World Baseball Network’s top 25 college baseball rankings as of March 17 are here.
The number next to the team’s name indicates how much they moved from last week’s rankings. A (-) sign indicates no movement and/or a new team into the top 25.
Tennessee Volunteers (-) – Tennessee improved to 20-0 and defeated Florida in a sweep in Knoxville to open SEC play. The start of this season by the Volunteers is the best start ever for a defending national championship team.
LSU Tigers (-) – The LSU Tigers swept Missouri to open SEC play and maintain their number two ranking. Derek Curiel had a great weekend with five hits and three RBI.
Florida State Seminoles (-) Florida State defeated Boston College in a weekend series sweep. Despite the loss to Florida in the midweek, the Seminoles are a solid top-five team in college baseball.
Arkansas Razorbacks (-) Arkansas took care of business over the weekend against the Ole Miss Rebels, defeating them in two out of three games in Oxford. During Saturday’s matchup, Arkansas hit five home runs. This included long balls from the Aloy brothers.
Georgia Bulldogs (+1) The Georgia Bulldogs jump into the top five after a weekend series win over Kentucky. Georgia’s offense is among the best in college baseball, scoring 36 runs against the Wildcats.
Clemson Tigers (+1) Clemson finished the weekend with a series win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They also won back-to-back midweek games against a talented mid-major team in Liberty.
Oregon State Beavers (+2) Oregon State continues its hot play, having won nine games in a row. This includes a five-win week with victories over Grand Canyon, Santa Clara, and Washington State.
Texas Longhorns (+3) – Texas has won 17 games. That streak continued after sweeping Mississippi State at Dudy Noble Field. Rylan Galvan had an excellent weekend in Texas, with two home runs.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+3) It was a great week for Wake Forest as they popped into the top ten. A midweek win over a tough Coastal Carolina led to a weekend sweep against Miami.
Florida Gators (-5) Florida’s biggest win of the season against Florida State was followed up by three straight losses to Tennessee in Knoxville. The Gators got a great start out of Aidan King on Saturday as he went six innings and struck out six hitters.
Virginia Cavaliers (+3) Virginia beat Maryland in a mid-week matchup and defeated Cal on the road in Berkley on the Pacific coast. It was a perfect bounce-back week for head coach Brian O’Connor’s team after a series loss to Boston College last weekend.
Alabama Crimson Tide (+10) Is it a big jump? Yes. However, Alabama dominated D1 Baseball’s preseason number-one overall team over the weekend. They also added a good mid-week win over UAB. The Crimson Tide are now 20-1 to begin the season.
Oregon Ducks (-) The Ducks split a mid-week pair of games with Grand Canyon and then won two out of three games against Minnesota. This up-and-down week keeps Oregon right where they were last week in the rankings.
North Carolina Tar Heels (-6) North Carolina dropped an ACC series for the second straight weekend. The Louisville Cardinals took them down this time, and the Tar Heels are now 2-4 in ACC play.
Oklahoma Sooners (+5)Head coach Skip Johnson’s team has an impressive 17-2 overall record. The Sooners won their first-ever SEC series on the road at South Carolina.
N.C. State Wolfpack (+1) A productive week for N.C. State allows them to jump a spot. They beat North Carolina A&T in a mid-week matchup and defeated Virginia Tech in a weekend series.
Stanford Cardinal (-) Stanford makes their first appearance in the top 25, jumping up to 18th. A series win last weekend against North Carolina is followed up with a series sweep against Duke. The Cardinal are now 5-1 in ACC play.
Vanderbilt Commodores (-3) Ultimately, a series loss against Auburn pushes Vanderbilt down in the top 25. However, they did shut out Valparaiso in the mid-week. It was the team’s third shutout of the season.
Arizona Wildcats (+4) Arizona had an undefeated week. They defeated their rival, Arizona State, in a midweek matchup and swept Cincinnati in a weekend series. The Wildcats have begun Big 12 play 3-0.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (-1) UC Santa Barbara dropped in the rankings after a series loss to Hawaii. They picked up a mid-week win against San Diego before the Manoa series.
Dallas Baptist Patriots (-) Dallas Baptist is back in the top 25 after an upset win over Oklahoma State and a weekend sweep over UTSA. In those four games, the Patriots scored 47 runs.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (-6) Due to wildfires in Oklahoma, the Cowboys played just one game against West Virginia over the weekend. This loss and another loss to Dallas Baptist move them down six spots in the top 25.
Auburn Tigers (-) Auburn is a new entry into the top 25 this season. A series win over Vanderbilt to open SEC play gets them into the rankings. Bub Terrell was great for the Tigers all weekend with five hits.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (-) After a mid-week loss to Wake Forest, the Chanticleers quickly rebounded with a series sweep of Georgia Southern. Following this weekend, they are beginning conference play 3-0.
Louisville Cardinals (-) Louisville enters the top 25 after beating North Carolina in a weekend series. They are a hot team with ACC play not happening, having won nine of their last ten.
Teams that dropped out of rankings: Texas A&M, Duke, Mississippi State, Kentucky, TCU
Matchups to Watch this Week in College Baseball (Mar. 17-Mar. 23)
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers v. Troy Trojans (Mar. 21-23) – This is arguably the biggest matchup in the Sun Belt conference this season. Coastal Carolina travels to take on an undefeated Troy team at home.
Tennessee Volunteers v. Alabama Crimson Tide (Mar. 20-22) – The teams will clash in Tuscaloosa at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Tennessee and Alabama share a combined record of 40-1.
LSU Tigers v. Texas Longhorns (Mar. 21-23) – LSU hits the road to play a Texas team that has won 17 straight games. Disch-Falk Field will be rocking in Austin as it is the first-ever home SEC series in Texas baseball history.
