College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball Top 25 after Week 12

Week 12 is wrapped up, and just two weekends now remain in the regular season across college baseball. We are predicting quite a few changes in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings.

The weekend was headlined by four top 25 series, including two between two teams in the top ten. No. 4 Texas hosted No. 10 Mississippi State, No. 7 Texas A&M hosted No. 8 Auburn, No. 15 Oklahoma hosted No. 25 Florida, and No. 22 Arkansas hosted No. 17 Ole Miss.

In addition to those ranked matchups, multiple other ranked teams dropped their weekend series. Six total top 25 teams lost their series, as No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 10 Mississippi State, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 16 Nebraska, No. 17 Ole Miss and No. 20 Boston College all went down over the weekend.

As a result, we’re predicting plenty of movement in this week’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings. Here’s what we predict to see on Monday.

1. UCLA

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Previous Week Record: 4-0 (3-0 in Big Ten)
Overall Record: 42-4 (24-0 in Big Ten)

UCLA started its week at UC Santa Barbara, picking up a dominating 15-3 victory on Tuesday. The Bruins then took a trip to Michigan State to continue Big Ten play. To nobody’s surprise, UCLA won the series right away behind a 4-1 win on Friday and a 4-3 win on Saturday. Going for the sweep and a 24-0 start to Big Ten play, UCLA came from behind to win 13-11 on Sunday.

2. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Previous Week Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 37-9-1 (17-7 in ACC)

North Carolina had just two games this week, starting on Tuesday at home against No. 9 Coastal Carolina. It was a performance to forget for the Tar Heels, falling 12-2. UNC’s only other game of the week came on Sunday, a non-ACC matchup against Duke. There, UNC dominated in a 13-0 win.

3. Georgia Tech

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Previous Week Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 39-8 (19-5 in ACC)

After a 10-7 win at Kennesaw State on Tuesday, Georgia Tech hosted Xavier over the weekend. Stunningly, the Yellow Jackets were bested in Friday’s series opener, losing 8-4. Georgia Tech bounced back on Saturday with a 7-5 win to even the series. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where the Yellow Jackets won 14-6 to take the series and avoid a drop in D1Baseball’s top 25.

4. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 4
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in SEC)
Overall Record: 35-10 (15-8 in SEC)

Texas won a high-scoring affair on Tuesday, 15-14 against Sam Houston to open its week. The Longhorns then played host to No. 10 Mississippi State in one of the most important series of the weekend. The two teams split Friday and Saturday’s game, with Texas winning 3-1 on Friday before losing 7-4 on Saturday. In the rubber game, the Longhorns won 11-6 to take the series.

5. Georgia

Previous Ranking: No. 5
Previous Week Record: 4-0 (3-0 in SEC)
Overall Record: 38-11 (18-6 in SEC)

Georgia defeated Troy 11-1 on Tuesday to begin its week before hosting Missouri over the weekend. Looking to remain on top of the SEC’s standings, the Bulldogs took the series right away behind 4-0 and 13-3 wins on Friday and Saturday. They then won 14-4 in Sunday’s series finale to complete the sweep.

6. Auburn

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 2-1 (2-1 in SEC)
Overall Record: 32-14 (14-10 in SEC)

There was no midweek game for Auburn this week, and they got back in action over the weekend at No. 7 Texas A&M. The Tigers won both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader, 18-5 in Game 1 and 5-4 in Game 2 to clinch the series right out of the gates. Looking for a clean sweep on Sunday, Auburn fell just short in a 4-3 loss. Still, they’re likely to rise in D1Baseball’s new top 25.

7. Oregon State

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-1)
Previous Week Record: 3-2
Overall Record: 36-11

Oregon State began its week with a two-game midweek series against UTRGV, winning 4-2 on Tuesday before losing 9-7 on Wednesday. The Beavers then hosted Cal State Northridge over the weekend, and fell 8-6 in Friday’s series opener. They bounced back on Saturday with a 6-5 win, setting up a rubber game on Sunday. There, Oregon State won 5-2.

8. Coastal Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+1)
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in Sun Belt)
Overall Record: 33-14 (19-5 in Sun Belt)

Coastal Carolina picked up a big 12-2 win on the road at No. 2 North Carolina on Tuesday, starting its week in impressive fashion. The Chanticleers then traveled to Georgia Southern, winning 8-7 on Friday to open the weekend. The finale concluded with a doubleheader on Sunday, where Coastal won 14-4 in the first game to clinch the series. In the finale, they fell 7-4.

9. Kansas

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 4-0 (3-0 in Big 12)
Overall Record: 37-11 (20-4 in Big 12)

Kansas dominated on Tuesday in a 14-1 win at Wichita State to kick off the week. The Jayhawks then hosted Arizona over the weekend. They won 4-2 in Friday’s opener and 7-2 on Saturday to secure the series victory right away. Kansas then won 11-4 in Sunday’s weekend finale to finish the sweep. The Jayhawks are now poised to surge into the top ten in this week’s D1Baseball top 25.

10. Texas A&M

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (-3)
Previous Week Record: 2-2 (1-2 in SEC)
Overall Record: 35-10 (15-8 in SEC)

Texas A&M beat Tarleton 9-7 on Tuesday to get the week going, and then hosted No. 8 Auburn in a big series over the weekend. Unfortunately for the Aggies, it was all Tigers on Saturday as the series began with a doubleheader. Auburn won both games, 18-5 and 5-4, to clinch the series. Texas A&M was hoping to avoid the sweep on Sunday, and did exactly that with a 4-3 victory.

D1Baseball Top 25 Predictions: 11-25

11. Southern Miss (+1)
12. Mississippi State (-2)
13. Oregon
14. Florida State
15. Arkansas (+7)
16. West Virginia (+2)
17. Alabama (+7)
18. Florida (+7)
19. Arizona State
20. USC (+1)
21. Oklahoma (-6)
22. Ole Miss (-5)
23. Virginia
24. Oklahoma State (NR)
25. Jacksonville State (NR)

Predicted to drop out of D1Baseball Top 25: Nebraska (prev. No. 16), Boston College (prev. No. 20)