traveled to Cal Poly for a three-game series over the weekend. The Beavers took Friday’s game 4-1, but fell short on Saturday with a 7-6 defeat. The Beavers needed to win on Sunday to avoid a drop in this week’s D1Baseball top 25, and did so with an 8-2 victory.

6. Clemson

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 23-3 (4-2 in ACC)

Clemson defeated The Citadel twice to begin the week, 6-4 on Tuesday and 11-1 on Wednesday. They then hosted No. 11 Wake Forest in a huge ACC series over the weekend. The Tigers won the opener 5-1, but then dropped Saturday’s game 12-10. The series came down to Sunday, where Clemson won 7-6 thanks to a walk-off wild pitch in the ninth.

7. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 19-3 (5-1 in SEC)

Texas was handed a pair of losses to start the week, falling 8-7 against UTSA on Tuesday and 8-2 to No. 2 LSU on Friday. Texas responded with a huge 11-7 win on Saturday to tie up the series, setting up a pivotal rubber game on Sunday. There, the Longhorns won 6-2 to pick up a giant SEC series victory, and move up D1Baseball’s top 25.

8. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-6)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 22-3 (4-2 in SEC)

After a dominating 11-1 victory against New Orleans on Tuesday, LSU hit the road for a massive SEC series at No. 8 Texas. The Tigers won 8-2 in Friday’s series opener, but the Longhorns won 11-7 on Saturday to force a rubber game on Sunday. Needing a win to hold firm at No. 2 in D1Baseball’s rankings, LSU fell 6-2. It wasn’t a steep drop at all, though.

9. Oklahoma

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 20-3 (4-2 in SEC)

After a 7-6 win against UT Arlington on Tuesday, Oklahoma was aiming for a massive SEC series win against Mississippi State over the weekend. While the Bulldogs took Friday’s opener 2-1, the Sooners responded with a 13-11 win on Saturday. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where Oklahoma won 7-3 to take the series.

10. Oregon

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (-1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 19-5 (7-2 in Big Ten)

Oregon was off during the midweek this week, and started its week on Friday against Rutgers. The Ducks won the opener 4-3, before falling 8-0 on Saturday in disappointing fashion to tie the series up. Needing to win on Sunday to avoid falling in D1Baseball’s top 25, Oregon won 4-2 to take the series.

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

11. Auburn (+9)
12. Alabama
13. Southern Miss (+6)
14. Vanderbilt (+8)
15. Ole Miss (+3)
16. Wake Forest (-5)
17. Dallas Baptist (-2)
18. Louisville (-2)
19. UC Irvine (NR)
20. Stanford (-6)
21. North Carolina (-4)
22. Troy (+3)
23. Arizona (NR)
24. UCLA (NR)
25. Georgia Tech (NR)

Four teams dropped out of this week’s D1Baseball Top 25 rankings: Florida (previously No. 13), UC Santa Barbara (previously No. 21), Virginia (previously No. 23), Coastal Carolina (previously No. 24). That means that preseason No. 1 and No. 2, Texas A&M and Virginia, are both out of the rankings just six weeks in.