SEC Baseball Power Rankings: Major movement after second conference weekend
March is in full swing, but that doesn’t mean that upsets are limited to basketball. This past week was a wild one across college baseball, especially in the SEC. The results have shaken up our updated SEC baseball power rankings.
After two weekends of SEC play, just two teams sit at the top at 5-1 in league play. That would be Arkansas, the No. 1 team in the nation, and Kentucky. On the flip side of that, Auburn and Missouri are the two teams at the bottom of the standings with a 1-5 conference record. Just two teams (Florida and South Carolina) sit at 4-2, while everyone else is either 3-3 or 2-4.
This weekend surely had some surprises across the SEC, most notably Georgia sweeping Alabama and South Carolina sweeping Vanderbilt. Georgia and South Carolina also happened to be the only two SEC teams to have a perfect 4-0 week, with everyone else suffering at least one loss.
For the second consecutive week, every team in our SEC baseball power rankings moved at least one spot outside of Arkansas and Missouri, who hold the top and bottom spots. Everyone else was shuffled around, with three teams moving at least five spots.
1. Arkansas
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 19-3 (5-1 in SEC)
Previous: No. 1
Upcoming Week: vs. Little Rock (TUE), vs. LSU (THU-SAT)
Once again, Arkansas holds onto the top spot in our updated SEC baseball power rankings. The Razorbacks, one of two teams with a 5-1 league record, are coming off of a series victory over Auburn. They did not have a midweek game, and won 1-0 on Thursday and 6-5 on Friday to clinch the series. Arkansas was unable to complete the sweep on Saturday, rather losing 8-6, handing them their first SEC loss.
2. Florida
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 14-9 (4-2 in SEC)
Previous: No. 4 (+2)
Upcoming Week: vs. Florida State (TUE in Jacksonville), vs. Mississippi State (FRI-SUN)
Florida has a midweek problem, but they have been great on the weekend to open SEC play. After falling 7-6 against Jacksonville on Tuesday, the Gators went to Baton Rouge and took two out of three against LSU. Florida lost the opener 6-1 before bouncing back with a 6-4 win on Saturday and a 12-2, run-rule victory on Sunday to stun the Tigers. While the midweeks need to be fixed, if Florida keeps winning SEC weekends they will be just fine.
3. Texas A&M
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 21-3 (3-3 in SEC)
Previous: No. 5 (+2)
Upcoming Week: vs. Houston Christian (TUE), vs. Auburn (THU-SAT)
Texas A&M started the week with an 11-9 win over Prairie View A&M, and then hosted a strong Mississippi State club over the weekend. The Aggies were looking to bounce back after dropping their opening SEC series, and they did just that. After winning 6-3 on Thursday and 5-1 on Friday, Texas A&M entered Saturday’s rubber game in need of a victory to win the series. They got just that, winning 6-1 to earn their first SEC series victory of the season.
4. Tennessee
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 21-4 (3-3 in SEC)
Previous: No. 7 (+3)
Upcoming Week: vs. Tennessee Tech (TUE), vs. Georgia (FRI-SUN)
After dropping its SEC-opening series last weekend, Tennessee was back in action this week starting with a midweek game against Xavier. On Tuesday, the Vols dominated in a 10-2 victory. Over the weekend, they hosted a hot Ole Miss team in Knoxville. Both of Tennessee’s wins came in blowout fashion, winning 15-3 on Friday and 15-4 in Sunday’s deciding game. Ole Miss won 8-5 on Saturday, but Tennessee walked away with the series victory.
5. LSU
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 19-6 (2-4 in SEC)
Previous: No. 3 (-2)
Upcoming Week: vs. Southeastern Louisiana (TUE), at Arkansas (THU-SAT)
LSU started the week with a pair of victories, winning 11-1 against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday and 6-1 in Friday’s series opener against Florida. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was the Gators that took the next two games, 6-4 on Saturday and 12-2 on Sunday, to take the series. LSU has now lost two straight series to open SEC play, and drop in our baseball power rankings as a result.
6. South Carolina
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 19-5 (4-2 in SEC)
Previous: No. 11 (+5)
Upcoming Week: vs. Presbyterian (TUE), at Alabama (THU-SAT)
South Carolina fell in last week’s SEC baseball power rankings, but they have come back in a hurry. The Gamecocks won at USC Upstate on Tuesday in a 14-8 contest, and then hosted Vanderbilt, arguably the hottest team in college baseball, over the weekend. It was all South Carolina from start to finish. The series started with a Saturday doubleheader, with the Gamecocks winning 8-4 and 8-3. They then won 10-2 on Sunday to finish the sweep in impressive fashion.
7. Vanderbilt
Weekly Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 19-6 (3-3)
Previous: No. 2 (-5)
Upcoming Week: vs. Valparaiso (TUE), vs. Missouri (THU-SAT)
After beating Belmont 3-1 on Tuesday, Vanderbilt entered the series against South Carolina on a 14-game winning streak. That ended abruptly, though, with South Carolina sweeping the series with 8-4, 8-3 and 10-2 victories. It was a rather stunning result for the Commodores. This week presents a prime opportunity to bounce back, as it would be even more stunning if Vanderbilt didn’t have a very successful weekend against Missouri.
SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 8-14
8. Kentucky (+1)
9. Mississippi State (-1)
10. Georgia (+3)
11. Alabama (-5)
12. Ole Miss (-2)
13. Auburn (-1)
14. Missouri
Kentucky nearly joined the top half of our SEC baseball power rankings this week, instead finishing in the No. 8 spot. The Wildcats took two out of three against Missouri, improving to 5-1 early in SEC play. They are a prime candidate to move up if they keep winning. Mississippi State, meanwhile, had a solid showing despite losing their series to Texas A&M. The Bulldogs drop a spot, but they have impressed early in SEC play.
Nobody expected Georgia to sweep Alabama this past weekend, but that’s exactly what happened. After being swept by Kentucky to open SEC play, Georgia now sits at 3-3 and in an interesting position moving forward. Alabama fell significantly in our SEC baseball power rankings, down five spots after the surprising weekend. Ole Miss finishes just behind them, down two spots at No. 12. The Rebels were overmatched against Tennessee this weekend, but would be ranked much higher in most other conferences.
Auburn and Missouri round out the bottom of the rankings this week. The Tigers were able to avoid the sweep this past weekend against Arkansas, taking the finale to salvage a win. Missouri also won one game against Kentucky. Auburn is just 1-5 to start SEC play, and they face a pivotal stretch over the next couple of weeks to stop their fall.