D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: Eight ranked series losses leads to big changes
The postseason is getting closer and closer in college baseball, but first it’s time to look at the updated D1Baseball top 25 rankings. There are some changes after a wild week of action.
Eight top 25 teams entered Sunday in a rubber game, with the series on the line. Three were already down 0-2 on the weekend, while six were up 2-0 and seven ranked teams had already wrapped up their weekend.
We were given four top 25 series over the weekend. No. 1 Texas A&M hosted No. 20 Georgia, No. 24 South Carolina hosted No. 4 Kentucky, No. 6 Duke hosted No. 10 Florida State and No. 9 Oregon State hosted No. 22 Oregon. Those results have impacted not only the rankings, but the postseason picture.
Here’s how D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings take shape heading into this week. Just three weekends remain until conference tournaments get underway.
1. Texas A&M
Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 38-6 (15-6 in SEC)
Texas A&M continues its reign in the top spot of D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings after a strong 3-1 week. The Aggies first defeated Houston 13-11 in a midweek slugfest before taking two out of three at home against No. 20 Georgia over the weekend. Texas A&M won 5-2 in the opener before taking a 19-9 win in the front half of a doubleheader to take the series, before falling in the finale 5-4 to fall just short of a sweep.
2. Arkansas
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 37-7 (16-5 in SEC)
Arkansas remains in the No. 2 spot for another week. The Razorbacks kicked their action off with an 11-1 midweek win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and then hosted Florida over the weekend. It was a pretty tight series, but the Razorbacks prevailed by winning two out of three. Arkansas won 2-1 in the opener and 6-5 in the front end of a doubleheader to win the weekend before falling 9-5 in the finale.
3. Tennessee
Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 37-7 (15-6 in SEC)
No top five team in D1Baseball’s top 25 had a perfect week except for Tennessee. The Vols earned a 12-4 midweek win over Western Carolina before sweeping Missouri over the weekend. The series was a close one outside of Tennessee’s 10-1 win in the opener, as the Vols won 3-2 in each of the final two games to finish off the sweep.
4. Clemson
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 34-9 (15-6 in ACC)
Clemson had to battle all week, starting on Tuesday in a 15-inning midweek game against No. 20 Georgia. It was the Bulldogs that ultimately came away with the 4-3 win. Clemson then went to Louisville for a weekend ACC series and split the first two games, winning the first 12-11 and dropping the second 7-6. That set up a pretty important rubber game on Sunday, where the Tigers won 17-7 in blowout fashion to take the series.
5. East Carolina
Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 35-8 (14-4 in AAC)
East Carolina has pretty comfortably established themselves as a top ten team in D1Baseball’s top 25 at this point in the season. The Pirates began this week with a 10-6 midweek win over No. 21 NC State, and then impressed all around over the weekend against Memphis. ECU won 14-0 in the opener and 14-3 on Saturday, and 8-3 on Sunday.
6. Oregon State
Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 33-10 (12-8 in Pac-12)
Oregon State was in major need of a strong bounce-back week this week, and that’s what they got. The Beavers started by winning 7-2 in a midweek game at Portland before hosting No. 22 Oregon over the weekend in a big Pac-12 meeting. Oregon State secured the series win behind 2-0 and 4-2 victories in the first two games. Looking for the sweep, the Beavers were unable to finish it off and lost 7-1.
7. Florida State
Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 34-9 (13-8 in ACC)
Florida State is back on the rise in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. The Seminoles first won 10-2 in a midweek contest vs. North Florida, and then hit the road for a trip to No. 6 Duke over the weekend. Florida State took control of the series right away with a 4-2 win in the opener, and then clinched the weekend with a 7-6 victory in the second game. They were hoping to finish off the Blue Devils with a sweep on Sunday, but fell in stunning fashion, 16-4.
8. Kentucky
Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-4)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 33-9 (16-5 in SEC)
Kentucky didn’t fall far after losing last weekend’s series to Tennessee, but the Wildcats were tasked with another challenging series this week. They hit the road for a trip to take on No. 24 South Carolina in a series that came down to the final game. Kentucky lost 6-5 in extra innings in the opener before evening things up with a 15-13 win. In Sunday’s rubber game, Kentucky fell again, this time 10-0 in run-rule fashion.
9. UC Irvine
Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+3)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 32-8 (14-4 in Big West)
UC Irvine is back on the rise in D1Baseball’s top 25, and they sneak back into the top 25 after another strong week. This time around, it started with a 9-7 midweek win at UCLA before handling UC Riverside on the road over the weekend. UC Irvine won 15-1 and 15-7 to clinch the series, and then 12-3 on Sunday to finish the sweep.
10. Duke
Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-4)
Weekly Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 30-14 (14-10 in ACC)
Duke struggled this week to say the least, and they fall in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. The Blue Devils first were dominated in an 18-4 midweek loss at Campbell, and then lost the series against No. 10 Florida State over the weekend. Duke fell 4-2 in the opener and 7-6 in the second game to lose the weekend. They were looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday, and did so with a dominating 16-4 victory.
D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25
11. Virginia (+3)
12. North Carolina (+3)
13. Wake Forest (-5)
14. Oklahoma State (+5)
15. South Carolina (+9)
16. Mississippi State (NR)
17. Vanderbilt (-6)
18. Louisiana (-1)
19. Georgia (+1)
20. NC State (+1)
21. Arizona (-5)
22. Oklahoma (-4)
23. Alabama
24. Indiana State (+1)
25. Utah (NR)
Just two new teams join this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings – No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 25 Utah. They take the place of Coastal Carolina (previously No. 13) and Oregon (previously No. 22).
The biggest jump of the week was South Carolina, who rose nine spots up to No. 15. On the flip side, Vanderbilt was the most notable fall, outside of Coastal Carolina who dropped from No. 13 to not ranked. Vanderbilt fell six spots down from No. 11 to No. 17.