SEC Baseball Power Rankings: Week 3 causes notable changes as league play approaches

The third week of college baseball has officially wrapped up, and we’re onto Week 4. But not before we make some changes in our SEC baseball power rankings.

Just five of the SEC’s 16 teams went unbeaten on the week. Six teams lost multiple games, leading to some notable movement. 11 teams from the SEC are ranked in the latest D1Baseball Top 25.

The SEC was heavily represented in some of the best events of the weekend. The BRUCE BOLT College Classic featured Texas and Ole Miss, the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series saw Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Tennessee, the Frisco College Baseball Classic included Alabama while the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic featured Vanderbilt.

While we don’t see changes to the top three, there’s a ton of movement in this week’s SEC baseball power rankings. All the way down to the bottom.

1. LSU

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Previous Week Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-1
Upcoming Week: vs. Northeastern (Monday), vs. Louisiana (Wednesday), vs. Sacramento State (Friday-Sunday)

LSU lost its first game of the week, falling 7-6 to McNeese to suffer its first loss of the season. They bounced back over the weekend, beating Dartmouth twice (5-2 on Friday, 3-0 on Sunday) and Northeastern 3-1 on Saturday, with another game with Northeastern set for Monday. Jake Brown leads the charge offensively, hitting .415 with five home runs. William Schmidt and Cooper Moore are both 3-0 and off to good starts in the rotation.

2. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Previous Week Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-0
Upcoming Week: vs. Houston Christian (Tuesday), vs. USC Upstate (Friday-Sunday)

Texas began its week with a 14-0 win over UTRGV, and then played in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic over the weekend. They started off with an 8-1 win over No. 9 Coastal Carolina, and went on to beat Baylor 5-2 and Ohio State 10-3 to sweep the weekend. The Longhorns have eight players with double-digit at-bats hitting .300 or better. Ruger Riojas, Luke Harrison and Dylan Volantis form an elite weekend rotation, allowing just seven combined earned runs through nine total starts.

3. Mississippi State

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Previous Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 11-1
Upcoming Week: at No. 10 Southern Miss (Tuesday), vs. Lipscomb (Friday-Sunday)

Mississippi State went to the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series after a dominating midweek win over Austin Peay, and it was a fun weekend. The Bulldogs started off with a pair of wins, 8-4 against Arizona State on Friday and 15-8 over Virginia Tech on Saturday. That set up a classic on Sunday, where Mississippi State fell 8-7 in extra-innings to No. 1 UCLA to suffer their first loss of the year. The Bulldogs have seven players hitting at least .400.

4. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Previous Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 9-2
Upcoming Week: vs. Samford (Tuesday), vs. Winthrop (Friday-Sunday)

Auburn has moved into the top four in this week’s SEC baseball power rankings. The Tigers beat West Georgia 4-3 on Wednesday, but dropped the series opener against Nebraska 9-8 in 10 innings on Friday. Auburn responded in strong fashion, winning 15-4 and 12-3 on Saturday and Sunday to come back and secure the series win. Brandon McCraine, Bristol Carter, Chase Fralick and Mason McCraine are leading the way offensively, each hitting .381 or better.

5. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-1)
Previous Week Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 9-3
Upcoming Week: vs. Oral Roberts (Tuesday), vs. Stetson (Friday-Monday)

Arkansas hosted Arkansas State in a two-game midweek series on Tuesday and Wednesday, losing 12-4 on Tuesday before winning 1-0 on Wednesday. They then hosted UT Arlington over the weekend, and lost Friday’s opener 4-3. The Razorbacks got back on track, winning 9-0 on Saturday and 11-1 on Sunday to clinch the series and a 3-2 week. They’re hitting .282 as a team with 20 home runs, led by Kuhio Aloy (.385) and Cam Kozel (.381 with six homers).

6. Florida

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 11-1
Upcoming Week: vs. FAU (Tuesday), vs. Florida A&M (Wednesday), vs. High Point (Friday-Sunday)

Florida is moving up in this week’s SEC baseball power rankings, and for good reason. The Gators impressed, starting with a pair of midweek wins over FIU, 17-11 on Tuesday and 11-4 on Wednesday. They then took a trip south to take on No. 17 Miami, and won 7-2 on Friday and 8-4 on Saturday to secure the series. Sunday’s game was canceled due to weather. Florida is hitting .338 as a team, led by Brendan Lawson, Kyle Jones and Cash Strayer, who are all hitting .421 or better.

7. Oklahoma

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-1)
Previous Week Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 10-2
Upcoming Week: vs. Dallas Baptist (Tuesday), vs. Santa Clara (Thursday-Sunday)

Oklahoma had a challenging two-game midweek series against Arizona State to begin the week, and got blown out in a 15-3 loss on Tuesday before answering with a 4-3 win on Wednesday. They then hosted Gonzaga, winning the series behind 14-4 and 11-1 wins on Friday and Saturday before falling 7-1 in Sunday’s finale. The Sooners have an impressive rotation with LJ Mercurius, Cord Rager and Cameron Johnson, and are hitting .320 as a team.

8. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 9
Previous Week Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 10-2
Upcoming Week: at Kennesaw State (Tuesday), vs. Western Carolina (Wednesday), vs. Queens (four games from Friday-Sunday)

After falling 6-5 in 12 innings to Troy on Wednesday, the Bulldogs bounced back over the weekend. They hosted Oakland for a four-game series, sweeping their way through behind a combined weekend score of 48-9. Georgia is hitting .360 as a team with a team ERA of 3.00. This week will be a busy one, with six games in seven days.

SEC Baseball Power Rankings: 9-16

9. Texas A&M (+1)
10. Ole Miss (-3)
11. Tennessee (+2)
12. Alabama (-1)
13. Kentucky (+1)
14. Missouri (+2)
15. Vanderbilt (-3)
16. South Carolina (-1)

There’s quite a bit of movement in the bottom half of this week’s SEC baseball power rankings. Ole Miss drops out of the top eight after their 2-2 week, while Texas A&M is up a spot to No. 9.

For the first time this season, we have a change at the bottom. Missouri is 10-2, and they’re up two spots to No. 14. Meanwhile, South Carolina drops a spot to the bottom and Vanderbilt falls three into the No. 15 spot.

Just one more week remains until SEC play gets underway on weekends. It can’t come soon enough.