SEC Baseball Power Rankings: LSU plummets after third straight series loss

Jonathan Wagner

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We are now through three complete weekends of SEC play, and the conference standings continue to take shape. After the third weekend, we have some big movement in our updated SEC baseball power rankings.

Of the seven SEC series this past weekend, four were sweeps and the other three were 2-1 finishes. A couple series came down to the final outs in the finale, making it a very interesting week across the league.

The headline of the week was Arkansas vs. LSU, a matchup between two top ten teams. Other ranked matchups on the slate were Florida vs. Mississippi State and Alabama vs. South Carolina.

In our updated SEC baseball power rankings, LSU is the biggest faller. They aren’t the only team to fall out of the top half, though, with two new faces in the top seven.

1. Arkansas

Dave Van Horn, Arkansas Razorbacks baseball coach — (Steven Branscombe / USA TODAY Sports)

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 23-3 (8-1 in SEC)
Previous: No. 1
Upcoming Week: vs. Arkansas State (TUE), vs. Ole Miss (THU-SAT)

Arkansas started the week with an 11-0 victory over Little Rock, and then hosted LSU over the weekend. While every game was close, the Razorbacks came away with a strong three-game series sweep. Arkansas won 7-4, 4-3 and 7-5 in the three games. Every team below Arkansas has seen significant movement throughout the season thus far, but the Razorbacks are a steady presence at the top of our SEC baseball power rankings.

2. Florida

Jun 25, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators first baseman Jac Caglianone (14) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the LSU Tigers during the eighth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 16-11 (6-3)
Previous: No. 2
Upcoming Week: vs. Florida A&M (TUE), at Missouri (FRI-SUN)

Florida continues to struggle in midweeks, as the Gators were blown out 14-3 against Florida State on Tuesday. Despite those struggles, Florida again came in and won when it mattered the most on the weekend. The Gators took two out of three against Mississippi State, though both of their two wins were tight ones; 7-6 and 4-3. Mississippi State’s lone win came in the second game, 12-2. It’s a conversation Florida is used to by now, but winning SEC weekends will continue to outweigh midweek woes. Not many, if any, teams can match a resume including weekend series wins over Miami, Texas A&M, LSU and now Mississippi State.

3. Texas A&M

texas-am-head-coach-jim-schlossnagle-reflects-on-stanford-regional-experience-loss — (Eakin Howard / Getty Images)

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 25-3 (6-3)
Previous: No. 3
Upcoming Week: at Texas State (TUE), at South Carolina (FRI-SUN)

It was a strong week for Texas A&M, beginning with a 6-3 win over Houston Christian on Tuesday. They then hosted Auburn over the weekend and came away with the sweep behind 9-7, 12-8 and 10-9 victories. The Aggies still have just three losses on the season, all coming in SEC play. They are established as one of college baseball’s best teams and will continue to be in that territory barring an unexpected step back.

4. Tennessee

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello. Credit: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY

Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 24-5 (5-4)
Previous: No. 4
Upcoming Week: at Auburn (FRI-SUN)

Tennessee dominated against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, winning 11-1. They then hosted Georgia in an intriguing SEC series. It was Georgia that took the opener in rather stunning fashion, winning 16-2. Tennessee needed to respond in the weekend’s final two games and they did just that, winning 16-11 and 7-0 to take the series. The Vols hold firm in the top four in our SEC baseball power rankings.

5. Kentucky

Ryan Waldschmidt — © Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 24-4 (8-1)
Previous: No. 8 (+3)
Upcoming Week: vs. Louisville (WED), vs. Alabama (FRI-SUN)

Just like last year, Kentucky is red-hot to begin SEC play. The Wildcats are 8-1 over the first three weekends, with series victories over Georgia, Missouri and Ole Miss. While they’ve yet to face any of the top teams in the league, it’s an impressive start nonetheless. This week will be a test, with Louisville in town for a midweek game before Alabama visits over the weekend. For now, though, their start is enough for a sizeable rise into the top five in our SEC baseball power rankings.

6. Vanderbilt

vanderbilt-head-baseball-coach-tim-crobin-details-pitching-approach-sec-tournament-championship — (Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 23-6 (6-3)
Previous: No. 7 (+1)
Upcoming Week: vs. Western Kentucky (TUE), at LSU (THU-SAT)

Vanderbilt enjoyed a 4-0 week, though every single game was a tight one. It started with a 3-2 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday, and then Missouri visited for a weekend series. Vanderbilt won the opener and the finale 3-1, and took the second game 4-0. Though it came by a combined score of 10-2, it’s a sweep to get to 6-3 in SEC play. Vanderbilt is about to enter a real gauntlet in the SEC though, with series against LSU, Texas A&M and Florida over the next three weekends.

7. Alabama

Gage Miller — © Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 21-7 (4-5)
Previous: No. 11 (+4)
Upcoming Week: at Samford (TUE), at Kentucky (FRI-SUN)

Alabama got back on track this past week after a drop in last week’s SEC baseball power rankings, picking up a series victory over South Carolina. That wasn’t before they won 6-3 over Belmont in a midweek battle. Over the weekend, Alabama took the first two games 4-3 and 13-6. They weren’t able to complete the sweep, though, with South Carolina taking the finale 9-8. With Kentucky, Arkansas and Texas A&M coming up, Alabama is about to be put through a legitimate test.

SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 8-14

South Carolina Gamecocks utility Ethan Petry (20) during the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers — Photo by Michael Wade | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

8. South Carolina (-2)
9. Mississippi State (-1)
10. LSU (-5)
11. Georgia (-1)
12. Ole Miss
13. Auburn
14. Missouri

South Carolina and Mississippi State both saw slight drops this week, with the Gamecocks going 2-2 with a series loss to Alabama and the Bulldogs going 2-2 with a tight series loss to Florida. Both teams remain right on the cusp of the top half of our SEC baseball power rankings.

LSU, on the other hand, has some serioius work to do. The defending national champions are 1-4 in their last five games and now sit just 2-7 in SEC play. Things aren’t getting any easier, either, with upcoming series against Vanderbilt and Tennessee over the next two weeks.

Georgia feels like they should be ranked higher, as they are 22-6 on the year. But due to the strength throughout the SEC, they have been unable to sneak into the top half. It looked likely early over the weekend after the dominating series-opening victory over Tennessee, but the Bulldogs couldn’t finish the weekend and lost the series. While their postseason hopes look strong as of now, Georgia must keep winning. A couple of SEC series victories should have the Bulldogs on a notable rise.

It now feels as if the bottom three in the SEC have separated themselves. Missouri has sat at the bottom of the rankings all season, and they just had an 0-4 week to drop to 10-18 overall and 1-8 in the SEC. Auburn is now in serious danger regarding the postseason, sitting at 16-11 overall and 1-8 in league play. Ole Miss struggled against Kentucky, getting swept to fall to 18-11 overall and 3-6 in SEC play. The Rebels still have a path to the postseason, though they’ll need to get back on track quickly.