College Baseball Rankings: Projecting D1Baseball top 25 with five new teams after Week 6

To say it was an exciting week of college baseball would be an understatement. The week was full of upsets, midweek madness and ranked series matchups over the weekend, and the results will surely lead to significant changes in the new D1Baseball top 25 rankings.

After six ranked teams lost their midweek game on Tuesday, the weekend brought us five series between ranked teams. They were: No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Alabama, No. 8 Texas vs. No. 2 LSU, No. 13 Florida vs. No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 11 Wake Forest, and No. 25 Troy vs. No. 24 Coastal Carolina.

Four teams had already wrapped up their weekends by the end of Saturday, but Sunday was a pivotal game for a large number of teams ranked in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings. Just six teams entered Sunday 2-0 on the weekend, with 11 at 1-1 and four others at 0-2.

We’re approaching the midway point of the college baseball season, and if the first half has been any indication, the rankings are likely to continue changing throughout the year. Here’s how we expect Monday’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings to look after the sixth week of the season.

1. Tennessee

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

Entering the week as the only undefeated team in the country, Tennessee was immediately handed with a pair of losses. The first game 7-6 in extras on Tuesday against ETSU, before falling 6-5 in Thursday’s series opener at No. 12 Alabama. The Vols responded with a 10-7 win on Friday to even the series, and won a convincing 9-2 game on Sunday to clinch the series.

2. Arkansas

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

It was a busy week for Arkansas with five games, but that didn’t slow them down at all. The Razorbacks started with a pair of midweek wins over Oral Roberts, 4-1 on Tuesday and 16-0 on Wednesday. They then hosted South Carolina over the weekend, and clinched the series behind convincing 12-2 and 12-3 wins in the first two games. Going for the sweep on Sunday, Arkansas dominated yet again with an 11-4 victory.

3. Georgia

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

Georgia has been rolling early on in the season, and that didn’t stop this week. After no midweek games, the Bulldogs hit the road for a big SEC series at No. 13 Florida. Georgia won Friday’s opener 8-7, and clinched the series with a blowout 17-2 win on Saturday. Looking to finish Florida off with a sweep on Sunday, Georgia did so with a 15-4 win, finishing the weekend outscoring Florida 40-13.

4. Florida State

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

Florida State stumbled to begin its week, falling 9-3 against Mercer on Tuesday in a midweek matchup. The Seminoles then hit the road for a trip to Miami starting on Thursday, and won the opener 14-1 in dominating fashion. Miami took Friday’s game 9-6 to even the series, but the Seminoles won 10-6 on Saturday to secure the series win, and avoid a fall in D1Baseball’s top 25.

5. Texas

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

Texas’ week started by losing 8-7 in extra innings to UTSA, but all attention then turned to a massive SEC series against No. 2 LSU over the weekend. While LSU took Friday’s opener 8-2, Texas struck back on Saturday with an 11-7 win to even the series. The series was on the line on Sunday, and Texas took it with a 6-2 win, earning a massive series victory to shake up the top ten.

6. Clemson

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

Clemson’s week began with a pair of midweek games against The Citadel, winning 6-4 on Tuesday and 11-1 on Wednesday. The Tigers then hosted No. 11 Wake Forest over the weekend in one of the slate’s best series. Clemson took the opener 5-1 on Friday, but fell 12-10 on Saturday. That set up a massive rubber game on Sunday, where the Tigers won 7-6 on a walk-off wild pitch to take the series.

7. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-5)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 22-3 (4-2 in SEC)

LSU’s week started in rather easy fashion, defeating New Orleans 11-1 on Tuesday. The Tigers then hit the road for a trip to Austin, battling No. 8 Texas in maybe the series of the week with massive D1Baseball top 25 implications. LSU took Friday’s opener 8-2, but fell 11-7 on Saturday. That set up a decisive rubber game on Sunday, where LSU fell 6-2 to drop the series. The Tigers won’t fall far, but they will drop down from No. 2.

8. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-2)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 18-4

Oregon State picked up a 7-3 midweek victory against Rutgers on Tuesday, and then took a trip to Cal Poly over the weekend. The Beavers won 4-1 in Friday’s opener but then fell 7-6 on Saturday to even the series. That set up a rubber game on Sunday that Oregon State needed to win to avoid a drop in the rankings, and they got it with an 8-2 victory. Still, movement around the top ten could have the Beavers moving down.

9. Oregon

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

It was a quiet week for Oregon, staying idle through the midweek before a Big Ten weekend series against Rutgers starting on Friday. The Ducks won Friday’s opener 4-2, but then lost on Saturday to even the series and set up an important game on Sunday. Needing a win to stay in the top ten of D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings, Oregon got it with a 4-2 win.

10. Oklahoma

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

Oklahoma has surged into the top 10 after a strong start, and they were looking to continue that momentum this week. The Sooners started with a 7-6 win over UT Arlington on Tuesday before hosting Mississippi State over the weekend. Oklahoma fell 2-1 on Friday, but bounced back with a 13-11 win on Saturday to tie the series up. In Sunday’s rubber game, the Sooners won 7-3 to clinch the series.

D1Baseball Top 25 Projections: 11-25

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

The teams that fall out of our projected D1Baseball top 25 rankings are Florida (previously No. 13), Stanford (previoiusly No. 14), UC Santa Barbara (previously No. 21), Virginia (previously No. 23) and Coastal Carolina (previously No. 24). Virginia and Florida join Texas A&M as preseason top ten teams to drop out of the rankings in recent weeks.