College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball top 25 with new No. 1, two entries

The regular season continues on across college baseball, and this week brought a ton of excitement. Quite a few upsets throughout the week have led to some notable changes in our predictions for D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings, which will be released on Monday. That includes a new No. 1 and two new entries.

Entering Sunday, every ranked team had at least one game left to play in their series. Nine top 25 teams were 2-0 with a series win under their belt already, while four were 0-2 and a whopping 11 were 1-1 heading into a rubber game.

Five ranked matchups headlined the weekend. They were No. 1 Arkansas at No. 7 Georgia, No. 3 LSU at No. 11 Auburn, No. 5 Tennessee at No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 9 Florida State at No. 25 Virginia Tech, and No. 17 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Oklahoma. There were plenty of other series between ranked teams and others just outside the rankings, too.

With the NCAA Tournament picture taking shape, every weekend is important at this point in the year. Here’s how we expect D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings to look on Monday morning.

1. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 29-5 (13-2 in SEC)

Texas surged to No. 2 in D1Baseball’s top 25 last week, and another important week awaited them. After a 12-2 win over Houston Christian on Tuesday, the Longhorns traveled to Kentucky over the weekend. It was a tight series, with Texas winning 6-3 on Friday before losing 5-4 in 15 innings on Saturday. In Sunday’s finale with the series on the line, the Longhorns prevailed in another tight win, this one 5-4.

2. Clemson

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+2)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 33-6 (11-4 in ACC)

In a stretch where other top-ranked teams have seen some struggles, Clemson has stayed steady. The Tigers started their week with a 4-2 midweek win over Gardner-Webb, and then battled in a wild series over the weekend against Stanford. Clemson won 11-1 on Friday before a slugfest broke out on Saturday, where the Tigers won 11-10 to clinch the series. Going for the sweep on Sunday, Clemson instead fell 11-6 to end a 3-1 week.

3. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+2)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 31-5 (11-4 in SEC)

Tennessee stumbled last week, and this week was extremely important to get back on track. They beat Alabama State 10-2 on Tuesday to get going, and then took a trip to No. 6 Ole Miss for a massive SEC weekend series. The Vols took Friday’s opener 3-2, but lost 8-5 on Saturday to set up a rubber game on Sunday. There, Tennessee came away with a 10-8 win in a back-and-forth game to take the series.

4. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 32-6 (10-5 in SEC)

After a disappointing week and a drop in D1Baseball’s top 25, Georgia was in need of a bounce back. They started the week off with a 16-2 win vs. Presbyterian on Tuesday before hosting No. 1 Arkansas over the weekend. The Bulldogs fell 13-3 on Friday, but responded with a huge 7-6 win on Saturday. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where Georgia came away with a 12-inning, 7-6 victory to steal the series.

5. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 1 (-4)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 32-5 (12-3 in SEC)

After sliding up into the top spot in the rankings, Arkansas was looking to keep rolling. They started the week off with a 7-3 midweek win against Arkansas State, and then hit the road for a trip to Georgia over the weekend. The Razorbacks dominated in a 13-3 win in Friday’s opener, but the No. 7 Bulldogs evened the series with a 7-6 win on Saturday. That set up a decisive rubber game on Sunday, where Arkansas fell short again in another 7-6 loss, this time in 12 innings.

6. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 26-7

Oregon State re-entered the top ten last week, and they had another good week that will keep them there. After a midweek 10-6 win against Portland, the Beavers traveled to Cal State Fullerton and took care of business. Oregon State won 7-3 on Friday and then 17-10 on Saturday to clinch the series, and held on to win 9-8 on Sunday to finish the sweep.

7. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 28-7 (11-4 in ACC)

Florida State began its week in disappointing fashion, losing 5-4 at rival Florida on Tuesday in a midweek matchup. They bounced back over the weekend, though, taking the series at No. 25 Virginia Tech. The Seminoles won 3-1 and 12-1 in Saturday’s doubleheader to clinch the series, and 4-2 on Sunday to wrap up the weekend with a sweep.

8. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+3)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 26-10 (9-6 in SEC)

There might not be a team in the country that made a statement louder than Auburn did this weekend. After a 9-8 win at No. 18 Georgia Tech on Tuesday, the Tigers hosted No. 3 LSU and won the series behind an 8-4 win on Friday and a 4-2 win on Saturday. That alone likely secured a leap into the top ten in D1Baseball’s top 25, but they wanted the sweep on Sunday. In the finale, Auburn won yet again, this time 3-2 to finish the sweep.

9. Ole Miss

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-3)
Weekly Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 27-9 (9-6 in SEC)

Ole Miss has surged in D1Baseball’s latest top 25 rankings, and this week presented another opportunity. After winning midweek games against Memphis (10-0 on Tuesday) and Alcorn State (29-1 on Wednesday), Ole Miss hosted No. 5 Tennessee in the series of the weekend. The Rebels fell 3-2 in Friday’s opener, but bounced back with an 8-5 win on Saturday. In Sunday’s finale, Ole Miss fell short in a rollercoaster of a game, losing 10-8.

10. UCLA

Previous Ranking: No. 10
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 28-8 (12-3 in Big Ten)

UCLA has surged as of late, rising into the top ten in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings. This week was far from an easy one, though. After a 12-1 win against Long Beach State on Tuesday, the Bruins hosted Washington over the weekend and split the first two games with a 5-2 loss on Friday and a 7-3 win on Saturday. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where UCLA came out on top in a 13-9 victory to clinch the series.

Predicting D1Baseball Top 25: 11-25

11. LSU (-8)
12. North Carolina (+4)
13. UC Irvine
14. Georgia Tech (+4)
15. Oregon
16. Oklahoma (+3)
17. Coastal Carolina (+4)
18. Alabama (-6)
19. TCU (NR)
20. Troy
21. Louisville (-7)
22. West Virginia (NR)
23. Southern Miss
24. Arizona
25. Vanderbilt (-8)

TCU and West Virginia are the two new teams we expect to join D1Baseball’s new top 25 rankings. They replace Kansas (previously No. 22) and Virginia Tech (previously No. 25). Cal Poly and Western Kentucky were also heavily considered to join the top 25.