College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball Top 25 after penultimate week of regular season

The end of the regular season is nearly here. We just wrapped up Week 13, the penultimate week of the regular season in college baseball. Now, we’re predicting some notable changes in D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings.

The weekend was full of ranked matchups, upsets and more. Ultimately, eight ranked teams dropped their weekend series. For some, it came at a devastating time with limited time left to recover their position in the postseason.

We saw five matchups between two ranked teams over the weekend. No. 1 UCLA hosted No. 13 Oregon, No. 7 Kansas hosted No. 15 West Virginia, No. 11 Mississippi State hosted No. 6 Auburn, No. 17 Arkansas hosted No. 24 Oklahoma, and No. 20 Ole Miss hosted No. 9 Texas A&M.

As a result, there are going to be quite a bit of movement in this week’s D1Baseball top 25. Here’s what we expect to see when the rankings are released on Monday.

1. UCLA

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in Big Ten)
Overall Record: 46-5 (26-1 in Big Ten)

UCLA’s week started with an 8-4 win at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, and then continued Big Ten play over the weekend against No. 13 Oregon. The Bruins improved to 25-0 in league play with an 11-1 win in Friday’s opener, but suffered their first conference loss in a 9-6 defeat on Saturday. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where UCLA came from behind in the eighth to win 9-6.

2. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Previous Week Record: 3-0 (3-0 in ACC)
Overall Record: 40-9-1 (20-7 in ACC)

North Carolina got back in ACC action this weekend, hosting Pitt starting on Friday. The Tar Heels won 4-1 in the series opener before dominating in a 12-2 victory on Saturday to secure the series. Hoping to finish off the sweep on Sunday, UNC won 7-3 in the finale.

3. Georgia Tech

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Previous Week Record: 3-0 (3-0 in ACC)
Overall Record: 42-8 (22-5 in ACC)

Georgia Tech was at home against Duke this weekend, and the series started off pretty tight. In the series opener on Friday, the Yellow Jackets held on to win 10-9 to start the weekend. Saturday was a different story, winning 15-2 to clinch the series. Aiming for the sweep on Sunday, Georgia Tech won 14-1 to finish it off.

4. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Previous Week Record: 3-0 (3-0 in SEC)
Overall Record: 41-11 (21-6 in SEC)

Georgia has continued its dominance through SEC play this season. This weekend, the Bulldogs hosted a desperate LSU team and took the series right away behind 11-8 and 13-8 wins on Friday and Saturday, clinching the regular season SEC title. They then won 12-1 on Sunday to finish off the sweep.

5. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in SEC)
Overall Record: 35-15 (16-11 in SEC)

Auburn won 10-2 at UAB on Tuesday to begin the week, and then went to No. 11 Mississippi State for another pivotal SEC series over the weekend. The Tigers fell 10-3 in Thursday’s opener, but bounced back the rest of the weekend. They won 5-4 on Friday and then 13-2 on Saturday to take the series, securing a move up in this week’s D1Baseball top 25.

6. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-2)
Previous Week Record: 2-2 (1-2 in SEC)
Overall Record: 37-12 (16-10 in SEC)

Texas kicked off its week on Tuesday, beating UTSA 11-8 in a midweek game. The Longhorns then traveled to Tennessee, and stumbled over the weekend. After dropping Friday’s opener 5-1, Texas fell 14-9 on Saturday to lose the series. Hoping to avoid a sweep, Texas salvaged the finale with a 13-6 win on Sunday. They will be moving down in D1Baseball’s top 25.

7. West Virginia

Previous Ranking: No. 15 (+8)
Previous Week Record: 4-0 (3-0 in Big 12)
Overall Record: 35-12 (19-8 in Big 12)

West Virginia defeated Marshall 7-2 on Tuesday to kick off the week, and then they enjoyed a successful showing over the weekend at No. 7 Kansas. The Mountaineers won 4-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday to clinch the series. In Sunday’s finale, they won 13-2 to finish the sweep. The series win launches them up in D1Baseball’s top 25.

8. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 40-11

Oregon State was at Portland on Tuesday, winning 6-4. The Beavers then traveled to Long Beach State and had a good weekend. They won 7-2 on Friday to begin the series, then winning 8-1 on Saturday to clinch the weekend. Going for the sweep in Sunday’s finale, Oregon State won 8-4 to finish it off.

9. Southern Miss

Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+3)
Previous Week Record: 3-0 (3-0 in Sun Belt)
Overall Record: 37-14 (19-8 in Sun Belt)

Southern Miss was on the road this weekend, looking to solidify itself as a regional host. At James Madison, the Golden Eagles won 8-5 on Friday and 11-1 on Saturday to open the series and clinch it. Looking to finish off the sweep in Sunday’s finale, Southern Miss won 10-5 on Sunday. They’re likely to join the top ten in D1Baseball’s top 25 this week.

10. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 14 (+4)
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in ACC)
Overall Record: 36-15 (17-10 in ACC)

Florida State beat Jacksonville 5-2 on Tuesday to begin its week, and then hit the road for a trip to Clemson over the weekend. After winning Friday’s opener 8-4, the Seminoles lost 4-3 on Saturday to tie up the series. That set up a rubber game in Sunday’s finale, where FSU won 6-3 to secure the series.

Predicting D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

11. Arkansas (+6)
12. Alabama (+7)
13. Oregon
14. Ole Miss (+6)
15. Texas A&M (-6)
16. Mississippi State (-5)
17. USC (+1)
18. Kansas (-11)
19. Coastal Carolina (-11)
20. Florida (+1)
21. Oklahoma State (NR)
22. Arizona State (-6)
23. Nebraska (+2)
24. Jacksonville State (NR)
25. Boston College (-3)

Predicted to drop out of D1Baseball Top 25: Virginia (prev. No. 23), Oklahoma (prev. No. 24)