SEC Power Rankings: Sooners look to rebound, host Longhorns to wrap up regular season

SEC Power Rankings (through May 12)

1.  LSU 40-12, 17-10 (@ South Carolina) 

We saw it first hand a few weeks ago in Norman, but there’s little doubt: Jay Johnson’s club is for real. They took two of three from Arkansas over the weekend in Baton Rouge, winning the opener 5-4 in 10 innings and the series with a 13-3 run rule. RHP Anthony Eyanson went six innings, allowing just five hits – all singles– with one walk and 11 strikeouts in the series clincher. Outfielder Jake Brown went 5-for-8 with two home runs, five RBI and four runs over the course of the weekend, including two home runs in the Saturday run rule. The Bayou Bengals will need some help from friends at Oklahoma if they want to claim a share of the regular season title, but LSU is playing some of the best baseball in the country alongside Florida. 

2.  Florida 35-18, 13-14 (vs. Alabama)

Is there anyone in the country that wants to see the Gators right now? Feels like this has been a growing sentiment over the last month and they did nothing but further their case this past weekend in Austin, winning their fifth consecutive series. Florida has now won 15 of its last 19 games overall and 12 of 15 in conference play. A trip to Tuscaloosa could have the Gators finishing above .500 in the SEC. Freshman pitcher Aidan King earned the win on Sunday, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors and setting personal bests in innings (7), strikeouts (10) and pitches (110). Florida rejoined the polls this week checking in at No. 23 this week in D1Baseball.com’s Top 25. 

3. Arkansas 41-11, 18-9 (vs. Tennessee)

After dropping the first two games of the weekend, Arkansas rallied to salvage a game in the series with a 7-4 win on Sunday. It was the Razorbacks 18th conference win of the season, marking the first SEC school since LSU (1996-2005) to record eight consecutive seasons with 18 wins or more. The Hogs return to Fayetteville this weekend to close out of the regular season against a struggling Tennessee club. Since the start of the power rankings a few weeks ago, nothing has changed in terms of Dave Van Horn’s club. Arkansas’ season will be measured by what happens over the next month and a half. The Razorbacks have to find a way to not just get to Omaha but make some noise if/when they get there. 

4. Texas 40-10, 20-7 (@ Oklahoma) 

The Longhorns head into the final weekend of the season looking to lock down the regular season title in the conference. But that speaks more to what they did in the first couple months of the regular season, rather than what Jim Schlossnagle’s club has done in May. They have yet to win a conference series in May, losing five of its last six games to Arkansas and Florida. Despite its struggles over the last weekends, Texas heads to Norman needing a single win to capture the regular season crown. 

5. Auburn 36-15, 16-11 (@ Ole Miss) 

The Tigers have one of the hottest offenses in the country. Over the course of a three-game sweep of South Carolina, Butch Thompson’s club scored 46 runs on 51 hits. Almost half (21) of the 51 hits went for extra bases, including 11 home runs. Both the runs (46) and hits (51) were the most in an SEC series since 2010. Eric Guevara earned National and SEC Player of the Week honors after going 12-for-15 with seven runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI during the three game series with the ‘Cocks. The Tigers have won four straight and 10 of their last 15, wrapping the regular season with a midweek vs. Jacksonville State before this weekend’s finale in Oxford. 

6. Vanderbilt 36-16, 16-11 (vs. Kentucky) 

Vanderbilt took two of three from Tennessee over the weekend. You may have heard about it if you follow college baseball. The Commodores have played themselves into a comfortable spot turning in its second consecutive winning weekend and its third series victory in their last four. After dropping the opening game of the weekend, Vanderbilt rallied for a 10-6 win on Saturday, scoring in five different innings, highlighted by a four-run sixth to take the lead for good. Sunday’s rubber game was interrupted by a rain delay and plenty of drama on the diamond with Vandy winning 7-5. Ethan McElvain recorded the save, stranding the bases loaded in the ninth. 

7. Alabama 39-13, 15-12 (@ Florida) 

Last week was historic to an extent for the Crimson Tide. With a win over Troy, they completed an undefeated midweek schedule for the first time in program history, carrying that momentum into the weekend taking a home series from Georgia for the first time in a decade. Freshman shortstop Justin Lebron was recognized as the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week for his efforts in the four games last week, going 7-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI and 15 total bases. The Tide have won 15 games over a ranked opponent this season, and will have a chance to add to that total this weekend when they head to Gainesville. 

8. Georgia 40-13, 16-11 (vs. Texas A&M)

After opening the weekend with a 19-3 win in Tuscaloosa, Georgia heads into the final weekend of the season still in position to be selected as a national seed. The Bulldogs have clinched a winning record in SEC play and sit fifth in the conference standings with three games to play. Tre Phelps led the Dogs at the plate over the weekend, going 7-for-14 with eight RBIs. Something to keep an eye on will be the health of first baseman Ryland Zaborowski, who has missed the last two weekends with an elbow injury. Wes Johnson’s club fell in the polls this week but still hold onto the top spot in college baseball’s RPI. They’ll close out the regular season hosting Texas A&M at Foley Field where they have posted a school-record 27-3 record. 

9. Kentucky 28-20, 13-14 (@ Vanderbilt) 

The Wildcats flipped the script over the weekend with a sweep of Oklahoma, and it’s not out of line to say the three days in Lexington could have very well saved its season. Every time Oklahoma punched, Kentucky took the body blow and answered. Ben Cleaver tossed innings and picked up his sixth win of the year in the finale, with five different Wildcats logging multiple hits in a 7-2 win on Mother’s Day. The weekend sweep of Oklahoma was their first conference series sweep since last season when they took a three-game series from Auburn. The Wildcats have hit nine triples in their last six games. Nick Mangione’s club closes out the regular season in Nashville this weekend. 

10. Oklahoma 32-17, 13-14 (vs. Texas) 

What a strange weekend it was for Oklahoma in Lexington. The opportunity was there and threw it away, getting swept for just the second time this season in conference play. Every time Oklahoma tried to land a punch, Kentucky answered with a punishing blow. The Sooners certainly don’t want to watch Texas celebrate a conference championship on L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark. But they’ll need to sweep to avoid that. This weekend is more about getting back on the right track for Skip Johnson’s club with the postseason ahead. One thing we do know is Oklahoma will likely start its postseason on the road after last weekend’s showing versus Kentucky. 

11. Ole Miss 34-17, 14-13 (vs. Auburn) 

The Rebels dropped their second consecutive weekend in Starkville after opening the series with a 10-4 win. Despite a couple of losing weekends, Mike Bianco’s club has accomplished a lot this season. Ole Miss is one of nine Division I teams with 12 or more Quad 1 wins this season and their four SEC series wins are the most they have won in a season since 2022. Luke Hill is currently riding a 35-game on-base streak, reaching base in every game since the beginning of conference play. Austin Fawley has homered in 10 of his last 17 games. He’s now hit more home runs than any other catcher in the Mike Bianco era. As a team, Ole Miss has hit 93 home runs this season, ranking them in the top 10 nationally and fourth most in the Southeastern Conference.

12. Tennessee 39-13, 15-12 (@ Arkansas)

The slide continued and it just doesn’t make any damn sense. Tony Vitello’s club is the defending national champion yet look far from from it as the Vols enter the final weekend of the regular season. They’ve lost four conference series in a row and five of its last six weekends heading into this weekend’s trip to Arkansas. The headlines that you’ve seen when it comes to Vols baseball has more to do with the antics on the field rather than its actual play. Something we overlooked in recent years because they were really damn good on the scoreboard. At some point you thought the wheels would get back on the track, but this Tennessee club is trending in the wrong direction. With all that said, I don’t know who would want to sign up to play them.

13. Mississippi State 31-20, 12-15 (@ Missouri) 

Maybe they should have made the move to fire Chris Lemonis earlier than a few weeks ago. Something has clicked for the Bulldogs, winners of its last two weekends, but it’s going to be too little too late barring a massive run through Hoover. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with an opportunity to finish at .500 in conference play, after winning five of its last six games and there’s still a lot to play for when it comes to seeding in next week’s SEC Tournament. Like a lot of the teams hovering in the middle of the SEC standings, just three games separate seventh place and 13th place. 

14. Missouri  16-35, 3-24 (vs. Mississippi State)

Hey, man. Good on you Missouri. The Tigers stunned the conference and the rest of the college baseball world over the weekend sweeping Texas A&M. Still almost hard to even type that out. They’re playing for nothing and certainly could have folded with just six games left on the schedule but they went out and did it. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Dare I say it was impressive? The Tigers will still find themselves playing on the first day of the SEC Tournament next week but they’ll do so with memories of this past weekend’s three game sweep. 

15. South Carolina 26-26, 5-22 (vs. LSU) 

Speaking of teams just playing out of the season. That certainly appears to be the case for South Carolina and Paul Maineri. Maineri’s first season in Columbia hasn’t gone well. While the Gamecocks don’t have a Quad 2, 3 or 4 loss on the schedule, they just aren’t good enough. The Gamecocks lost this past weekend by a combined score of 46-15, including 24-2 loss in the series opener, the program’s worst loss in baseball since 1997. 

16. Texas A&M 27-23, 10-17 (@ Georgia) 

Oh my God – they did what? Yep. The Aggies accomplished the improbable this past weekend. Not only did they let Missouri win a conference game; the Tigers left Blue Bell Park with a weekend sweep of the Aggies. Disappointment would be a nice way of describing Michael Earley’s first season at the helm. From preseason No. 1 to the outhouse is where the Aggies find themselves and there’s chatter they could be heading into another offseason in which they are active in a head coaching search. It’s hard to fathom what we’ve seen take place in College Station.