SEC baseball power rankings: Ole Miss, Tennessee slug their way to the top

Week two of SEC baseball is in the books, only four programs remain unbeaten: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia and Kentucky.

Now, there appears to be even more clarity at the No. 1 spot, as the Ole Miss Rebels slugged their way to another sweep. But with some traditional powers struggling — and other programs turning heads with their early-season play — there’s been plenty of turnover in On3’s SEC baseball power rankings.

With SEC play now just three weeks away, here’s how On3 ranks the conference’s 14 programs.

SEC Baseball Week 2 Power Rankings

1. Ole Miss Rebels

Record: 6-0

Previous Ranking: 1

Ole Miss swept Charleston Southern in its opening weekend, run ruling the Bucs twice while outscoring them 32-6, and it showed no indications of ceding the SEC’s No. 1 spot in week two. The Rebels just kept raking, beating Arkansas State by a 15-5 final (5 innings), then taking both of its weekend games against VCU, 10-4 and 14-3. Heading into the season, it was abundantly clear that Ole Miss could hit — and 71 runs in 45 innings has confirmed that notion. Tim Elko, now healthy from his knee injury, has hit three home runs and driven in seven RBIs, but senior outfielder Kevin Graham stole the show this week, hitting two home runs and going 7-13 in a three-game span. It’s still early, and the Rebels have yet to play a ranked team, but VCU was an NCAA Tournament team last season. So far, Ole Miss looks like the team to beat in the SEC.

2. Tennessee Volunteers

Record: 7-0

Previous ranking: 4

Tennessee leaped up to No. 2 in On3’s SEC baseball power rankings, yet the Volunteers might be the most unproven team in the conference. It’s a weird juxtaposition, but it’s entirely because of Tennessee’s schedule: After sweeping Georgia Southern in its opening weekend, Tennessee slaughtered UNC Asheville on Wednesday, winning by a 16-1 final score, then played host to the Iona Gaels, who had just been swept by Old Dominion (and allowed 43 runs in the last two games against the Monarchs). And poor, poor Iona.

Tennessee teed off on the Gaels, making the baseball program look like a varsity high school program at best, winning 27-1, 29-0, then 12-2 (seven innings). The Volunteers have yet to face the slightest adversity on their schedule, but the offense — as unproven as it might be — still looks dominant. Tennessee has scored a whopping 117 runs in seven games, and senior Trey Lipscomb was one of many highlights this past weekend. Lipscomb hit for the cycle on Friday, then came a double away from doing it again on Saturday, finishing the weekend 10-for-12 with 14 (!) RBIs. There will be some clarity with Tony Vitello’s squad next weekend, as it faces Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma, but here’s something for Volunteer fans to consider: If Tennessee keeps this up against Big 12 powers, a No. 1 spot in the SEC rankings — and in the top 25 poll — is very well in play.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks

Record: 4-2

Previous Ranking: 3

Just two weeks into the college baseball season, it’s still very difficult to rank teams, given that the strength of schedules is so vastly different (Tennessee, for example, has taken the easy route). But give the benefit of the doubt to teams that play stiff competition. In theory, there are other teams that could be ahead of Arkansas, but the Razorbacks in faced three power five programs in Week 2 — Indiana, No. 6 Stanford and Louisiana — in the Round Rock Classic, and Arkansas took two of three, losing only to a top Stanford program.

Arkansas’ game against Stanford was the most anticipated game of the weekend, and if Arkansas had emerged victorious from the top-10 bout, the Hogs would have likely climbed up further. It was a bit concerning that freshman Hagen Smith struggled against Stanford, allowing three earned runs in less than three innings, but he’s only a freshman. Save for Smith, the pitching has been pretty good, and Arkansas’ bullpen has been solid, as it allowed just five earned runs in 14 innings pitched this weekend. Expect the Hogs to climb back with several light non-conference games on the docket before SEC play.

4. Vanderbilt Commodores

Record: 5-2

Previous Ranking: 5

Vanderbilt fell to No. 5 in On3’s SEC baseball power rankings last week, which was a bit of a harsh assessment. After all, it lost two of three to a very talented Oklahoma State team, which climbed up from No. 7 in the D1Baseball Top 25 to No. 4 after the series. But the VandyBoys’ failure to produce behind the plate is entirely why they found themselves so low. In week two, Vanderbilt swept all four of its games, beating Evansville by a 9-0 final on Tuesday, then sweeping Army 7-2, 10-7 and 6-0. The bats weren’t necessarily dominant, but they certainly got the job done, against a tough opponent no less. Army won the Patriot League last season, and scheduling the Black Knights one weekend after Oklahoma State should prepare the Commodores for SEC play.

Spencer Jones and Javier Vaz have emerged as unlikely heroes for Vanderbilt; though they were both expected to start this season, few expected Jones to keep a .370 average (he had four hits and four RBIs against Army) and Vaz to hit .353. Enrique Bradfield Jr., who was such a lethal weapon for Vanderbilt last season because he hit .336 and stole a nation-best 47 bases, has yet to turn the corner this season, hitting just .217 — but if Bradfield can get back on track (the same applies for slumping upperclassmen Carter Young and Parker Noland), Vanderbilt will be every bit as dangerous a small-ball team as it was last year, given that the young arms have certainly gotten the job done.

5. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Record: 4-3

Previous Ranking: 6

Mississippi State took the same route as Vanderbilt to start the season — perhaps unsurprising for two SEC baseball powerhouses — and decided to schedule a very tough matchup in week one. The Bulldogs ended up losing two of three to Long Beach State, which jumped from No. 24 to No. 12 after taking a series on the road in Starkville, but Mississippi State has since rebounded. Last week, the Bulldogs climbed above .500 with an emphatic 17-1 win over a bad Arkansas-Pine Bluff team, then took two of three against Northern Kentucky in Starkville. If Mississippi State had swept Northern Kentucky, maybe it would have moved up further in the rankings. For now, as Chris Lemonis’ team sits just one game above .500, it will have to do more to climb up from No. 5.

Preston Johnson entered Mississippi State’s rotation on Saturday, making his first career start and replacing KC Hunt, who allowed five runs in three innings against Long Beach State. And Johnson looked good, perhaps solidifying his spot in the rotation. He allowed just two hits and one run in 6.1 innings, shutting down a Northern Kentucky offense that did manage to score an average of 12.7 runs per game in its season-opening sweep of ETSU. Ace Landon Sims, however, who dazzled against Long Beach State with 13 strikeouts and just one run, lost his touch against Northern Kentucky, allowing four runs (but only one earned) and six hits in five innings. There’s no reason to believe that Sims won’t return to form. He should, and so too should Mississippi State, which now has Southern Miss and Tulane as tune-up games before a ranked matchup with Texas Tech.

6. LSU Tigers

Record: 7-1

Previous Ranking: 2

You’re probably wondering how LSU dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 after losing just one game and losing it to a very talented Louisiana Tech team. The answer is simple: Jay Johnson, in his first year at the helm of the Tigers, earned such a high ranking because LSU’s offense clobbered Maine, scoring 51 runs across its opening-weekend sweep of Maine, an impossible pace to keep. LSU’s offense still looks great, and it scored double-digit runs in an 11-1 win over Towson and a 15-0 win over Southern this weekend. But LSU’s second week, which wasn’t quite as dominant as its first week against Maine and included an 11-6 loss to Louisiana Tech, may have given SEC baseball fans a peek behind the curtain: LSU won’t be able to score runs at such an obscene clip against tougher opponents.

Dylan Crews, Jacob Berry and Brayden Jobert each homered in the Tigers’ 11-1 win over Towson, but Cade Doughty, who went 8-for-14 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in LSU’s opening weekend, cooled off with a 4-for-17 performance in the games since. One more note on the strength of schedule here: LSU drove in 15 runs in its second win over Southern, run ruling the Jaguars after beating them 9-2 on Saturday, but this should serve as an indication of how talented Southern is: The Jaguars walked 14 batters and plunked two more across six innings pitched, allowing LSU to sit back and relax as it scored 15 runs. The Jaguars might be better off scheduling Iona, and the Tigers’ No. 2 ranking in week one was certainly too high.

7. Florida Gators

Record: 6-2

Previous Ranking: 7

I promise you this: Florida, which came in low at No. 7 after losing two of three in its season-opening series to Liberty, will absolutely climb up the rankings if it takes care of business at Miami this coming weekend. So far, the Gators have already made a very solid case to move up, as they won all five games this week — 8-1 over Stetson on Tuesday, 3-1 over North Florida on Wednesday, then 4-1, 13-4 and 12-2 over Georgia State this weekend. But let’s face it: The lineup didn’t prove much against lowly competition.

Florida’s bats looked much improved from Week 1, when it managed 14 runs across three games against Liberty, and Colby Halter was one of several Gators that rebounded. Halter went 3-for-13 against Liberty, then followed it up with a 12-for-22 week, including home runs in each of the last two games against Georgia State (he even went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run on Sunday). On the mound, Friday night starter Hunter Barco looked every bit as good in week two (three hits, one earned run and 12 strikeouts across six innings pitched) as he did in week one (one hit, no earned runs and 11 strikeouts across six innings pitched), and the Gators have another five-game week ahead.

8. Georgia Bulldogs

Record: 7-0

Previous Ranking: 8

Frankly, Georgia should be higher than No. 8. After all, the Bulldogs are still undefeated, and they’ll find themselves comfortably in the D1Baseball Top 25 once again this week. But after coming in at No. 8 last week, it would’ve been difficult for Georgia to move up in the rankings without the help of another team’s collapse, given that the Bulldogs hosted Akron this weekend, which previously allowed roughly nine runs per game in losing its season-opening series to Lipscomb.

Starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon looked dominant for the second consecutive start. The junior from Alpharetta, Georgia, allowed just two hits, struck out four and walked none in week one against Albany. This week, against Akron, he took it a step further, allowing three hits, striking out five and again walking none across 8.1 innings. Meanwhile, Liam Sullivan — who really struggled against Albany, allowing five hits and four earned runs in two innings — rebounded to the rune of five scoreless innings. Of note: Cole Tate, a second-year starter, now has now recorded a hit in each of Georgia’s seven games, holding a .385 batting average. Georgia has a chance to really prove itself against Georgia Tech this weekend.

9. South Carolina Gamecocks

Record: 6-1

Previous Ranking: 10

Gamecocks fans, rejoice: the pitching has finally found its way after a mediocre showing in the season-opening series against UNC Greensboro. In that first series, South Carolina needed somewhat of a miracle to even win two of three, as the Gamecocks were down 7-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth of the rubber match, before scoring six runs in the ninth and completing a comeback win in 10 frames. It was a much different story against George Washington — South Carolina won all three, sweeping the Colonials in a decisive fashion with a 13-4 win, a 10-6 win and a 5-0 shutout. The second and third wins came via doubleheader, and Andrew Eyster once again led the charge. After Eyster went 7-for-15 in the season-opening series, he went 5-for-19 with a home run, a double and five RBIs, helping him reach 99 career RBIs. Brandon Belk had a nice weekend, too, going 5-for-13 with five RBIs against the Colonials.

10. Kentucky Wildcats

Record: 7-0

Previous Ranking: 12

Undefeated must count for something. Kentucky, which just barely made it to the SEC Tournament last season, is off to a good start and has jumped up two rankings in the second week of play. After a narrow 3-2 win over Bellarmine on Wednesday, the Wildcats beat up on Western Michigan all weekend, winning 14-3, 13-12 and 6-5, with the offense scoring at a scary pace. Daniel Harris is currently hitting .500 through seven games, tallying 13 hits in 26 at bats, while Jacob Plastiak — who hit two home runs in the opening weekend — hit one more against Western Michigan, bringing his tally to three. Once again, Kentucky star Ryan Ritter, who was a projectable MLB prospect for his fielding and athleticism alone, seems to have finally improved his hitting after a successful season on the Cape. Ritter went 5-for-11 against Western Michigan with a double and three RBIs, but the Wildcats certainly have more to prove against tougher competition.

11. Auburn Tigers

Record: 5-2

Previous Ranking: 11

Auburn rebounded nicely from its first week, in which it had a difficult schedule but managed to win two of three, by beating Troy, 13-1, on Wednesday, then following it up with two wins in three games against Yale. Sonny DiChiara continues to hit at a crazy rate for the Tigers, and he’s now brought his batting average up to .545 after a 7-for-13 week where he registered three doubles and three home runs. It was an eventful series for DiChiara, who willed Auburn to a decisive win over Troy with 4 RBIs and seven total RBIs on the weekend. The starting pitching certainly wasn’t perfect against Yale, as Joseph Gonzalez allowed seven hits and three earned runs over three innings, but it shouldn’t come as much of a concern to the Tigers, which now face Alabama State, UAB and Rhode Island this week.

12. Missouri Tigers

Record: 6-1

Previous Ranking: 14

Missouri was abysmal last season, but the Tigers at least for now appear to have gotten off on the right foot in 2022. Worth noting, however, that their biggest win — a 19-8 victory over Southern on Wednesday — should be taken with a grain of salt, as Southern has looked out of place in the SEC (see: LSU). The Tigers took two games against UL-Monroe, with one cancellation, and the pitching was strong for Missouri. Starting pitchers Spencer Miles and Austin Troesser surrendered a combined three earned runs over 10.1 innings pitched, and the bullpen allowed just one earned run, while pitching 6.2 innings. Like many other schools on this list, though, Missouri has yet to play much of a challenging opponent, and that trend continues against Tarleton State this coming weekend. After that, though, Mizzou has a nice test against Gonzaga, a three-game series that starts March 10.

13. Texas A&M Aggies

Record: 5-2

Previous Ranking: 9

Last week, Texas A&M was up at No. 9 — and perhaps it was a little too speculative. Texas A&M dismissed former head coach Rob Childress after 16 seasons with the Aggies, and the future, at least last weekend, looked bright under new head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who came to College Station from TCU. But Texas A&M really proved nothing against Fordham in week one, because the Aggies proceeded to lose two of three to Penn in week two, a trend of disappointment that seems all to familiar for this program of late. Before it reaches the Frisco College Baseball Classic this weekend, where Texas A&M will face Washington State, Iowa and Wichita State, the Aggies will have to find a way to wake up the bats, which couldn’t support its solid pitching against Penn.

14. Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 5-3

Previous Ranking: 13

It’s tough to drop Alabama after the Crimson Tide got swept by the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns, who are the current odds-on favorites to win the national championship. But due to Missouri’s rise up the rankings, Alabama fell down one spot, as it only beat Alabama State in its midweek competition. Truth be told, Alabama showed more good than bad against Texas, a series that no one expected the Crimson Tide to even keep close. Alabama lost the first two games of the series in surprisingly close contests. Garrett McMillan pitched a gem on night one, turning in six scoreless innings and allowing just three hits, but Alabama’s bullpen surrendered the losing run in a 1-0 final; the next day, Aintoine Jean allowed two earned over five innings, while Hunter Furtado tossed three scoreless out of the bullpen, and Alabama lost just 2-0. Two shutouts in which the pitchers kept it close, but the bats just couldn’t produce.