SEC Baseball Power Rankings: How the loaded conference stands after opening weekend
Opening weekend has now come and gone across college baseball, and what a start to the season it was. There were some notable upsets across the country, including in the SEC, that have impacted our post-opening weekend SEC baseball power rankings.
Weather also played a role on opening weekend, as it always seems to do on notable baseball weekends. Florida was limited to just one game, which ended up being a loss on opening day.
Outside of Florida, no SEC team lost their opening weekend series. Ole Miss played a four-game series at Hawaii to kick off the season and went 2-2, becoming the only team in the conference with multiple losses.
Eight SEC teams are ranked in the D1Baseball Top 25 rankings after college baseball’s opening weekend, illustrating just how hard it is to separate teams in the league in power rankings. And with six teams ranked in the top ten and a very small sample size, there’s a lot of teams that are neck-and-neck as we head to the first full week of the 2024 season.
1. Arkansas
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 3-1
Previous: No. 1
Upcoming Week: Kubota College Baseball Series (vs. No. 7 Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Michigan in Arlington FRI-SUN)
Arkansas faced off against James Madison on opening weekend, securing 6-4 and 15-5 victories on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game was won after a less than stellar start from Hagen Smith, too. The Razorbacks fell on Sunday, losing 7-3, but responded on Sunday to secure the series victory. Next up is a challenging weekend that will put Arkansas against another top ten team in Oregon State, before facing off with Oklahoma State and Michigan in the Kubota College Baseball Series in Arlington.
2. LSU
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 4-0
Previous: No. 3 (+1)
Upcoming Week: vs. Northern Illinois (Thursday, Saturday), vs. Stony Brook (Friday, Sunday)
LSU had four games on opening weekend, two against VMI and two against Central Arkansas. The Tigers won an 11-8 game on opening day over VMI, before taking a tight win over Central Arkansas on Saturday, winning 2-0. LSU blew it open against VMI on Sunday, winning 27-5. They then defeated Central Arkansas 5-3 on Monday to finish a 4-0 weekend. The defending national champions have a similar setup this week with Northern Illinois and Stony Brook, although those games will span from Thursday through Sunday.
3. Florida
Weekly Record: 0-1
Overall Record: 0-1
Previous: No. 2 (-1)
Upcoming Week: at North Florida (TUE), vs. North Florida (WED), vs. Columbia (FRI-SUN)
It’s tough to truly take much away from Florida’s first weekend, as the Gators played just once before rain canceled the final two games against St. John’s. Cade Fisher struggled in his Friday night start, going just two complete innings and striking out six, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks. But after playing just once, the Gators don’t fall too far in our SEC baseball power rankings. Florida has a five-game week coming up, which will give them a chance to bounce back and truly get their season going.
4. Texas A&M
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 3-0
Previous: No. 4
Upcoming Week: vs. Incarnate Word (TUE), vs. Wagner (FRI-SUN)
What a weekend it was for Texas A&M against McNeese. The Aggies were firing all-around offensively, with three hitters (Ali Camarillo, Blake Binderup and Gavin Grahovac) hitting at least .444 on the weekend. And that doesn’t even include Jace Laviolette’s .333 average to go along with his three home runs. Pitching wise, Texas A&M was just as dominant, allowing two runs in total. The Aggies hope to continue their hot start against Incarnate Word and Wagner this week.
5. Tennessee
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 2-1
Previous: No. 5
Upcoming Week: vs. UNC Asheville (TUE), vs. ETSU (WED), vs. Albany (FRI-SUN)
Tennessee played in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington on opening weekend, against a tough field. The Vols earned a strong 6-2 victory over No. 21 Texas Tech on Friday. After losing to a good Oklahoma team on Saturday, falling 5-1, Tennessee responded with an 11-5 victory over Baylor on Sunday evening. Billy Amick started the year off mashing at the plate, hitting .308 with two long balls in his first weekend at Tennessee.
6. South Carolina
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 3-0
Previous: No. 7 (+1)
Upcoming Week: vs. Winthrop (TUE), vs. Queens (WED), vs. Belmont (FRI-SUN)
Like most other teams in the SEC, South Carolina had a strong first weekend and actually moved up a spot in our SEC baseball power rankings. Winning 5-1 on Friday, 11-4 on Saturday and 14-0 on Sunday against Miami (OH), it was a well-balanced offensive attack for the Gamecocks. Five members of the lineup hit .300 or better, and Ethan Petry blasted two home runs. South Carolina tossed a combined no-hitter on Sunday, after a strong opening two innings from starter Roman Kimball.
7. Vanderbilt
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 2-1
Previous: No. 6 (-1)
Upcoming Week: vs. Dayton (TUE), vs. Eastern Kentucky (WED), vs. Gonzaga (FRI-SUN)
Vanderbilt’s first two games of the season were quite eventful. After coming back in the late innings to walk-off FAU 12-11 on opening day, the Commodores fell 5-4 on Saturday. Needing a victory to avoid a stunning series defeat, Vanderbilt left no doubt with an 11-1 victory on Sunday. Moving down a spot in this week’s SEC baseball power rankings says more about the strength of the teams around Vanderbilt, more than anything.
SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 8-14
8. Alabama
9. Auburn
10. Kentucky
11. Georgia
12. Mississippi State (+1)
13. Ole Miss (-2)
14. Missouri
The group of teams just on the outside of the top half of the SEC in our power rankings – Alabama, Auburn, and Kentucky – are legit. All three should be in a regional at the season’s end, if not hosting one themselves.
Alabama beat Manhattan by a combined score of 19-0 on Friday and Saturday, before winning 11-8 on Sunday to finish the sweep. Auburn and Kentucky also swept their opponents, with the Tigers dominating Eastern Kentucky and the Wildcats handling USC Upstate on the road. Georgia also had an impressive opening weekend to kickstart the Wes Johnson era, outscoring UNC Asheville 38-7 in the sweep.
The bottom three in the SEC didn’t have the same success. Ole Miss had to travel all the way to Hawaii, and started off in strong fashion with wins in the opening two games. In the third, though, the Rebels were blown out 18-2, and they then fell 13-4 to finish the series 2-2. Mississippi State looked improved against Air Force, winning 8-4 on Friday and 10-2 on Sunday. They fell on Saturday, though, 3-2. Missouri was on the road against Cal Poly, and lost 3-2 on opening day before responding with 3-1 and 12-8 victories on Saturday and Sunday.