D1Baseball overhauls updated top 25 rankings after upset-filled weekend

Jonathan Wagner

John Calipari LEAVING Kentucky for Arkansas?

This college baseball season has certainly delivered so far. With five series between top 25 teams and seven rubber games on Sunday, this week was definitely full of action. We now have updated D1Baseball top 25 rankings heading into a new week.

Maybe the biggest story of the weekend was from the series between No. 23 Mississippi State and Georgia. After what looked to be a pretty standard play with the runner thrown out at home, Mississippi State catcher Johnny Long had some extra words for Georgia’s Dillon Carter. The play sparked the benches to clear, with 11 ejections and multiple suspensions as a result.

Elsewhere, the five top 25 matchups headlined the weekend. Those series featured No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 22 South Carolina, No. 7 Vanderbilt at No. 18 LSU, No. 10 North Carolina at No. 15 Virginia, No. 21 Wake Forest at No. 11 Virginia Tech, and No. 13 Alabama at No. 17 Kentucky.

There are some big changes in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings, with new teams in the top ten and new teams in the rankings as a whole.

1. Arkansas

arkansas-defeats-texas-am-sec-baseball-tournament-with-kendall-diggs-walk-off-homer — Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 27-3 (11-1 in SEC)

Yet again, Arkansas has completed a 4-0 week. The Razorbacks started this week off with a 13-0 midweek victory over Arkansas State, and then hosted Ole Miss over the weekend. There, Arkansas won all three games (5-2, 8-3, 7-4) to finish the sweep, holding firm in the top spot of D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings.

2. Clemson

Billy Barlow — © Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 28-3 (10-2 in ACC)

After a dominant 11-1 midweek victory at USC Upstate, Clemson went to Notre Dame and took care of business over the weekend. The Tigers won 7-3 on Friday, 3-2 on Saturday and 13-12 on Sunday, securing the sweep and improving to 10-2 in ACC play. Clemson is sitting strongly at No. 2 for another week in D1Baseball’s top 25, to no surprise.

3. Texas A&M

Jace Laviolette-Texas A&M-baseball — Jace Laviolette (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 28-4 (8-4 in SEC)

What a start to the year it has been for the Aggies. Texas A&M earned a good midweek win at Texas State to begin the week, winning 12-2. They then hit the road for a trip to No. 22 South Carolina and impressed again. The Aggies won 13-8 and 9-1 in the series’ first two games to secure the weekend win. In Sunday’s finale, the Gamecocks won to avoid the sweep by the Aggies.

4. Tennessee

tennessee-slugger-christian-moore-belts-solo-shot-to-give-vols-early-1-0-lead-in-clemson-regional-vs-charlotte — (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Previous Ranking: No. 4
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 26-6 (7-5 in SEC)

Tennessee stumbled to begin the week, falling 9-5 in the series opener at Auburn. The Vols were in need of a rebound on Saturday and that’s what they got, winning 12-2 in dominant fashion. That set up an intriguing rubber game on Sunday, where the Vols came away with a dominating 19-5 victory to clinch the series.

5. Oregon State

Gavin Turley — © Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 5
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 26-4 (8-3 in Pac-12)

After a disappointing showing last weekend, Oregon State was in need of a strong week in response. They started off with a pair of victories over Gonzaga, winning 14-0 on Monday and 13-5 on Tuesday. The Beavers then hosted Arizona State over the weekend, where they won 13-8 on Friday and 9-1 on Saturday to clinch the series. In Sunday’s finale, Oregon State won 9-7 to finish off the sweep and hold firm in the top five in D1Baseball’s top 25.

6. Vanderbilt

Alan Espinal — © Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 25-7 (8-4 in SEC)

Playing in Baton Rouge is never easy, and Vanderbilt learned that quickly as they fell 10-6 in the series opener against No. 18 LSU. The Commodores responded with an 8-6 victory in the second game to even the series, though, and picked up a run-rule 13-3 win in the finale to take the series. It was an impressive finish to the weekend for Vanderbilt, and they now move up in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings as a result.

7. Duke

Jonathan Santucci — Credit: Duke Athletics

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 24-8 (9-6 in ACC)

Duke didn’t have an easy week at all, but they came out of it with an impressive result. Taking on a solid Liberty team on Tuesday on the road, the Blue Devils won 9-4. They then returned to Durham to host Miami over the weekend. Duke won a pair of tight games to secure the series, winning 4-3 on Friday and 5-4 on Saturday. In Sunday’s finale, it was yet another one-run game, with Duke needing extra innings to win it 11-10. Despite the tight series, the Blue Devils are back on the rise in D1Baseball’s top 25.

8. Kentucky

Mason Moore — © Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 17 (+9)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 27-4 (11-1 in SEC)

Kentucky is scorching hot right now. After a notable leap in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings last week, they are rising again this week. The Wildcats hosted No. 13 Alabama over the weekend and came away with a pretty impressive sweep, winning 6-2 on Friday, 7-0 on Saturday and 10-1 on Sunday. Kentucky now sits at 11-1 in SEC play.

9. East Carolina

ECU Zach Root — © Andrew Craft / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+3)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 23-7 (6-3 in AAC)

ECU began its week in impressive fashion, dominating in a 12-4 midweek victory at No. 19 NC State on Tuesday. They then went down to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic, and had to grind out a series victory. The Pirates won 4-1 on Friday before falling 6-5 on Saturday to set up a rubber game on Sunday. There, ECU rallied back from an early deficit to take the series, winning 8-6 after holding on during a late Florida Atlantic comeback.

10. Florida State

James Tibbs III — © Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previous Ranking: No. 14 (+4)
Weekly Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 26-5 (7-5 in ACC)

Florida State had a busy week with a pair of midweek games. The Seminoles won 5-3 on Tuesday against Jacksonville and 5-2 on Wednesday against Bethune-Cookman before a trip to Boston College over the weekend. The two teams split the opening two games, with Florida State winning 12-4 on Friday and Boston College winning 7-6 in extras on Saturday. In Sunday’s rubber game, the Seminoles prevailed 9-2 to take the series.

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

Jun 16, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Virginia Cavaliers shortstop Griff O’Ferrall (6) scores a run against the Florida Gators during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

11. Virginia (+4)
12. UC Irvine (+4)
13. North Carolina (-3)
14. Wake Forest (+7)
15. Dallas Baptist (-7)
16. Virginia Tech (-5)
17. UCF (+8)
18. Oregon (NR)
19. Louisiana (NR)
20. Coastal Carolina
21. Oklahoma State (NR)
22. Mississippi State (+1)
23. Nebraska (+1)
24. Florida (-16)
25. Alabama (-12)

Oregon, Louisiana and Oklahoma State are the two new teams in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. They each are on the verge of the top 20, and take the place of LSU (previously No. 18), NC State (previously No. 19) and South Carolina (previously No. 22) in the rankings.

Florida and Alabama dropped the most in this week’s rankings. The Gators are down 16 spots at No. 24, while Alabama is down 12 spots to No. 25.