College Baseball Rankings: D1Baseball shakes up top 25 after Week 3

This was a fun week of college baseball. With conference play beginning next weekend for some leagues, things are starting to ramp up. And we have some changes in this week’s D1Baseball Top 25 rankings.

The weekend was headlined by a trio of events – the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series (No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Mississippi State, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 23 Texas A&M, others), the BRUCE BOLT College Classic (No. 3 Texas, No. 9 Coastal Carolina, No. 25 Ole Miss, others), and the Frisco College Baseball Classic (No. 19 Oregon State, Alabama, others). We also saw No. 10 Florida at No. 17 Miami in a true weekend series.

Midweeks were full of chaos, most notably on Tuesday. Six top 25 teams lost a midweek game this week, and seven entered Sunday in an even 1-1 series and their weekend on the line.

It’s shaping up to be a fun year across the country, and that’ll only be amplified in the coming weeks. For now, let’s see how D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings have changed as we enter Week 4.

1. UCLA

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 9-2

Before playing in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series over the weekend, UCLA played San Diego State on Tuesday and fell 4-3. The weekend was a different story. The Bruins played three ranked teams on three straight days. They won the weekend right out of the gates, beating No. 20 Tennessee 12-5 on Friday and No. 23 Texas A&M 11-1 on Saturday. UCLA then faced No. 4 Mississippi State to wrap up the weekend, and won 8-7 in a game of the year candidate that went 10 innings.

2. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 11-1

LSU began its week with a surprising 7-6 loss against McNeese, becoming one of four top six teams in D1Baseball’s top 25 to fall on Tuesday. The Tigers then hosted Dartmouth and Northeastern over the weekend. LSU beat Dartmouth 5-2 on Friday and Northeastern 3-1 on Saturday before winning 3-0 against Dartmouth on Sunday. They’ll face Northeastern again on Monday.

3. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-0

For Texas, the week started off with a dominating 14-0 victory against UTRGV on Tuesday. They then went to the BRUCE BOLT College Classic starting on Friday, earning an 8-1 win against No. 9 Coastal Carolina. On Saturday, the Longhorns clinched a winning weekend with a 5-2 victory against Baylor. In the weekend finale on Sunday against Ohio State, Texas won 10-3 to finish another perfect week.

4. Mississippi State

Previous Ranking: No. 4
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 11-1

After a 16-3 win against Austin Peay on Tuesday, Mississippi State traveled to the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with an intriguing field of teams. They rattled off two wins right out of the gates to secure a winning weekend, 8-4 against Arizona State on Friday and 15-8 against Virginia Tech on Saturday. They then battled No. 1 UCLA on Sunday, falling 8-7 in extras in a thrilling back-and-forth contest.

5. Georgia Tech

Previous Ranking: No. 5
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 11-1

After suffering its first loss of the year in a 9-4 loss to Georgia State on Tuesday, Georgia Tech got back on track over the weekend. They hosted Northwestern for a three-game series, and took the series behind 17-3 and 13-3 wins on Friday and Saturday to clinch the series. They wanted to finish on a sweep on Sunday, and did so with a 14-6 win.

6. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 6
Weekly Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 9-3

Arkansas lost a couple of games this week after entering the week No. 6 in D1Baseball’s top 25. The Razorbacks fell 12-4 to Arkansas State, before winning a tight 1-0 game in Wednesday’s rematch. They then fell 4-3 in Friday’s series opener to UT Arlington before evening the series with a 9-0 win on Saturday. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where Arkansas clinched the series with an 11-1 victory.

7. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 7
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 9-2

Auburn’s week began with a 4-3 win over West Georgia on Wednesday, but then dropped Friday’s series opener against Nebraska 9-8 in ten innings. The Tigers responded on Saturday, winning 15-4 to even the series and set up a rubber game in Sunday’s finale. There, Auburn won 12-3 to take the series.

8. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 8
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 11-1-1

UNC won a pair of midweek games to kick off the week, 9-1 over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday and 13-3 against VCU on Wednesday. They then hosted Le Moyne for a three-game weekend series. It was smooth sailing in Chapel Hill, with the Tar Heels taking clinching the series with a 16-3 win on Friday and a 13-3 win on Saturday. They dominated with a 21-1 win in the finale on Sunday to finish the sweep.

9. Florida

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-1

Florida had a great week, even though it was cut short due to weather. The Gators defeated FIU 17-11 and 11-4 on Tuesday and Wednesday to kick off the week before traveling to No. 17 Miami over the weekend. Florida won 7-2 on Friday and 8-4 on Saturday to take the series, but Sunday’s series finale was called off. Still, impressive showing for the Gators.

10. Southern Miss

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 10-1

Southern Miss started the week with a statement win, beating Alabama 14-4 on Tuesday. They then hit the road for a series at Louisiana Tech, clinching it behind 8-3 and 11-0 wins on Friday and Saturday. Aiming for a sweep in Sunday’s finale, Southern Miss did exactly that with a 6-2 win.

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

11. Georgia
12. Oklahoma (+1)
13. NC State (+1)
14. Clemson (+1)
15. Wake Forest (+1)
16. Coastal Carolina (-7)
17. TCU (+1)
18. Oregon State (+1)
19. Tennessee (+1)
20. Florida State (+1)
21. Kentucky (+1)
22. Texas A&M (+1)
23. West Virginia (+1)
24. Miami (-7)
25. UTSA (NR)

Dropped out of D1Baseball Top 25: Ole Miss (prev. No. 25)