SEC Baseball Power Rankings: Vanderbilt falls as new team joins top half
Overall, the SEC is off to a good start in the opening weeks of the 2024 college baseball season. While there are some teams currently going through early season struggles, there are a lot of quality teams throughout. That is reflected in our updated SEC baseball power rankings following the second weekend of the season.
Just five of the 14 teams in the SEC made it through the week unscathed, with the other nine suffering at least one loss. Four teams – Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Missouri – suffered two or more losses on the week.
Our SEC power rankings feature a new team that snuck into the top half of the league. For many of the teams ranked towards the middle, they would be much higher if they played in a conference that wasn’t the SEC. But, due to the strength of the league as a whole, they find themselves ranked lower.
Here is a full look at our updated SEC baseball power rankings as we head towards the second full week, and third weekend, of the 2024 season.
1. Arkansas
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 5-2
Previous: No. 1
Upcoming Week: vs. Grambling (TUE), vs. Murray State (FRI-SUN)
Hagen Smith made it through just one inning on opening day last week, but he made up for it in his second start in the Kubota College Baseball Series. Facing No. 7 Oregon State, maybe the best offensive team in the country, Smith recorded 18 outs with 17 of them being strikeouts. He did not allow a run in six innings, and Arkansas held onto a 5-4 victory to kick off the weekend. Arkansas’ pitching staff impressed again on Saturday, but ultimately fell 2-1 in 14 innings to Oklahoma State. The Razorbacks held on against Michigan on Sunday, winning 4-3 to complete a victorious weekend, holding onto their spot atop our SEC baseball power rankings.
2. LSU
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 7-1
Previous: No. 2
Upcoming Week: at Rice (WED), Astros Foundation Classic vs. No. 15 Texas (FRI), vs. Louisiana (SAT), vs. Texas State (SUN)
LSU played in its second straight split, four-game weekend, this time beginning on Thursday and facing Northern Illinois and Stony Brook. After beating Northern Illinois 10-2 on Thursday, LSU suffered its first loss of the season on Friday, falling 5-2 to Stony Brook. The Tigers completed the two-game sweep against Northern Illinois on Saturday, winning 5-2. They then finished off a 3-1 weekend by beating Stony Brook in a high-scoring 18-10 affair on Sunday. All eyes will be in Houston this weekend, most notably for LSU vs. Texas on Friday night.
3. Florida
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 5-1
Previous: No. 3
Upcoming Week: at Stetson (TUE), vs. Bethune-Cookman (WED), at Miami (FRI-SUN)
After just one game last week, and it being a loss, Florida got back in action with five games this week and impressed. The Gators played two games against North Florida, one on the road and one at home, during the midweek, and won them a combined 23-4. Florida then hosted Columbia over the weekend and cruised. They won 15-6 on Friday, 7-3 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday. An intriguing week awaits for Florida, with four road games, including a three-game series at Miami.
4. Texas A&M
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 7-0
Previous: No. 4
Upcoming Week: vs. Lamar (TUE), Globe Life Field Series vs. Arizona State (FRI), USC (SAT), Arizona State (SUN)
Texas A&M couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. Even though the competition will get much tougher, it is a welcome sight to be 7-0 considering this time last year, the Aggies already had three losses. This past week, Texas A&M cruised past Incarnate Word, winning its lone midweek game 9-3. They then hosted Wagner, winning the three games by a total score of 40-4. And Jace LaViolette just keeps hitting home runs, currently tied for third in the nation with five on the year. If Texas A&M keeps winning, they’ll be tough to keep out of the top three in our SEC baseball power rankings.
5. Tennessee
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 7-1
Previous: No. 5
Upcoming Week: vs. High Point (TUE), vs. Bowling Green (FRI-SUN)
Tennessee has had a strong start to the year, and that continued this week. After winning a tight midweek contest vs. UNC Asheville on Tuesday, the Vols blew out ETSU with a 16-0 on Wednesday. They then hosted Albany over the weekend, and won 8-5 on Friday, 21-6 on Saturday and 12-0 on Sunday. Tennessee remains at home this week, hosting High Point on Tuesday before Bowling Green visits over the weekend. The Vols hold firm in their grip on a top five spot in our SEC baseball rankings.
6. South Carolina
Weekly Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 7-1
Previous: No. 6
Upcoming Week: vs. Gardner-Webb (TUE), vs. Clemson (Home Friday, Neutral Saturday at Segra Park, Away Sunday)
South Carolina’s week began with dominating midweek victories, beating Winthrop 12-2 on Tuesday and Queens 13-3 on Wednesday. The Gamecocks then won the series opener against Belmont on Friday, 8-1. It was a bit of a stunner on Saturday, with Belmont winning 11-2 and handing South Carolina its first loss of the season. The Gamecocks responded on Sunday, though, with a 12-1 win to take the series. This weekend will be an awesome one, with South Carolina taking on No. 10 Clemson in a three-game series.
7. Alabama
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 8-0
Previous: No. 8 (+1)
Upcoming Week: at UAB (TUE), Frisco Classic vs. Indiana (FRI), Arizona (SAT), Dallas Baptist (SUN)
The Rob Vaughn era is off to a great start. Alabama is 8-0, the only SEC team with eight wins, and ranked No. 16 in the latest D1Baseball top 25 rankings. This week will be a serious test for the Crimson Tide, who hit the road to take on UAB on Tuesday before heading to Texas for the Frisco Classic this weekend. Facing No. 20 Indiana on Friday and No. 25 Dallas Baptist on Sunday, in addition to Arizona on Saturday, will be a legitimate test that Alabama hopes will show everyone they are legit.
SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 8-14
8. Vanderbilt (-1)
9. Auburn
10. Kentucky
11. Georgia
12. Mississippi State
13. Ole Miss
14. Missouri
The only movement in our SEC baseball power rankings this week was Alabama and Vanderbilt swapping spots. Vanderbilt is off to a 5-3 start, and despite winning the series this past weekend against Gonzaga, lost two games last week. The Commodores are struggling, but they are also very capable of quickly turning it around and rising in our rankings again. But for now, due to the early struggles paired with the SEC’s strength, Vanderbilt has fallen to the bottom half.
Auburn is also right on the cusp of leaping into the top seven. The Tigers are 6-1 and held their own in Jacksonville last weekend in a field that included Iowa, Wichita State and Virginia. Auburn joined D1Baseball’s top 25 this week, and if they keep winning, they’ll be hard to keep ranked where they currently are.
After Auburn, we have Kentucky and Georgia. Kentucky fell against Washington State this past Friday, but remains 6-1 on the season. For Georgia, this weekend’s series with Georgia Tech will say a lot about where this team stands early on in the Wes Johnson era.
Three teams round out our SEC baseball power rankings – Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Missouri. Mississippi State lost three times this past week, but won the series against Georgia Southern. Ole Miss lost its first two games of the week, before rebounding with two big wins to end the week and take the series against High Point. Missouri has yet to play a game outside the state of California this season. They went 2-2 this past week. If the Tigers, who play their next eight games at home, start winning, they could quickly jump the Mississippi schools in front of them.