Tag: Coaches Poll

Week 10 USA TODAY Sports ranks Alabama baseball No. 14 in the country

USA TODAY Coaches Poll ranks Alabama baseball No.14 in the nation

In his first year with the Alabama Crimson Tide, head baseball coach Rob Vaughn is certainly making a strong impression on the Tuscaloosa faithful as he has guided the Tide to a 24-13 record so far this season. Alabama is one of the best teams in the country, but the record can be a bit deceiving. The SEC is just simply a gauntlet as the Tide are 6-9 in conference on the year, however, they are very good at home with an 18-5 record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

On Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports released their Week 10 coaches poll for men’s college baseball and they have the Crimson Tide ranked at No. 14 in the country. The ranking comes on the heels of a crucial 2-1 series victory against the No. 1 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tide have various rankings depending on the website you look at with D1 ranking Alabama down at No. 18 in the country. Unfortunately, later in the day, Alabama dropped a game in Tuscaloosa against in-state rival the UAB Blazers.

The Tide will need to respond quick though as they take on the No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies in Tuscaloosa this weekend in a three-game series starting on Thursday.

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Kentucky baseball is in the top five in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

Kentucky baseball is in the top five of the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

The Kentucky Wildcats baseball team continues to climb up the rankings. After jumping inside the top ten last week, the Cats are now a top five team in the newest USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

This past week saw Kentucky suffer a tough loss to Samford, but bounced back over the weekend with a three-game sweep of the Auburn Tigers. That gives the Wildcats a 14 – 1 record against SEC teams this season.

Overall, Kentucky is 30 – 5, which is one of the best records in college baseball. They have now won 11 of their last 12 games, and 18 of their last 20.

The SEC now has four of the top five teams in the rankings. Kentucky is at number five, and they’ll play the third ranked Tennessee Volunteers in a huge three-game series over the weekend. The Cats also play a game against in-state rival Louisville this week.

Getting into the top five is one thing. Staying in the top five is another. The Wildcats have some tough series upcoming, and the next few weeks could determine if they’re truly one of the best teams in the country, and a true championship contender.

How far Clemson fell in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

NCAA Baseball: The Clemson Tigers fell to No. 6 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, April 15.

A rough week by Clemson that featured the team’s first back-to-back losses of the season — and its first losing streak — dropped the Tigers several spots in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, April 15.

Clemson (29-6 overall) tumbled four spots to No. 6 in the coaches poll, compiled by 31 head coaches at Division I schools. The Tigers went just 1-3 last week after a midweek loss to USC Upstate and dropping two of three in a series against NC State at home.

Coach Erik Bakich’s club also fell to No. 6 in D1Baseball’s new Top 25 rankings and to No. 4 in the new Baseball America Top 25.

Texas A&M (32-4) climbed two spots to No. 1 after a 4-0 week that included a series sweep of No. 12 Vanderbilt. The Commodores had been ranked No. 6 in last week’s coaches poll.

Arkansas (30-5) fell to No. 2 after suffering its first series loss of the season. The Razorbacks, who had been No. 1 for five straight weeks, fell Saturday and Sunday to No. 14 Alabama, which rose three spots in Monday’s poll.

Oregon State (29-5) moved up one spot in to No. 4. Kentucky (30-5) rounded out the top five after its three-game sweep of Auburn over the weekend.

Right behind Clemson in the new poll are four ACC schools. Florida State (30-5) rose to No. 7, with Virginia (28-8) checking in at No. 8 and Duke (26-10) at No. 9. North Carolina (29-7) moved up one spot to No. 11. East Carolina (27-8) rounded out the Top 10.

Two other ACC schools — No. 13 Wake Forest and No. 22 Virginia Tech — placed in Monday’s Top 25 to give the conference seven teams ranked in the new poll.

The SEC had the most schools ranked per conference with eight.

Clemson returns to the diamond Tuesday when the Tigers host Charlotte in non-conference play. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).

Alabama basketball makes monumental jump in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Alabama basketball makes big-time move in the right direction for the Final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The thrill of March Madness has come to a close, as the UConn Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers to win a second consecutive national championship. However, the Huskies aren’t the only winners. The Alabama Crimson Tide made unprecedented strides and appeared in the program’s first-ever Final Four.

Success in March leads to a recruiting boost, more fan involvement, and in the current era of college athletics, more name, image, likeness money.

Alabama’s deep tournament run resulted in a massive jump in the right direction in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, moving up 14 spots all the way to No. 4.

The full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 UConn 37-3 775 (31) –
2 Purdue 34-5 744 +1
3 Houston 32-5 651 -1
4 Alabama 25-12 542 +14
5 Tennessee 27-9 638 +1
6 North Carolina 29-8 578 -1
7 Illinois 29-9 561 +3
8 Iowa State 29-8 539 -4
9 Duke 27-9 521 +5
10 Creighton 25-10 473 +1
11 Marquette 27-10 457 -3
12 Arizona 27-9 440 -3
13 North Carolina State 26-15 389 +20
14 Baylor 24-11 330 -1
15 Clemson 24-12 325 –
16 Gonzaga 27-8 312 –
17 Auburn 27-8 302 -10
18 San Diego State 26-11 217 +7
19 Kentucky 23-10 171 -7
20 Utah State 28-7 164 -1
21 Kansas 23-11 135 -1
22 Saint Mary’s 26-8 128 -7
23 South Carolina 26-8 124 -6
24 Washington State 25-10 62 +3
25 Texas Tech 23-11 49 -3

Patrick Conn of the College Sports Wire broke down the winners and losers of the final Coaches Poll and named the Crimson Tide as a winner.

“What a job by Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide. They advanced to their first Final Four in school history after winning the West Region. They had to finish off the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 6 Clemson Tigers to get there. The Tide gave UConn a run but it just wasn’t enough as the Huskies prevailed.

“After a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and this run to the Final Four, what does the former math teacher have in store for 2024-25?”

Head coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide have a bright future together and fans have many reasons to be excited for the 2024-2025 college basketball season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Blue Devils jump to ninth in final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After a run to the Elite Eight including a Sweet 16 upset of Houston, Duke jumped up five spots into ninth in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

After a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, the Duke men’s basketball team jumped up five spots to ninth in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils finished with 27 wins for the season, including an upset of No. 1 seed Houston in the Sweet 16. The run to the regional final resulted in the fourth-biggest rise of any team in the rankings.

NC State, who beat the Blue Devils to win the South region as an 11-seed, jumped 20 spots to 13th. Alabama, another Final Four team, rose 14 spots to fourth in the rankings, and San Diego State leaped seven spots to 18th.

Connecticut won its second straight national title to finish atop the list, with Purdue, Houston, Alabama, and Tennessee all cementing their spots in the top five.

North Carolina, the No. 1 seed who lost to the Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16, dropped one spot to the sixth spot in the rankings. Clemson, the fourth and final ACC team on the list, went from unranked to 15th.

Kentucky jumps up into eighth in USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

Kentucky baseball jumps all the way into the top ten in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

The Kentucky Wildcats baseball team was on a roll last week, and continued an already great season thus far. On Monday, it was reflected in the Top 25 as the Cats climbed all the way into the top 10 in the USA Today Sports baseball coaches poll, landing at number eight.

Their game with in-state rival Louisville got rained out. However, the Wildcats were ready for a three-game series with a ranked Alabama Crimson Tide team over the weekend.

Kentucky swept the Tide in the series, and out-scored them by a combined score of 23 – 3. The Wildcats dominated the series in every way, out-hitting them 27 – 15 and out-pitching them in every game.

The Cats are now 27 – 4 on the year, and 11 – 1 in SEC play. They are one of five SEC teams ranked inside the top ten currently. There are three more in the Top 25 for a total of eight ranked SEC teams.

Up next for Kentucky is Samford, then a three-game series against Auburn. If they take care of business again, the Wildcats might find themselves in the top five next week.

Wisconsin basketball drops out of final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Was Wisconsin’s 2023-24 season a success?

Wisconsin basketball found itself on the outside of the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll of the 2023-24 season.

The Badgers entered March Madness ranked No. 24 and with a ton of momentum after a run to the finals of the Big Ten Tournament. What followed was an unfortunate first-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 12-seed James Madison and a subsequent drop from the top 25.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin basketball’s reported transfer portal visits and targets

The loss draped a dark cloud over what looked to be a promising season. On one hand, the Badgers clearly improved after 2022-23 and had once of the best offenses in program history. On the other hand, the team lost early in the tournament — and that’s most of what matters to many.

The Badgers finish 2023-24 in the ‘receiving votes’ category of the poll — tied with James Madison at 30 points.

Only two Big Ten teams finished the season in this top 25: Purdue at No. 2 and Illinois at No. 7. It was another promising regular season of Big Ten basketball, but yet another campaign with little postseason success.

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Where UNC basketball ranks in final men’s basketball coaches poll for 2023-24

The UNC basketball program falls one spot in the final coaches poll for the 2023-24 season.

The 2023-24 college basketball season is officially over with UConn winning back-to-back titles after taking down Purdue on Monday night. It was another fun year in the sport with lots of exciting moments throughout, ending with the tournament.

With the season in the books, the USA TODAY Sports has released the final coaches poll for the season and there is really no surprises in the top two with UConn taking the top spot followed by No. 2 Purdue. But there was a shakeup in the top 5.

Alabama moved all the way up to No. 4, climbing 14 spots after reaching the Final Four. Tennessee moved up one spot to No. 5 and North Carolina fell from No. 5 to No. 6 in the poll.

The Tar Heels still finished ahead of Duke who checked in at No. 9 and NC State climbed 20 spots to No. 13 in the poll.

Without further ado, this is how the coaches ranked the teams following the end of the season.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 UConn 37-3 775 (31) –
2 Purdue 34-5 744 +1
3 Houston 32-5 651 -1
4 Alabama 25-12 542 +14
5 Tennessee 27-9 638 +1
6 North Carolina 29-8 578 -1
7 Illinois 29-9 561 +3
8 Iowa State 29-8 539 -4
9 Duke 27-9 521 +5
10 Creighton 25-10 473 +1
11 Marquette 27-10 457 -3
12 Arizona 27-9 440 -3
13 North Carolina State 26-15 389 +20
14 Baylor 24-11 330 -1
15 Clemson 24-12 325 –
16 Gonzaga 27-8 312 –
17 Auburn 27-8 302 -10
18 San Diego State 26-11 217 +7
19 Kentucky 23-10 171 -7
20 Utah State 28-7 164 -1
21 Kansas 23-11 135 -1
22 Saint Mary’s 26-8 128 -7
23 South Carolina 26-8 124 -6
24 Washington State 25-10 62 +3
25 Texas Tech 23-11 49 -3

 

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No changes at the top of USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

The defending champs tumble out of the rankings as in-state school Louisiana jumps 12 spots.

The college basketball season ends on Monday night and all eyes shift to the chase for Omaha. Once again it is the SEC that is reigning supreme in the top 25 rankings with the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies replacing last year’s CWS title game participants, the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators.

In the top 10, the Hogs and Ags are joined by the Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Kentucky Wildcats. The aforementioned Gators landed at No. 18 and the Tigers fell out of the rankings completely.

Kentucky and the UCF Knights are two big winners jumping eight spots in the poll. The Wildcats checked in at No. 8 overall while UCF jumped into the rankings at No. 19. The biggest winner of the week is Louisiana, who is No. 24 after being ranked No. 36.

The Gators were among the big losers after falling nine spots to No. 18. Last week’s No. 18 team, the LSU Tigers, dropped off completely. Florida was swept by unranked Missouri while No. 6 Vanderbilt took two of three from the Bayou Bengals.

Check out the full coaches poll that was released on Monday.

USA TODAY Sports College Baseball Coaches poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Arkansas 27-3 775 (31) –
2 Clemson 28-3 735 –
3 Texas A&M 28-4 716 –
4 Tennessee 26-6 656 –
5 Oregon State 26-4 655 –
6 Vanderbilt 25-7 609 –
7 Duke 24-8 580 +3
8 Kentucky 27-4 503 +8
9 Florida State 26-5 498 +3
10 Virginia 25-7 490 +1
11 East Carolina 23-7 440 +2
12 North Carolina 26-6 432 -5
13 Dallas Baptist 25-6 405 -5
14 UC Irvine 24-4 397 +3
15 Wake Forest 21-10 284 +7
16 Virginia Tech 21-8 216 -1
17 Alabama 22-10 192 -3
18 Florida 17-14 187 -9
19 UCF 21-8 186 +8
20 Coastal Carolina 22-9 166 +1
21 Nebraska 22-7 142 +2
22 Oregon 22-8 128 +7
23 Mississippi State 21-12 114 +3
24 Louisiana 24-8 109 +12
25 Oklahoma State 21-11 94 +7

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 LSU; No. 19 South Carolina; No. 20 North Carolina State; No. 24 Georgia; No. 25 TCU

Other Receiving Votes

South Carolina 67; Indiana State 59; LSU 54; Georgia 45; Texas Tech 26; Creighton 23; Northeastern 14; TCU 12; North Carolina State 11; Lamar 11; Campbell 11; West Virginia 8; St. John’s 7; Ole Miss 4; Kansas State 4; Oklahoma 3; UC Santa Barbara 2; Southern Miss 2; Louisiana Tech 2; Utah 1

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Final coaches poll released after South Carolina survived March Madness

Final women’s coaches poll revealed with South Carolina and Iowa in the top 2 spots.

The NCAA women’s basketball has come to an end with several matchups setting the record as the most-watched game only to be outdone by the next one. Those games featured Iowa Hawkeyes’ star Caitlin Clark.

One of the most polarizing players was a vital reason why. After the national championship game ended, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley made sure to pay her respects to Clark.

“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” the coach said. “She carried a heavy load for our sport and it just is not gonna stop here on the collegiate tour. But when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s gonna lift that league up as well. So Caitlin Clark if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.”

After a historic season, we have the final coaches poll for women’s basketball.

Final USA TODAY Sports women’s coaches poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 South Carolina 38-0 750 (30) –
2 Iowa 34-5 720 –
3 UConn 33-6 678 +4
4 North Carolina State 31-7 645 +7
5 Texas 33-5 593 -1
6 USC 29-6 590 -3
7 LSU 31-6 572 -1
8 Stanford 30-6 518 -3
9 UCLA 27-7 513 -1
10 Oregon State 27-8 470 +5
11 Notre Dame 28-7 452 -1
12 Indiana 26-6 385 +2
13 Gonzaga 32-4 352 –
14 Ohio State 26-6 343 -5
15 Baylor 26-8 310 +3
16 Colorado 24-10 295 +1
17 Virginia Tech 25-8 262 -5
18 Kansas State 26-8 210 -2
19 Creighton 26-6 170 +1
20 Oklahoma 23-10 166 +1
21 Duke 22-12 149 –
22 Utah 23-11 121 –
23 Syracuse 24-8 115 –
24 UNLV 30-3 100 -5
25 West Virginia 25-8 75 +1

Schools Dropped Out

No. 24 Princeton; No. 25 Louisville

Others Receiving Votes

Iowa State 52; Louisville 29; Tennessee 27; Middle Tennessee 25; Nebraska 17; Princeton 15; Ole Miss 15; Fairfield 5; Richmond 3; Alabama 3; North Carolina 2; South Dakota State 1; Kansas 1; Jackson State 1

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