National college baseball power rankings entering second weekend
The second weekend of the 2024 college baseball season is almost here. With one full week now in the books, it’s time to unveil our initial college baseball power rankings of the season.
Not many top teams struggled during opening weekend. Just four preseason top 25 teams finished last weekend with a losing record – Florida (0-1), UC Santa Barbara (1-2), Coastal Carolina (1-2) and Northeastern (1-2).
During the midweek slate, the upsets have continued. Wake Forest fell on the road at UNC Greensboro, while Vanderbilt fell against Dayton during midweek contests. They weren’t the only ones, either.
As we gear up for the second weekend of college baseball season, here is a full look at how our national power rankings have shaped out.
1. Wake Forest
Record: 3-1
D1Baseball ranking: No. 1
Wake Forest swept their way through opening weekend, defeating Fordham, Illinois and Akron during their perfect trio of games. The top-ranked team didn’t have the same success on the road Tuesday at UNC Greensboro, though, falling 4-3. Regardless, it’s not enough to unseat the Demon Deacons from our top spot.
2. LSU
Record: 4-0
D1Baseball ranking: No. 3
LSU enjoyed a strong opening weekend with four games split between VMI and Central Arkansas. Beating VMI a combined 38-13 and Central Arkansas 6-3, the defending national champions are 4-0 early on. They had no midweek contest with another four-game weekend getting underway on Thursday, but LSU is already showing how dangerous they can be as they look to repeat.
3. Arkansas
Record: 3-1
D1Baseball ranking: No. 2
Like a few teams across the country, Arkansas got its season started with a four-game opening weekend. The Razorbacks dropped Sunday’s third game against James Madison, but won the other three to clinch the series win. This week will be a serious test for the Razorbacks, who travel to Arlington to take on a top ten Oregon State team, in addition to Oklahoma State and Michigan.
4. Florida
Record: 2-1
D1Baseball ranking: No. 4
After losing on opening day to St. John’s Florida didn’t get an opportunity to bounce back with both Saturday and Sunday’s games called off due to weather. Instead, their next two games came against North Florida during Tusday and Wednesday midweek action. The Gators won 10-0 on the road on Tuesday, before winning 13-4 on Wednesday to improve to 2-1. Now, Florida is hoping to get off to a better weekend start on Friday against Columbia.
5. Oregon State
Record: 5-0
D1Baseball ranking: No. 7
Oregon State also played four games on opening weekend, cruising to a 4-0 week. The Beavers won a pair of games against Minnesota, and also defeated New Mexico and CSU Bakersfield. Then, Oregon State won an impressive game in Arlington on Wednesday, knocking off a ranked team in Texas Tech, 10-4. The Beavers remain in Arlington this weekend, facing off against Arkansas, Michigan and Oklahoma State.
6. TCU
Record: 4-0
D1Baseball ranking: No. 5
It was undoubtedly an entertaining opening series between TCU and Florida Gulf Coast last weekend, with the Horned Frogs needing a late-inning comeback and a walk-off to win on Friday, 10-9. TCU then won 13-10 on Saturday and 11-6 on Sunday to finish off the sweep. Facing off against Texas State on Tuesday, TCU again won a tight game, 6-5. Sitting at 4-0, the Horned Frogs face off against No. 20 UCLA this weekend in an intriguing early-season series.
7. Texas A&M
Record: 4-0
D1Baseball ranking: No. 8
Texas A&M couldn’t have possibly looked any better than they did on opening weekend. Sweeping McNeese by a combined score of 31-1, the Aggies seemingly put it all together to start the season. They then defeated Incarnate Word 9-3 on Tuesday, to get off to a 4-0 start. With a three-game series against Wagner this weekend, the Aggies should cruise yet again.
8. Duke
Record: 4-0
D1Baseball ranking: No. 12
Duke was part of a great opening weekend field in Conway, and the Blue Devils made it out unscathed. Winning 6-3 against Indiana on Friday and 23-5 against George Mason on Saturday, Duke then finished the weekend off with an impressive 5-3 victory against host Coastal Carolina. The Blue Devils also won 4-2 against Liberty on Wednesday. Not many teams can pitch better than Duke, and they’ll look to continue that success this weekend against Northwestern.
9. Tennessee
Record: 4-1
D1Baseball ranking: No. 9
Tennessee also played in a good opening weekend event, and picked up wins against Texas Tech (6-2) and Baylor (11-5). The Vols fell to an Oklahoma team on the verge of the top 25 on Saturday, though it was still a good weekend. Tennessee then won 3-2 against UNC Asheville on Tuesday and 16-0 against East Tennessee State on Wednesday, and are off to an impressive 4-1 start. They host Albany this weekend.
10. Clemson
Clemson is off to a 4-0 start, and that started by sweeping Xavier by a combined 35-13 score on opening weekend. The Tigers then defeated Presbyterian 8-2 on Tuesday to continue their early-season success. Clemson hosts Kennesaw State this weekend, but it’s hard to not get excited for next weekend’s three-game series against South Carolina.
College Baseball Power Rankings: 11-25
11. Vanderbilt
12. Virginia
13. Alabama
14. South Carolina
15. North Carolina
16. East Carolina
17. UCLA
18. NC State
19. Texas
20. Iowa
21. Texas Tech
22. Auburn
23. Campbell
24. Indiana
25. Coastal Carolina
There are certainly more than 25 teams that are deserving of cracking our college baseball power rankings heading into the second weekend of the season.
Among the teams that just missed out on our top 25 were Southern Miss, Kentucky, Kansas State, Oregon, UC Irvine, Miami and Oklahoma, while there are plenty others that aren’t far behind.
Heading into midweek action, Vanderbilt was in our top ten. But after losing to Dayton, the Commodores have fallen just outside. But that’s a tough group of teams, and there’s very little that’s separating the teams around them.