SEC baseball power rankings entering final weekend before conference play

Jonathan Wagner

Three weekends of college baseball have now come and gone, and conference play is inching closer. For the SEC, just one weekend remains between the start of league play. As that nears, it’s time for another edition of our SEC baseball power rankings.

This past week was an interesting one across the league. Three SEC teams lost a midweek game, and then two went out and lost their weekend series.

As we get deeper into the season, and these teams across the SEC start playing each other every weekend, our baseball power rankings will see more movement. But we, for the second week in a row, have a shakeup in our top half.

Here is how our SEC baseball power rankings look heading into the final weekend of non-conference play.

1. Arkansas

Jun 22, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks starting pitcher Hagen Smith (33) pitches against the Ole Miss Rebels during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 9-2
Previous: No. 1
Upcoming Week: vs. Central Arkansas (TUE), vs. McNeese State (FRI-SUN)

Arkansas continues to pitch at an exceptionally high level, with Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart and Mason Molina holding down a star-studded weekend rotation. The Razorbacks are still looking for more consistency offensively, but right now, they keep winning. Sitting at 9-2, Arkansas is in a great position as SEC play nears.

2. LSU

Tommy White, LSU Tigers third baseman — (Scott Clause / USA TODAY Sports)

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-1
Previous: No. 2
Upcoming Week: at Southeastern Louisiana (WED), vs. Xavier (FRI-SUN)

LSU has been impressive early on, but this past weekend especially. After a 16-4 road win at Rice last Wednesday, the Tigers faced off against Texas, Louisiana and Texas State in the Astros Foundation Classic and picked up three quality victories along the way. LSU showed that their early success hasn’t just been a result of a light early-year schedule.

3. Texas A&M

Jace Laviolette, Texas A&M Baseball — (Photo By Hayden Carroll/Texas A&M Athletics)

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-0
Previous: No. 4 (+1)
Upcoming Week: at No. 24 Texas (TUE), vs. Texas Southern (WED), vs. Rhode Island (FRI-SUN)

Texas A&M has yet to stumble this season. The Aggies started off last week with a 13-2 midweek victory over Lamar, before heading to Arlington for the Globe Life Field Series. There, Texas A&M faced off with Arizona State twice and also USC once. The Aggies beat Arizona State 4-0 on Friday and 10-5 on Sunday, also beating USC 9-3 on Saturday. And that was good enough to move up one spot in our SEC baseball power rankings.

4. Florida

florida-gators-baseball-cade-fisher — Photo courtesy of UAA Communications

Weekly Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 8-3
Previous: No. 4 (-1)
Upcoming Week: vs. UCF (WED), vs. Saint Mary’s (FRI-SUN)

Florida went on the road last Tuesday and fell 7-4 to Stetson, before returning home to defeat Bethune-Cookman 9-2 on Wednesday. Back on the road in Miami over the weekend, the Gators faced off with the Hurricanes in an intriguing in-state showdown. After Florida won the opener 7-3 on Friday, Miami evened the series with a 10-6 win on Saturday. Ultimately, Florida took the rubber match 8-4 on Sunday to win the series. But the two-loss week was enough for Florida to drop in our SEC baseball power rankings. The Gators were set to host Florida Atlantic this Tuesday, but weather has forced it to be rescheduled.

5. Tennessee

Christian-Moore — Credit: UT Athletics Communication

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-1
Previous: No. 5
Upcoming Week: vs. Kansas State (TUE), vs. Southern Indiana (WED), vs. Illinois (FRI-SUN)

Tennessee cruised through the past week, starting with a 7-4 victory over High Point on Tuesday. The Vols then dominated against Bowling Green over the weekend, winning 11-1, 12-1 and 16-6. This week will be important for Tennessee, beginning with a Tuesday midweek matchup against a Kansas State team that started off the season ranked in the top 25.

6. Vanderbilt

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

Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 10-3
Previous: No. 8 (+2)
Upcoming Week: vs. Eastern Michigan (TUE), vs. Illinois State (FRI-SUN)

Vanderbilt struggled early in the year, and fell down to No. 8 in our SEC baseball power rankings last week. But an impressive 5-0 week has the Commodores back in the top half. Defeating Indiana State 20-4 on Tuesday opened plenty of eyes, and that was followed by a 7-3 win over Evansville on Wednesday. Vanderbilt then swept the Astros Foundation College Classic, beating Louisiana, Houston and Texas.

7. Alabama

TJ McCants — © Gary CosbyJr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 11-1
Previous: No. 7
Upcoming Week: vs. Jacksonville State (TUE), vs. Troy (WED), vs. Lipscomb (FRI-SUN)

Alabama has been cruising to start the Rob Vaughn era. After beating UAB 9-7 in 10 innings during the midweek, Alabama played some quality competition in the Frisco Classic. After beating previously ranked Indiana and also Arizona on Friday and Saturday, the Crimson Tide went into Sunday’s game against a ranked Dallas Baptist club needing a win to compelte an impressive weekend sweep. The game went into extras, but Alabama ultimately fell 7-5 in 12 innings. Regardless, it has been an impressive start.

SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 8-14

Ike Irish — © Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

8. South Carolina
9. Auburn
10. Kentucky
11. Georgia
12. Mississippi State
13. Ole Miss
14. Missouri

South Carolina’s home game against Clemson this past weekend was postponed due to weather, and the Gamecocks lost 5-4 on both Saturday and Sunday. They fall back outside of our top seven as a result. Just behind them is Auburn, who is coming off of a 3-1 week that saw them win a weekend series against UConn.

Kentucky and Georgia are both teams that would be much higher in almost any other conference. Kentucky went 4-0 this past week with a sweep over Lipscomb. Georgia had an interesting midweek slate, beating Presbyterian but falling 19-6 to Michigan State. The Bulldogs then battled Georgia Tech and won both of the two games that were completed. Friday’s contest was suspended in the fifth inning with Georgia winning 9-3.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss both bad strong weeks. The Bulldogs went 4-0, which included a sweep over Mount St. Mary’s. Ole Miss was 4-1, beating Little Rock and Missouri State in midweek games before taking the series against Iowa, a team that was recently ranked in the top 25, despite losing Friday’s opener.

Missouri has continued to struggle. A 1-3 week included a loss to Southeast Missouri State, before a weekend series loss against Northern Kentucky. Missouri has separated themselves at the bottom of our SEC baseball power rankings.