Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
Off to a 6-1 start in the 2024 season, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the consensus No. 1 team in NCAA Division I baseball, topping four polls that rank the top 25 teams after the second week of the season.
The Demon Deacons rebounded from a 4-3 upset loss at the hands of UNC Greensboro with a weekend sweep of Dayton to improve to 6-1 overall, and were ranked No. 1 in polls published by D1Baseball.com, Baseball America, the National College Baseball Writers Association, and Baseball America.
The LSU Tigers improved to 7-1 with a pair of wins against Northern Illinois and a split of a pair of games with Stony Brook over the weekend. The defending national champions were second in the USA Today Coaches Poll, Baseball America and the NCBWA poll.
Texas A&M rose three spots to No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after improving to 7-0, beating Incarnate Word and easily sweeping a weekend series with Wagner. The Aggies rose one spot in the D1Baseball.com rankings and rose to No. 8 in the NCBWA poll.
Vanderbilt, which went 3-2 this past week with a win against Eastern Kentucky and a pair of victories against Gonzaga, fell to No. 9 in the D1Baseball.com rankings. The Commodores lost to Dayton and Gonzaga, which cost them eight spots in the USA Today Coaches poll, dropping them to No. 14, and they fell to No. 13 in the NCBWA poll.
Notable Games This Week
Tuesday, Feb. 27
4 p.m. EST – Campbell at Coastal Carolina
Friday, March 1
7 p.m. EST – Clemson at South Carolina
8 p.m. EST – LSU vs. Texas – Astros Foundation Classic, Minute Maid Park, Houston
8 p.m. EST – Indiana vs. Alabama – Frisco Classic, Riders Field, Frisco, Tex.
Saturday, March 2
1 p.m. EST – Indiana vs. Alabama – Frisco Classic, Riders Field, Frisco, Tex.
4 p.m. EST – Clemson at South Carolina – Segra Park, Columbia, S.C.
Sunday, March 3
12:05 p.m. EST – Vanderbilt vs. Texas – Astros Foundation Classic, Minute Maid Park, Houston
2 p.m. EST – South Carolina at Clemson
5 p.m. EST – Alabama vs. Dallas Baptist – Frisco Classic, Riders Field, Frisco, Tex.
| D1Baseball.com Rankings | USA Today Coaches Poll | |||||||
| Rank | School | Record | Previous | Rank | Team | Record | Prev | Chg |
| 1 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 1 | 1 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 1 | – |
| 2 | Arkansas | 5-2 | 2 | 2 | LSU | 7-1 | 2 | – |
| 3 | LSU | 7-1 | 3 | 3 | TCU | 7-0 | 5 | 2 |
| 4 | Florida | 5-1 | 4 | 4 | Florida | 5-1 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | TCU | 7-0 | 5 | 5 | Arkansas | 5-2 | 4 | -1 |
| 6 | Oregon State | 7-1 | 7 | 6 | Oregon State | 7-1 | 7 | 1 |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 7-0 | 8 | 7 | Texas A&M | 7-0 | 10 | 3 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 7-1 | 9 | 8 | Tennessee | 7-1 | 8 | – |
| 9 | Vanderbilt | 5-3 | 6 | 9 | Virginia | 7-0 | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | Clemson | 6-1 | 10 | 10 | Duke | 7-0 | 14 | 4 |
| 11 | East Carolina | 5-2 | 11 | 11 | Clemson | 6-1 | 9 | -2 |
| 12 | Duke | 7-0 | 12 | 12 | East Carolina | 5-2 | 12 | – |
| 13 | Virginia | 7-0 | 14 | 13 | Texas | 6-1 | 13 | – |
| 14 | NC State | 4-2 | 13 | 14 | Vanderbilt | 5-3 | 6 | -8 |
| 15 | Texas | 6-1 | 16 | 15 | Alabama | 8-0 | 17 | 2 |
| 16 | Alabama | 8-0 | 17 | 16 | South Carolina | 7-1 | 21 | 5 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 15 | 17 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 15 | -2 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | 6-2 | 19 | 18 | North Carolina State | 4-2 | 16 | -2 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 7-1 | 21 | 19 | Texas Tech | 6-2 | 22 | 3 |
| 20 | Indiana | 6-1 | 23 | 20 | Coastal Carolina | 5-2 | 18 | -2 |
| 21 | Campbell | 6-1 | NR | 21 | Indiana | 6-1 | NR | 24 |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | 5-2 | 25 | 22 | Auburn | 6-1 | NR | 8 |
| 23 | Auburn | 6-1 | NR | 23 | Campbell | 6-1 | NR | 18 |
| 24 | UC Santa Barbara | 3-3 | 22 | 24 | Dallas Baptist | 7-0 | NR | 7 |
| 25 | Dallas Baptist | 7-0 | NR | 25 | UC Irvine | 6-0 | NR | 2 |
| Baseball America | NCBWA Division I Poll | |||||
| Rank | Team | Record | Rank | School | Record | Previous |
| 1 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 1 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 1 |
| 2 | LSU | 7-1 | 2 | LSU | 7-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 5-2 | 3 | TCU | 7-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon State | 7-1 | 4 | Oregon State | 7-1 | 4 |
| 5 | Florida | 5-1 | 5 | Arkansas | 5-2 | 5 |
| 6 | TCU | 7-0 | 6 | Florida | 5-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 7-1 | 7 | Tennessee | 7-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Virginia | 7-0 | 8 | Texas A&M | 7-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Vanderbilt | 5-3 | 9 | Duke | 7-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Clemson | 6-1 | 10 | Virginia | 7-0 | 11 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 7-0 | 11 | Clemson | 6-1 | 8 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 7-1 | 12 | East Carolina | 5-2 | 13 |
| 13 | Duke | 7-0 | 13 | Vanderbilt | 5-3 | 10 |
| 14 | Texas | 6-1 | 14 | Texas | 6-1 | 15 |
| 15 | East Carolina | 5-2 | 15 | Alabama | 8-0 | 18 |
| 16 | Texas Tech | 6-2 | 16 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 14 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 17 | South Carolina | 7-1 | 16 |
| 18 | North Carolina State | 4-2 | 18 | Texas Tech | 6-2 | 20 |
| 19 | Auburn | 6-1 | 19 | NC State | 4-2 | 17 |
| 20 | UC Irvine | 6-0 | 20 | Auburn | 6-1 | 22 |
| 21 | Indiana | 6-1 | 21 | Indiana | 6-1 | RV |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina | 5-2 | 22 | Coastal Carolina | 5-2 | RV |
| 23 | Dallas Baptist | 7-0 | 23 | DBU | 7-0 | 25 |
| 24 | Alabama | 8-0 | 24 | Campbell | 6-1 | RV |
| 25 | Campbell | 6-1 | 25 | UC Irvine | 6-0 | RV |