College Baseball Rankings: Projecting D1Baseball Top 25 after second weekend

The second week of college baseball has come and gone, and this week brought even more upsets to ranked teams. After the action, it’s time to predict how D1Baseball’s updated top 25 rankings will look.

It’s important to note that multiple ranked teams will be in action on Monday concluding their weekend series. Among them, No. 6 North Carolina will be in action against East Carolina, No. 19 Oklahoma State will wrap up its shortened series against UT Arlington, and No. 25 Cincinnati will conclude its series at UNLV.

This week also marked the return of midweek games, and we were quickly reminded just how crazy those can get. Eight ranked teams lost a game from Monday-Wednesday; NC State (Liberty), Wake Forest (UNC Greensboro), Mississippi State (Southern Miss), Oklahoma State (Texas State), Dallas Baptist (UTRGV), UC Santa Barbara (Saint Mary’s), Nebraska (Grand Canyon), and Troy (Auburn).

As more games get played, D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings will likely shift more and more. This week could be the start of that, as we expect a few changes after the second week of the season.

1. Texas A&M

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 5-1

After an undefeated opening weekend, Texas A&M cruised its way to another perfect series sweep this weekend against Cal Poly. The Aggies, who did not have a midweek game, won 6-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday to earn the series victory. Going for the sweep on Sunday, they fell 3-2 in a disappointing result. But it doesn’t change where we expect them to fall in the D1Baseball top 25.

2. LSU

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

Many thought LSU should have moved up in last week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings, but the Tigers instead held firm at No. 3. Looking to make some more noise in the second week of the year, LSU started off with a 13-1 midweek win against Southern before hosting Omaha over the weekend. The Tigers won 3-2 on Friday to kick things off, but then fell 5-4 on Saturday in a game where they didn’t get a hit until the late innings. Saturday was a doubleheader, and LSU immediately got back on track with a 12-1 win to take the series.

3. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 7-0

Tennessee has dominated in the early parts of the season. After a blowout 29-4 victory against UNC Asheville on Tuesday, the Vols hosted Samford over the weekend. Tennessee won 5-1 on Friday to open the series before clinching the series win with a 7-3 victory on Saturday. On Sunday, the Vols broke things open with a dominating 11-1 win to finish the sweep.

4. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 6-1

Arkansas was part of an intriguing field in Arlington in the College Baseball Series, and what a weekend it turned out to be for fans across the country. For Arkansas, their week started on Monday with a 12-2 win over Washington State before heading to Arlington, where they fell 3-2 in its opener on Friday. The Razorbacks defeated No. 22 TCU 2-1 on Saturday to strike back. Facing off against Michigan on Sunday, Arkansas prevailed with an 8-6 win to secure a weekend victory.

5. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 6-0

North Carolina has continued to impress early on, and its second week started with a 12-9 win over Kansas State on Tuesday. UNC faced off against ECU in their annual series over the weekend, but didn’t start until Saturday due to winter weather across the state. On Saturday in Durham, UNC won a tight 2-0 pitcher’s duel to open the series. Sunday saw the series go to Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels out-slugged ECU in an 11-6 win. UNC and ECU will conclude the three-game series on Monday in Greenville, making up the originally scheduled Friday contest.

6. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+2)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 8-1

It was a busy week for Georgia, who won 6-4 at Kennesaw State in an eventful game to kick things off on Tuesday. They then hosted UIC for a four-game series over the weekend, starting with 9-3 and 15-1 wins on Friday in the series-opening doubleheader. The Bulldogs clinched the series with a 10-4 on Saturday, and then finished the sweep with a 17-3 win on Sunday.

7. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 7-0

Florida State had an in-state midweek matchup at USF on Tuesday, and won 6-2 to start off on a high note. The Seminoles then hosted Penn over the weekend, and dominated with a 24-2 win on Friday and a 9-3 win on Saturday to win the series. Going for the sweep on Sunday, Florida State did exactly that with a 5-3 win.

8. Florida

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 7-0

Florida has looked extremely impressive early on, and they’ll round out the D1Baseball top ten yet again. The Gators started their week with a 10-4 win at Jacksonville on Tuesday before facing off against Dayton over the weekend. Florida took the series with a 13-1 win on Friday and a 11-1 victory on Saturday, and finished the sweep with 12-2 win on Sunday.

9. Virginia

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-7)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 3-3

Virginia, for the second weekend in a row, played in a multi-team tournament. This weekend was an absolutely loaded field in Round Rock. Virginia battled No. 7 Oregon State out of the gates on Friday, and it was the Beavers that won 7-2. Virginia then beat Minnesota 4-2 on Saturday to even its weekend. Unfortunately for Virginia, its weekend ended on a sour note after getting walked off in extras against Oklahoma, shaking up the D1Baseball rankings.

10. Wake Forest

Previous Ranking: No. 13 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 7-1

Wake Forest’s week began in disappointing fashion, falling 4-0 on the road at UNC Greensboro on Tuesday. The Demon Deacons responded in a big way over the weekend, dominating in a series sweep over St. John’s. They did so behind 7-0, 11-0 and 9-6 victories, earning themselves a move up in the latest D1Baseball rankings.

D1Baseball Top 25 Projections: 11-25

11. Oregon
12. Clemson (+2)
13. Oklahoma (NR)
14. Oregon State (-7)
15. Vanderbilt
16. Texas
17. Duke
18. Mississippi State
19. Alabama (NR)
20. Dallas Baptist
21. UC Santa Barbara
22. Oklahoma State (-3)
23. Auburn (NR)
24. Troy
25. Cincinnati