College Baseball Rankings: D1Baseball releases updated Top 25 at conclusion of regular season

What a wild ride this regular season has been across college baseball. This weekend’s games brought the end of it, and D1Baseball has updated its top 25 rankings as we shift focus to conference tournaments and postseason action.

12 teams entered Saturday facing a rubber game with the series on the line in a 1-1 deadlock. Of course, the weekend was moved up a day to Thursday through Saturday due to conference tournaments beginning early in the next week. Eight teams were already 2-0 with a series win coming out of Friday, while five were down 0-2 with a series loss.

We didn’t have quite as many top 25 series this weekend as we have in past weeks, though that didn’t take away from the excitement. Just four ranked matchups headlined this weekend slate; No. 4 North Carolina at No. 2 Florida State, No. 17 Tennessee at No. 8 Arkansas, No. 18 Alabama at No. 23 Florida, and No. 19 Southern Miss at No. 22 Troy.

There’s still a lot to play for over the next week as teams try to fight their way into the NCAA Tournament. For now, though, D1Baseball’s latest top 25 rankings show that there’s still a lot up for grabs with plenty of movement.

1. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-13 (19-11 in SEC)

LSU was D1Baseball’s new top-ranked team in their top 25 this week, but the week started off on the wrong note for the Tigers. They lost 6-5 against South Carolina in Thursday’s series opener, before winning 8-1 on Friday to set up a Saturday rubber game with the series on the line. There, LSU won 7-3 to secure the series victory.

2. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 3 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-11 (22-8 in SEC)

After struggling over the past couple of weeks, Texas wanted to end the regular season on a high note. In Thursday’s series opener at Oklahoma, the Longhorns won 7-4 to start off strong. The Sooners took Friday’s game 8-6 to even the series, setting up a rubber game on Saturday. There, Texas won 9-1 in a game that was impacted by a late-inning weather delay.

3. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 39-12 (18-11 in ACC)

The ACC was wide open entering the final weekend. North Carolina made a lot of noise, defeating No. 2 Florida State 8-3 on Thursday and 11-1 on Friday to take the series and move into first place in ACC standings. Entering Saturday’s finale, UNC wanted a sweep, but instead lost 5-4, narrowly missing out on the regular season ACC crown.

4. Oregon

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 41-13 (22-8 in Big Ten)

This weekend’s series between Oregon and Iowa had massive ramifications for the Big Ten regular season title. After the Ducks won 10-0 on Thursday and 9-6 on Friday, those two teams moved into a three-way tie alongside UCLA entering Saturday. In Saturday’s finale between the Ducks and Hawkeyes, Oregon won 13-4 and won the top seed in the Big Ten.

5. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+3)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 43-12 (20-10 in SEC)

Arkansas was looking to strengthen their case for a top eight seed this weekend against No. 17 Tennessee. The two teams split the opening two games, with the Razorbacks losing 10-7 on Thursday before winning 8-6 on Friday. That set up a rubber game on Saturday with big D1Baseball top 25 implications, where Arkansas won 8-4 to clinch the series.

6. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-4)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 37-13 (17-10 in ACC)

After moving up to No. 2 in D1Baseball’s top 25 entering the week, Florida State wanted to pick up a massive series win at home vs. No. 2 North Carolina. Instead, it went the other way. The Seminoles lost 8-3 on Thursday and 11-1 on Friday to drop the series. Looking to avoid the sweep in Saturday’s finale, FSU won 5-4 to at least salvage a win.

7. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 7
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 41-12-1

Oregon State defeated Portland 5-3 on Tuesday to kick off its final week of the regular season, and then hosted Long Beach State over the weekend. The Beavers won 2-1 on Thursday and 12-8 on Friday to take the series, and wanted to end with a sweep on Saturday. There, Oregon State dominated in a 13-0 victory.

8. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-2)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 38-17 (17-13 in SEC)

Auburn’s week started with a 19-1 win over Jacksonville State on Tuesday, and they then hosted Ole Miss to conclude the regular season. The Tigers dropped both of the first two games to lose the series, falling 9-2 on Thursday and 15-11 on Friday. In Saturday’s series finale, Auburn salvaged a 13-8 win to end the series.

9. Vanderbilt

Previous Ranking: No. 9
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 39-16 (19-11 in SEC)

Vanderbilt came out on top against Kentucky this weekend, but it was a fun series. On Thursday, Kentucky led late before Vanderbilt walked things off to win the opener 8-7. Friday was the same story, with the Commodores coming back to walk it off 9-8 and clinch the series. In Saturday’s finale, Vanderbilt won 5-3, coming back from down multiple runs for the third game in a row.

10. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 10
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-14 (18-12 in SEC)

Georgia needed to win its final series against Texas A&M to strengthen its case as a national seed. The Bulldogs won 10-6 in the series opener on Thursday, before being shut out in a 6-0 loss on Friday. In Saturday’s pivotal rubber game with the series on the line, Georgia won 7-5 to take the series, and solidify its postseason resume.

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

11. Coastal Carolina
12. Southern Miss (+7)
13. UCLA (+1)
14. Clemson (+1)
15. Florida (+8)
16. Georgia Tech (NR)
17. Ole Miss (NR)
18. Dallas Baptist (+6)
19. Northeastern (+6)
20. UC Irvine (-8)
21. Tennessee (-4)
22. NC State (-9)
23. Alabama (-5)
24. TCU (NR)
25. Kansas (NR)

With four new teams featured in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings, four teams had to fall out. Those teams are West Virginia (previously No. 16), Duke (previously No. 20), Louisville (previously No. 21), and Troy (previously No. 22).