Tag: College baseball rankings

Alabama baseball moves into top 10 in latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Alabama baseball continues to move up in the rankings. In the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, the Tide are inside the Top 10.

Following an impressive series victory over Tennessee, Alabama baseball is riding high. With a surprisingly successful start to the 2024 season, the Crimson Tide now finds itself inside the Top-10 of the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

With a new head coach and high turnover on the roster, not many expected Alabama to perform as well as it has so far. While being a top-10 team is noteworthy, it’s important to put it into perspective, especially as conference play gets underway.

Though the Tide ranks No. 10, there are still six SEC teams ranked above them. Defeating Tennessee in a series 2-1 turned heads, but it will take consistent winning for Alabama to be considered a genuine contender.

Check out the Full USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Arkansas 17-2 775 (31) –
2 Oregon State 17-2 713 +1
3 Vanderbilt 18-3 671 +7
4 LSU 17-4 645 -2
5 Clemson 17-2 630 +4
6 Texas A&M 18-2 602 -2
7 Tennessee 18-3 534 -1
8 Florida 12-7 506 +3
9 Duke 15-5 491 -2
10 Alabama 17-3 471 +2
11 Virginia 16-4 434 +4
12 Florida State 18-0 428 +10
13 ECU 14-4 418 +3
14 Wake Forest 13-6 390 -9
15 Coastal Carolina 17-3 384 +2
16 DBU 16-3 324 +2
17 UNC 17-4 276 -4
18 TCU 15-5 243 -10
19 Camp 15-4 190 +4
20 Oklahoma 13-6 168 +22
21 UC-Irv 15-3 145 -1
22 UCSB 12-5 92 +5
23 Virginia Tech 14-4 86 +6
24 Auburn 13-6 79 -5
25 Kentucky 17-3 65 +17

Schools Dropped Out

No. 14 North Carolina State; No. 20 South Carolina; No. 24 Texas; No. 25 Texas Tech;

Others Receiving Votes

Mississippi State 58; South Carolina 56; North Carolina State 44; Georgia Tech 23; Texas Tech 20; Southern Miss 17; Miami (FL) 16; Ole Miss 15; UCF 12; Texas 11; Nebraska 8; Oregon 7; Indiana State 7; Georgia 7; Louisiana Tech 5; Troy 3; Oklahoma State 2; Northeastern 2; Maryland 2;

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama Baseball as the 2024 season progresses.

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. 

LSU baseball still unanimous No. 1 despite splitting series with South Carolina

Despite battling some injuries in the bullpen, LSU has still been the nation’s most impressive team.

The LSU Tigers took a trip to Columbia, South Carolina, for a top-10 matchup last weekend and, thanks to mother nature, they could only play two games. The Tigers and Gamecocks split the series, but LSU still remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the national rankings.

Vanderbilt finally lost a conference game as it dropped Game 2 against Missouri. The Commodores eventually took the series, though, so their conference win streak still stands. Florida had a good weekend as it took down Tennessee in two out of three games with the last one going into extra innings.

My biggest surprise of the weekend was Kentucky losing its series against Georgia. I guess that goes to show how deep the SEC is, though.

Here’s how all the national polls break down this week.

Looking at where Texas ranks in D1 Baseball’s Top 25

Texas checks in at No. 21 in D1 Baseball’s Top 25.

Texas baseball is once again in D1 Baseball’s Top 25 rankings following a 2-2 split in the preceding week. The good news is the team wasn’t hurt by the road series loss to then No. 17 Oklahoma State. The bad news is the losses stall the Longhorns from advancing up the poll.

Texas head coach David Pierce and company proved worthy of recognition after winning 16 of 18 games following a slow start. Several of the team’s scheduled opponents make the list as well.

Among SEC foes, the LSU Tigers check in at No. 1. The Vanderbilt Commodores and Arkansas Razorbacks join the Tigers in the Top 5. Texas lost narrowly to LSU and Arkansas away from Austin earlier this year.

Oklahoma State moves up to No. 16 after taking the series from Texas at home this weekend. It’s unclear how the series would have gone in Austin, but the Cowboys appear to be the more seasoned team for now. Texas Tech checks in at No. 22.

The Longhorns will look to climb up the rankings with a game against Air Force before a series with Kansas State at home.

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WATCH: Garret Guillemette launches home run against Oklahoma State

Guillemette is emerging as a home run threat for Texas.

Texas catcher Garret Guillemette is making an impact for the his ball club this season. He’s doing so with a powerful swing. Continue reading “WATCH: Garret Guillemette launches home run against Oklahoma State”

Texas Baseball: Giving due credit to head coach David Pierce

David Pierce joins Rodney Terry in exceeding expectations this season.

Texas baseball continued its run of excellence on Friday. The No. 21 Texas Longhorns (20-7) defeated the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-7) in an impressive 5-3 victory. Texas might not be ranked No. 21 for long.

An early offensive explosion saw the Longhorns build a 5-1 lead with powerful extra base hits. It’s the style of play that makes head coach David Pierce’s team so fun to watch.

We were critical of the ball club and its coach earlier in the season. Now they are due for praise. The team has won 16 in a row. The last five have come against Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, all of which have high postseason aspirations.

This team replaced first baseman Ivan Melendez and six other bats in its lineup. Starting pitcher Lucas Gordon was elevated to Pete Hansen’s role as staff ace. Pitchers who were unable to perform in big game roles last season have made this team a winner and more reliable than last season’s top heavy squad.

We challenged the team to play better baseball. Over the last 16 games, David Pierce is more than passing every test.

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Texas faces No. 1 LSU in a Tuesday blue blood battle

Labarron Johnson Jr and LSU pitcher Thatcher Hurd pitch in the blue blood battle.

There’s a big college baseball game on tonight. The Texas Longhorns face the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers on the Longhorn Network.

The growing popularity of the sport at the college level could draw a decent audience relative to the channel’s limited drawing power. Even as a mid-week game, it poses a significant opportunity for the Longhorns to face top competition from a nonconference foe.

Saturday’s pitching opponent is hittable if his last outing is any indication. Right-handed LSU pitcher Thatcher Hurd last allowed four runs in two innings against Southern. Whether that means he’s due a better outing or could have another tough night is still to be seen on Tuesday night.

Labarron Johnson Jr’s heater is set to be on display in the game. Johnson has thrown five quality innings, allowing one run while striking out eight batters. Texas would appear to have the pitching advantage. David Pierce and company will need to capitalize.

Texas is 28-13-1 all time against LSU.

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SEC controls D1 Baseball Top 25 Rankings in latest rankings

SEC leads all conferences with nine teams in D1Baseball latest top 25 rankings.

SEC Baseball is still at the top of the college baseball mountain. 

After another eventful weekend of games, D1Baseball released their latest top 25 rankings, and the SEC has six teams in the top ten and nine overall in the top 25, leading all conferences. The ACC is right behind the SEC with eight teams but only No. 6 Wake Forest rest in the top ten. Pac-12 has two teams in the top 25, one being No. 2 Stanford.

Arkansas moved up one spot to No. 8. If it wasn’t for a series-ending loss to Eastern Illinois, the Diamond Hogs could have jumped a couple more spots.

The other SEC teams ahead of the Diamond Hogs are No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Florida, No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 3 Tennessee, and No. 1 LSU. LSU took a surprising loss to Iowa in the Round Rock Classic but remained at the top spot.

No. 15 Texas A&M fell ten spots after a rough weekend, losing three straight and weekend series to Portland. No. 20 Alabama and No. 23 South Carolina round out the top 25 for the SEC.

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We won’t know how good Texas baseball is until it can play defense

Texas baseball is capable of better play.

Texas’ baseball team epitomized the phrase “off the rails” on Sunday. The team couldn’t field the baseball. Continue reading “We won’t know how good Texas baseball is until it can play defense”

Texas baseball comes in at No. 24 in USA Today Sports Coaches Poll

College baseball season is right around the corner.

College baseball season is just around the corner as teams around the nation are picking up spring practice.

The preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was announced this week ahead of the new year. Texas comes in at No. 24 following back-to-back College World Series appearances under head coach David Pierce.

The Longhorns are set to break in a roster full of new faces following the departure of the majority of last season’s production. Starting pitcher Lucas Gordon and outfielder Dylan Campbell return hoping to lead Texas to another Omaha run.

Texas has a few newcomers coming to help make an immediate impact. Freshman duo Jalin Flores and Jared Thomas are in line to start on the corners. In addition, TCU transfer Porter Brown is a former All-Big 12 player who figures to play a role in the outfield rotation.

Texas opens the 2023 campaign against some of the SEC’s best in Arlington for the State Farm College Showdown. Here is a full breakdown of Texas’ 2023 baseball schedule.

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D1 baseball ranks Texas’ freshman class No. 4 in NCAA

Texas has the No. 4 freshman baseball class according to D1 baseball.

Texas is going to look a lot different on the diamond this season. Several Longhorns exhausted eligibility or departed for the MLB.

Despite the losses, David Pierce brings in a strong freshman class. According to D1 baseball, it is the fourth-best freshman class in the nation. They could need the group badly.

The veteran laden 2022 squad sent multiple players to the MLB Draft. The Longhorns will be without ace pitcher Pete Hansen after carrying the pitching staff last year. Golden Spikes Award winner Ivan Melendez is gone after a historic season on the Forty Acres.

Skyler Messinger, Murphy Stehly, Trey Faltine, Douglas Hodo and Silas Ardoin add to the list of potential big-time departing contributors.

Many still believe the Longhorns will be in the mix for contention in 2023. Multiple outlets rank the blue blood baseball program in their early Preseason Top 25 rankings. One poll saw Texas as high as No. 18.

David Pierce will look to maximize contribution from younger players in 2023.

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