After a wild weekend, there is a new number one team in college baseball. Texas lost not just once, not just twice, but they lost three times this week. Not only that, but the former second-ranked Stanford didn’t have the best week either. With that said, there are a few shakeups in these top 25 rankings. Keep in mind, the second number in parentheses is the conference record.
Be sure to catch up on the previous rankings: Week 1 | Week 2
1. Arkansas (11-3, 0-0)
The Razorbacks are the new number one team after Texas and Stanford had off weeks. Arkansas swept a four-game series against UIC this weekend, led by third baseman Cayden Wallace‘s three homers and 13 RBI. Two of the home runs were grand slams in back-to-back days, Arkansas’ first slams of the season. Wallace was named the National Player of the Week for his performance. The Razorbacks play two games against Grambling State starting on Tuesday before starting SEC play against Kentucky this weekend.
THAT'S TWO GRAND SLAMS IN AS MANY DAYS FOR CAYDEN WALLACE pic.twitter.com/HFzQ1AwapL
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 13, 2022
Previous Ranking: 3
2. Texas (13-4, 0-0)
The Longhorns started the week with a win against Texas State, but it was only downhill from there. They lost the second game against Texas State before taking the first game against South Carolina on Saturday. But then on Sunday, the Gamecocks swept the double-header to give Texas an under .500 week. The Longhorns can bounce back with a fairly light schedule this week before diving into conference play against Texas Tech next weekend.
Previous Ranking: 1
3. Ole Miss (13-2, 0-0)
It was a light schedule for the Rebels this past week, but they took care of their business. They beat Alcorn State 16-1 before taking two of three from Oral Roberts over the weekend. They begin conference play against Auburn this weekend, which will be a big test. Auburn is 13-4 on the season and defeated Texas Tech early on.
Previous Ranking: 4
4. Vanderbilt (13-2, 0-0)
The Commodores have now won 12 games in a row since losing two of three to Oklahoma State to open the season. They only played three games this week, but they swept the series from Wagner while outscoring them 40-12. Southpaw Carter Holton struck out 13 in six shutout innings while allowing one hit and one walk on Saturday. Up next is Michigan on Tuesday before their SEC opening series against Missouri.
Previous Ranking: 5
5. Tennessee (15-1, 0-0)
The Volunteers had a perfect week, as they swept both series, a two-game set against James Madison and three gamer against Rhode Island. Jared Dickey and Logan Steenstra both mashed two homers on Sunday in a 12-3 win. Up next for Tennessee is one game against Eastern Kentucky before SEC play begins against South Carolina this weekend.
Previous Ranking: 6
6. LSU (13-3, 0-0)
The Tigers went 4-0 this week, although it wasn’t against strong competition. They played one game against McNeese before a weekend series against Bethune-Cookman. Still, though, they took care of the business that they needed to and shouldn’t be punished for that. A big series goes down against Texas A&M this weekend to start off SEC play.
Previous Ranking: 7
7. Notre Dame (11-1, 2-0)
The Fighting Irish swept NC State this week in a mini two-game series. The middle game of the series was canceled due to inclement rain. Notre Dame’s 11-1 start is their best start since 2015. Senior infielder Carter Putz came up with four hits in the series to lift his team-leading batting average to .372. Notre Dame continues ACC play against Louisville this weekend.
Previous Ranking: 10
8. Oregon State (11-2, 2-1)
The Beavers took two of their only three games this week from Washington State and hold their eighth overall ranking. Catcher Logan Gavin went 7-for-12 with two homers in the series while cleanup hitter Jacob Melton hit three homers to raise his Pac-12 leading total to six. Freshman left-hander Jacob Kmatz had another solid outing, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over five innings while striking out five. Kmatz was thrust into a starting role after weekend starters Jake Pfennigs and Will Frisch were sidelined and he is now 3-0 with 17 strikeouts.
Previous Ranking: 8
9. Georgia Tech (13-3, 3-0)
After losing to Mercer on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets swept their weekend series to Virginia Tech. The series finale on Sunday took 14 innings to come to a conclusion, and it was the second leg of a doubleheader. Catcher Kevin Parada stayed hot, as he went 5-for-13 in the series, including 3-for-4 in the first game of the doubleheader. The sophomore MLB Draft prospect is currently slashing .455/.556/.909 on the season.
Previous Ranking: 9
10. Florida State (10-5, 2-1)
The Seminoles continue to move up after taking two out of three from Wake Forest this weekend. Sophomore left-hander Ross Dunn struck out 14 over seven innings in game one of the Sunday doubleheader. Then freshman southpaw Bryce Hubbart struck out nine over 5 2/3 one-run innings in the series finale. Florida State’s matchup against Florida scheduled for Tuesday was postponed. Their next matchup is against Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday before a weekend series against NC State.
Previous Ranking: 14
11. Stanford (9-5, 1-2)
In Stanford’s opening series in Pac-12 play, they lost two of three to Oregon. The Cardinal lost a nailbiter in game one, 4-3, after surrendering a ninth-inning homer to Ducks’ left fielder Tanner Smith. The second game was a blowout after Stanford had once led 9-3. They wound up losing the game by a score of 16-9 before salvaging the final game of the series. They have a chance to really bounce back with a huge series against Arizona Saturday through Monday to move back up in the rankings.
Previous Ranking: 2
12. Oklahoma State (9-6, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 12
13. Liberty (12-2, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 13
14. Florida (13-4, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 15
15. Miami (11-4, 2-1)
Previous Ranking: 19
16. Virginia (14-1, 2-1)
Previous Ranking: 20
17. North Carolina (14-2, 3-0)
Previous Ranking: 17
18. Texas Tech (14-3, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 23
19. Maryland (13-2, 0-0)
The Terps had a 4-0 week, as they defeated VCU, Georgetown twice (once on Monday), and Cornell. After their game against Delaware Tuesday afternoon, they face Siena this weekend for their Big Ten opener.
Previous Ranking: 22
20. Arizona (13-4, 2-1)
Previous Ranking: 21
21. UCLA (10-6, 1-2)
After taking down Texas last week, the Bruins failed to back that up, as they lost two of three games to the USC Trojans. UCLA has a series against Harvard coming up this weekend to try and stay in the rankings.
Previous Ranking: 11
22. Clemson (14-1, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 24
23. TCU (11-4, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 25
24. Long Beach State (7-7, 0-0)
The Dirtbags find themselves back in the rankings after taking two out of three from previously 16th ranked Gonzaga. They face UConn on Wednesday before a weekend series against Hawaii at home.
Previous Ranking: NR
25. Texas State
The victory over Texas isn’t all Texas State did to deserve getting in the rankings. The weekend before, they also took two out of three from the current 20th ranked Arizona Wildcats. They finished the week sweeping Southern after sweeping Ohio State a couple of weekends ago.
Previous Ranking: NR
Check back for another edition of the rankings next week.
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Main Image Credit: From ArkansasRazorbacks.com
