D1Baseball releases updated top 25 rankings after upset-filled weekend
Conference play is underway for some teams across college baseball, including the Big 12 and some ACC clubs as well. Upsets played a role on the previous week across the country, leading to some changes in D1Baseball’s updated top 25 rankings.
Four ranked teams lost their weekend series, while a few others dropped a game. There were also a few midweek victories, which played a role in D1Baseball’s new top 25.
The headline of this weekend was undoubtedly No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 12 Duke in Winston Salem. Additionally, No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 24 Texas battled over the weekend.
After all of the action and upsets, it’s time to take a look at how D1Baseball’s updated top 25 takes shape.
1. Arkansas
Previous Ranking: No. 2 (+1)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 13-2
Arkansas’ week began with a 9-7 victory over Central Arkansas on Tuesday, and they then hosted McNeese over the weekend. The Razorbacks won 3-1 in the front half of Saturday’s doubleheader, before clinching the series with an 11-1 win in the second half. Arkansas ended the weekend with an 18-5 victory on Sunday.
2. LSU
Previous Ranking: No. 3 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 14-2
LSU was on the road on Wednesday, and had to grind out a 4-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana to begin the week. The Tigers then hosted Xavier over the weekend, winning 4-0 on Friday and 11-1 on Saturday to win the series. On Sunday, the Tigers fell 2-1 to Xavier, but they still walked out of the weekend with a series victory.
3. Oregon State
Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+3)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 15-1
Oregon State again played no midweek game this week, rather playing a four-game weekend series. This weekend began on Thursday against Cal State Northridge. The Beavers won 9-2 on Thursday, 8-6 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday to secure the series victory. Sunday’s finale was a 9-7 win, and Oregon State has now moved into the top five in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings.
4. Texas A&M
Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+3)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 16-0
Texas A&M had an impressive midweek slate, defeating No. 24 Texas 9-2 on the road on Tuesday and then returned home to defeat Texas Southern 7-4 on Wednesday. Against Rhode Island over the weekend, Texas A&M won 11-0 on Friday, 6-0 on Saturday and 12-11 in extra innings on Sunday to remain undefeated. The Aggies move up in D1Baseball’s top 25 as a result.
5. Tennessee
Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+3)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 16-1
Tennessee’s week began with a pair of midweek contests, beating Kansas State 15-5 on Tuesday and Southern Indiana 2-1 on Wednesday. They then hosted Illinois over the weekend, winning 6-3 on Friday, 24-1 on Saturday and 8-3 on Sunday to conclude another perfect week.
6. Duke
Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+6)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 13-2
Duke blew out Appalachian State on Tuesday, winning 28-2. All attention then turned to No. 1 Wake Forest. The Blue Devils, known to be led by a dominant pitching staff, were carried by the offense while taking Friday’s opener 8-5. Wake Forest took Saturday’s game 6-3 to even the series and set up a rubber match on Sunday. There, the Blue Devils won a tight 10-8 contest to finish an impressive ACC opening series victory.
7. Wake Forest
Previous Ranking: No. 1 (-6)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 12-3
Wake Forest had to grind things out this week. Against Georgetown on Tuesday, it took a late comeback and a bevy of errors for the Demon Deacons to finish on top, 11-9. They then hosted No. 12 Duke over the weekend to kick off ACC play. Duke took Friday’s opener 8-5, but Wake Forest evened it up 6-3 on Saturday. On Sunday, Duke took the rubber match and the series, with Wake Forest falling from the top spot in D1Baseball’s top 25 as a result.
8. Florida
Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-4)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 10-5
Florida has struggled a bit thus far, and that continued this week. The Gators fell against UCF on Wednesday 9-6, and then played in an unexpectedly tight weekend series against Saint Mary’s. Florida won 12-11 on Friday in a nailbiter, but fell 9-7 on Saturday. In Sunday’s rubber match, Florida won 10-0 to end the weekend on the right track.
9. Vanderbilt
Previous Ranking: No. 9
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 14-3
Vanderbilt has kept winning after a rollercoaster of an early season stretch. The Commodores defeated Eastern Michigan 6-2 on Tuesday to begin this week. They then hosted Illinois State for a three-game weekend state, winning 14-9 on Friday, 7-2 on Saturday and 4-0 on Sunday to finish the sweep.
10. Clemson
Previous Ranking: No. 10
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 13-1
After an impressive showing last weekend against South Carolina, Clemson carried the early-season momentum into this week. The Tigers defeated Kansas State 8-3 on Wednesday before hosting UNC Greensboro. There, Clemson won 12-5 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday to take the series. In Sunday’s finale, the Tigers finished the sweep with a 6-3 victory.
D1Baseball Top 25: 11-25
11. East Carolina
12. TCU (-7)
13. NC State (+1)
14. Alabama (+1)
15. North Carolina (+1)
16. Coastal Carolina (+2)
17. Virginia (-4)
18. Auburn (+1)
19. Dallas Baptist (+1)
20. South Carolina (+1)
21. Campbell (+1)
22. UC Irvine (+1)
23. Texas (+1)
24. Texas Tech (-7)
25. UC Santa Barbara
No new teams joined this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings, though there was some significant movement throughout. Most notably, Duke rose from No. 12 onto the cusp of the top five, finishing at No. 6. Oregon State, Texas A&M, and Tennessee each rose three spots to enter the top five.
Wake Forest dropped six spots from No. 1 to No. 7, and Florida fell four spots down to No. 8 as the most notable fallers inside the top ten. TCU dropped all the way from No. 5 to No. 12 after losing their series to Kansas. Virginia (down four spots) and Texas Tech (down seven spots) were the other teams that fell multiple spots.