College Baseball Rankings: Projecting D1Baseball Top 25 after fourth weekend

For many teams, the fourth weekend of college baseball marked the beginning of conference play. For many others, it will get underway next weekend. It was an exciting week on the diamond, and we expect to see some changes in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings when they are released on Monday.

While some teams cruised through their weekends – 15 ranked teams had already clinched their series entering Sunday – many faced an important rubber game on Sunday. Seven teams ranked in the top 25 were 1-1 heading into the final day of the weekend, needing a victory to avoid a series loss.

Despite there being no ranked matchups over the weekend, it was a pretty great midweek slate. Seven ranked teams lost a midweek contest on Tuesday or Wednesday. That includes No. 24 Coastal Carolina, who lost 5-4 at No. 4 North Carolina, No. 13 Oklahoma, who lost 11-0 at No. 21 Dallas Baptist, and No. 19 Troy, who lost 3-1 at No. 23 Alabama.

As we near the full beginning of conference play, there will be some movement in this week’s D1Baseball Top 25 rankings. Here’s how we expect them to look.

1. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 16-1

After jumping into the No. 1 spot in D1Baseball’s top 25 last week, LSU kept rolling with another strong showing this week. The Tigers started with a pair of midweek games against North Dakota State, winning 11-9 on Tuesday and 13-3 on Wednesday. Hosting North Alabama over the weekend, LSU stayed hot with a 13-2 win on Friday and a 6-2 win on Saturday to clinch the series. The Tigers wrapped up a sweep on Sunday with an 11-5 win.

2. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 16-0

Many thought that Tennessee should have been the new No. 1 team last week, but that didn’t stop the Vols from continuing their domination this week. After a pair of dominating midweek wins, 22-9 over Radford and 13-1 over Xavier, Tennessee hosted St. Bonaventure and kept it going over the weekend. The Vols won 12-0 on Friday and 11-1 on Saturday to take the series, and finished the sweep with a 13-2 win on Sunday.

3. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 15-1

Like their SEC counterparts ranked above them, Arkansas just keeps cruising. The Razorbacks, ranked No. 3 in D1Baseball’s top 25, won 14-1 and 15-3 in a pair of midweek games against UL Monroe to start the week before hosting Portland over the weekend. There, it was again all Arkansas, who won 20-3 on Friday and 10-0 on Saturday to win the series, and 5-3 on Sunday to complete the sweep.

4. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 18-1

It was a busy week for Georgia, who beat High Point 8-4 on Tuesday and Georgia State 16-10 on Wednesday to start the week before hosting Columbia for a weekend series. There, the Bulldogs won 14-5 on Friday and 16-6 on Saturday to take the series. Going for the sweep on Sunday, the Bulldogs won a tight 9-7 game to secure a 5-0 week.

5. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 15-0

Undefeated teams continue to fall, but Florida State hasn’t. The Seminoles were one of three undefeated teams in the country entering the final day of the weekend. FSU is a steady presence in D1Baseball’s top 25, and will remain so after another strong week. It started with midweek wins over North Florida and Bethune-Cookman before hosting Lipscomb over the weekend. There, FSU won 10-1 on Friday and 11-5 on Saturday to take the series. Sunday’s finale was ultimately canceled.

6. Florida

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 15-2

Florida’s week began in disappointing fashion, falling 13-3 at UCF on Tuesday. The Gators rebounded, though, winning 4-2 against FAU on Wednesday before sweeping Harvard over the weekend. The sweep came in dominant fashion, winning 12-0 on Friday, 7-0 on Saturday and 22-6 in the finale, which was in the back half of a Saturday doubleheader.

7. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 10-3

Oregon State did not have a midweek game this week, and only had to worry about San Diego over the weekend in a three-game series. The Beavers cruised their way to an 11-3 win on Friday, and then won a much tighter 2-0 game on Saturday to clinch the series. Oregon State was looking to complete the sweep on Sunday, and did just that with a 5-2 victory.

8. Oregon

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 14-2

Oregon slid up into the top ten after last week, and the Ducks aren’t going anywhere. After a 15-0 win vs. Utah Tech on Tuesday, Oregon hit the road for a trip to USC to open Big Ten play and picked up a massive series win. The Ducks won 7-2 on Friday and 8-6 on Saturday to clinch the series. Oregon’s series finale was on Sunday, where the Ducks won 5-3 to complete an impressive sweep.

9. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-5)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 14-2

North Carolina had one of, if not the hardest week for a ranked team this week. They started with a 5-4 win over No. 24 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday in a game that went 11 innings, and then hosted a red-hot Stanford team over the weekend. It was the Cardinal that took Friday’s opener 13-9, but the Tar Heels responded with an 11-1 win on Saturday to even the series. In Sunday’s rubber game, the Tar Heels fell short again in a 7-0 loss, and will drop in D1Baseball’s top 25 with the series loss.

10. Clemson

Previous Ranking: No. 11
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 15-1

Clemson has been right on the cusp of the top ten this season, and now they could jump in. After a 7-0 win against USC Upstate to start the week on Tuesday and an 11-2 win against Presbyterian on Wednesday, the Tigers hosted Davidson over the weekend and cruised. Clemson won 7-4 on Friday and 14-4 on Saturday to clinch the series victory. On Sunday, the Tigers came from behind to win 11-4 and finish the sweep.

D1Baseball Top 25 Projections: 11-25

11. Texas (+1)
12. Oklahoma (+1)
13. Wake Forest (+2)
14. UC Santa Barbara (+2)
15. Ole Miss (+2)
16. Vanderbilt (+2)
17. Texas A&M (-3)
18. Stanford (NR)
19. Troy
20. Southern Miss
21. Dallas Baptist
22. Alabama (+1)
23. Auburn (-1)
24. Coastal Carolina
25. Louisville (NR)

The two new teams we project to join the D1Baseball Top 25 rankings are Stanford and Louisville. They most notably replace Virginia (previously No. 9), who drops all the way out of the rankings after its second 1-2 weekend in three weeks, in addition to Oklahoma State (previously No. 25).