National College Baseball Power Rankings: Two new teams join top 25

Jonathan Wagner

The third weekend of college baseball will soon get underway. Before it does, we have updated our national college baseball rankings with two new teams joining the top 25.

While there isn’t a ton of substantial movement, we do have a new team in the top ten, in addition to the two new faces.

The third weekend of college baseball features some intriguing matchups, including South Carolina vs. Clemson, Florida vs. Miami, the Frisco Classic (featuring Alabama, Indiana, Arizona and Dallas Baptist), and the Astros Foundation Classic (featuring LSU, Texas, Louisiana and Texas State).

Those series and events are sure to have major ramifications on how our rankings look this time next week. But for now, here is a look at our national college baseball power rankings entering the weekend. (Note: All movement listed below is in relation to our power rankings from last week).

1. Wake Forest

Jun 17, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz (8) celebrates after retiring Stanford Cardinal third baseman Tommy Troy (not pictured) to end the game at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 7-1
Previous: No. 1
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 1

Coming off of a midweek loss to UNC Greensboro last week, Wake Forest responded with a three-game sweep over Dayton over the weekend. The Demon Deacons won 14-2 on Friday, 9-3 on Saturday and 9-6 on Sunday. There was no road midweek upset this week either, with Wake Forest defeating North Carolina A&T 12-1 on Tuesday. The nation’s top-ranked team will host Binghamton, Valparaiso and Elon this weekend.

2. LSU

Tommy White-LSU-baseball — LSU slugger Tommy White (Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports)

Record: 8-1
Previous: No. 2
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 3

Last weekend, LSU picked up a pair of victories over Northern Illinois and another win over Stony Brook. The Tigers, however, fell on Friday night against Stony Brook, losing 5-2. The defending College World Series champions were in Houston on Wednesday, and dominated with a 16-4 midweek victory over Rice. LSU is staying in Houston this weekend, and will face off against Texas, Louisiana and Texas State in what could end up being a challenging slate.

3. Arkansas

Record: 6-2
Previous: No. 3
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 2

Arkansas dominated on the mound this weekend, led by strong starts from Hagen Smith and Brady Tygart. The Razorbacks picked up an impressive 5-4 victory against a stout Oregon State offense on Friday in the Kubota College Baseball Series, but then fell 2-1 in 14 innings against Oklahoma State. Arkansas finished off the weekend with a 4-3 win over Michigan.

4. Oregon State

Jun 12, 2022; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) is congratulated by third base coach Ryan Gipson as he circles the bases after his home run in the 4th inning during Game 2 of a NCAA Super Regional game at Coleman Field. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 7-1
Previous: No. 5 (+1)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 6

Oregon State’s high-powered offense ran into Hagen Smith and Arkansas on last Friday, and lost 5-4 in a hard fought contest. The Beavers then defeated Michigan 11-1 and Oklahoma State 8-1 to finish with a winning record in the Kubota College Baseball Series, moving them up one spot in our college baseball power rankings. With a four-game series against North Dakota State this weekend, spanning from Thursday-Sunday, the Beavers did not have a midweek contest this week.

5. Florida

Florida slugger Jac Caglianone hits a home run against Auburn — Jac Caglianone (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Record: 6-2
Previous: No. 4 (-1)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 4

Florida bounced back from its opening day loss with five straight victories, including a sweep over Columbia last weekend. The Gators then hit the road for a trip to Stetson on Tuesday, and their fortune wasn’t the same. Stetson won 7-4, stunning Florida in the midweek. The Gators got right back in action on Wednesday, though, defeating Bethune-Cookman 9-2. Next up is an intriguing three-game series in Coral Gables at Miami.

6. TCU

Logan Maxwell-TCU — Logan Maxwell (Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports)

Record: 9-0
Previous: No. 6
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 5

What a weekend it was for TCU. Hosting UCLA, ranked No. 20 at the time, the Horned Frogs swept their way to a great weekend. After 4-3 and 6-3 victories on Friday and Saturday, TCU blew it open by finishing the sweep off with a 13-3 win on Sunday. Then, TCU won a pair of midweek contests, 8-7 in 12 innings against Washington State and 6-1 over Arizona. Playing in the Globe Life Field Series this weekend, TCU will face USC (twice) and Arizona State.

7. Texas A&M

texas-am-jace-laviolette-ryan-targac-early-home-runs-give-aggies-lead-standford-regional-ncaa-tournament — (Wade/Icon Sportswire)

Record: 8-0
Previous: No. 7
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 7

Texas A&M hosted Wagner this past weekend, and swept with no problems at all. The Aggies won 17-2 on Friday, 2-0 on Saturday and 21-2 on Sunday. The success continued into the midweek slate, defeating Lamar 13-2. Sitting at 8-0 entering the Globe Life Field Series in Arlington this weekend, Texas A&M continues to prove why its worthy of sitting in the top ten. They’ll face off against Arizona State (twice) and USC this weekend.

8. Duke

Record: 8-0
Previous: No. 8
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 12

Duke continues to prove why they belong in the top ten in our college baseball power rankings. The Blue Devils, while sitting at No. 12 in D1Baseball’s top 25, are looking like a legitimate threat. After sweeping Northwestern with relative ease over the weekend, Duke dominated against Davidson with a 17-0 victory to improve to 8-0 on the year.

9. Tennessee

Record: 8-1
Previous: No. 9
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 8

Tennessee had no issues with Albany last weekend, sweeping the series by a combined 41-11 score. The Vols then picked up their eighth win of the season on Tuesday against High Point, continuing their early-season momentum. Outside of an opening weekend loss against a quality Oklahoma club, Tennessee is off to a great start in 2024.

10. Virginia

Casey Saucke — Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 8-0
Previous: No. 12 (+2)
D1Baseball Ranking: No. 13

It wasn’t an easy weekend last week for Virginia, but they came out perfect. After beating 5-4 in a weather delayed game against Wichita State in Jacksonville, they won 12-9 against a ranked Iowa team on Saturday before sweeping the weekend with a 6-4 victory over an Auburn team that would soon join the rankings. Virginia is 8-0 thus far after cruising past VMI on Wednesday, and looking like a strong contender at the top of the ACC.

National College Baseball Power Rankings: 11-25

vanderbilt-baseball-unveils-2023-sec-tournament-championship-rings — (Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

11. Clemson (-1)
12. Vanderbilt (-1)
13. Alabama
14. South Carolina
15. East Carolina (+1)
16. Texas (+3)
17. Texas Tech (+4)
18. North Carolina (-3)
19. NC State (-1)
20. Auburn (+2)
21. Coastal Carolina (+4)
22. Dallas Baptist (NR)
23. Campbell
24. Indiana
25. UC Irvine (NR)

This time last week, UCLA held our No. 17 spot and Iowa held the No. 20 spot in our college baseball power rankings. Now, neither are in the top 25. They both also fell out of the D1Baseball top 25.

In their place, Dallas Baptist and UC Irvine have joined. Also in consideration was Oregon, Cal, Florida State, Georgia, UC Santa Barbara and Georgia Tech.