College Baseball Rankings: Projecting D1Baseball Top 25 after upset-filled Week 7

We are officially halfway through college baseball’s regular season. With that, we expect to swee some notable movement in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings following the seventh week of the year.

Six ranked teams lost a midweek game on Tuesday or Wednesday, kicking off what would prove to be a wild weekend from start to finish. We were then greeted to four top 25 series over the weekend; No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 11 Auburn, No. 25 Georgia Tech vs. No. 6 Clemson, and No. 12 Alabama vs. No. 9 Oklahoma.

Nine teams were done with their week entering Sunday’s slate, but the remaining 16 teams had a lot at stake. Seven teams entered Sunday up 2-0 in their series, already clinching the win. But five teams were 1-1 and three were 0-2, needing a win to salvage either a series win or avoid a sweep. Further, Florida State entered Sunday down 0-1 in their series, with a doubleheader to follow.

Yet again, there’s likely to be a lot of changes in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. Here’s how we expect everything to shake out.

1. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 26-2 (8-1 in SEC)

Tennessee just keeps rolling. The Vols’ week started with a 14-3 win against Queens on Tuesday, and they then hit the road for a series at South Carolina. Tennessee won 11-7 on Friday and then 7-5 on Saturday to secure yet another series victory. The top team in D1Baseball’s top 25 was going for the sweep on Sunday, and got it with a 7-2 victory.

2. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 26-3 (8-1 in SEC)

Arkansas started the week off on the wrong foot, falling 14-13 in extras to Missouri State on Tuesday. Still, the Razorbacks turned the week into a positive one. On the road at No. 14 Vanderbilt over the weekend, Arkansas won 9-0 on Friday and 6-4 in extras on Saturday to secure the series win. Going for the sweep on Sunday, the Razorbacks won 7-3 to finish it off.

3. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 28-2 (8-1 in SEC)

Georgia roared off to a fast start last season, but this year is an entirely different level. The Bulldogs completed a spotless 4-0 week, starting with a 13-6 win over West Georgia in a Tuesday midweek battle. Over the weekend, Georgia hosted No. 11 Auburn and cruised to a sweep, winning 4-1 in Friday’s opener before taking both ends of a Saturday doubleheader, 11-7 and 9-6.

4. Florida State

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

Florida State started its week in the best way you could imagine, hitting a walk-off grand slam to beat rival Florida 8-4 on Tuesday. They then took a trip to Notre Dame over the weekend, and lost Friday’s opener 16-9. The two teams concluded the series with a Sunday doubleheader, where the Seminoles won the first game 4-2 to even the weekend. In the finale, FSU prevailed with a 17-9 win to take the series.

5. Clemson

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 26-5 (6-3 in ACC)

It was a busy week full of ups and downs for Clemson, but ultimately they came out on the right end of it. The Tigers split a pair of midweek games, losing to Coastal Carolina on Tuesday but beating Presbyterian on Wednesday. They then took a trip to No. 25 Georgia Tech and split the first two games, winning 9-7 on Friday and losing 18-2 in Saturday’s first game. In the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader, Clemson won 4-3 to take a tight series win.

6. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 23-3 (8-1 in SEC)

Many thought Texas should have moved up further in last week’s D1Baseball Top 25 rankings. Still, the Longhorns moved up a spot and kept things rolling this week, potentially rising again. The Longhorns beat Sam Houston 13-3 on Tuesday before sweeping Missouri on the road, winning 15-4 on Friday, and then 7-4 and 7-1 in a doubleheader on Saturday.

7. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 26-3 (7-2 in SEC)

After falling a few spots last week, LSU got back on track this week. The Tigers dominated in a 17-4 midweek win over Louisiana to kick things off on Tuesday, and then swept Mississippi State over the weekend. The Tigers won 8-6 on Thursday, 2-1 on Friday and 17-8 on Saturday to finish the sweep, improving to an impressive 26-3 overall on the year.

8. Alabama

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+4)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 25-4 (6-3 in SEC)

Alabama stayed at No. 12 in last week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings after a series loss against No. 1 Tennessee, and now they’re creeping up into the top ten after a series win against No. 9 Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide beat North Alabama 4-3 on Tuesday to start the week, and beat Oklahoma 8-6 on Friday to open the weekend. After a 6-5 loss on Saturday, Alabama won 8-6 on Sunday to secure the series.

9. Ole Miss

Previous Ranking: No. 15 (+6)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 21-6 (6-3 in SEC)

It was a strong week for Ole Miss, picking up its second consecutive SEC series victory. That came after a midweek win over Memphis, but the Rebels carried it over into the weekend at home against Florida. Ole Miss won 7-5 on Thursday and 10-9 on Friday to clinch the series win, but were unable to completely the sweep with an 11-8 loss on Saturday. Still, the Rebels have a legitimate chance to move up significantly in D1Baseball’s new top 25.

10. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (-5)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 20-6

Oregon State is playing an independent schedule this season, but this week it was a taste of the Big Ten. The Beavers defeated Washington 5-2 on Tuesday, and then hit the road for a series at Nebraska over the weekend. Nebraska took the opener 7-3 on Friday, but Oregon State responded with a 16-5 win on Saturday to even the series. The Beavers needed a win on Sunday to avoid a sharp fall in D1Baseball’s top 25, but instead blew a lead and fell 16-7 to drop the series and drop in the rankings.

D1Baseball Top 25 Projections: 11-25

11. Oklahoma (-2)
12. Southern Miss (+1)
13. Dallas Baptist (+4)
14. North Carolina (+7)
15. UCLA (+9)
16. UC Irvine (+3)
17. Louisville (+1)
18. Oregon (-8)
19. Auburn (-8)
20. West Virginia (NR)
21. Troy (+1)
22. Virginia Tech (NR)
23. Vanderbilt (-9)
24. Wake Forest (-8)
25. Coastal Carolina (NR)

We project three teams to drop out of D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings; Stanford (previously No. 20), Arizona (previously No. 23) and Georgia Tech (previously No. 25). They are replaced by West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Coastal Carolina.