Auburn softball remains outside of USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll after Kentucky series

The Tigers continue to receive votes in the USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll as the SEC schedule begins to wind down.

Auburn softball may have dropped its most recent series to Kentucky, but they found a way to win the final game of the series thanks to a great effort in the circle by [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] and several heads-up scoring opportunities.

As the SEC schedule begins its final turn, Auburn remains outside of the top 25 rankings in this week’s USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll.

Ten SEC teams make up this week’s top 25 from USA TODAY and NFCA, with South Carolina joining Auburn in the receiving votes category. Ole Miss is the lone SEC squad that did not receive top-25 consideration this week.

Tennessee is the SEC’s highest-represented club this week. The Lady Vols won two of three games over LSU last weekend, which gives them a one-spot bump to No. 3 in this week’s poll. Coincidentally, the series loss pushed LSU up to No. 6. Texas A&M rounds out the SEC in the top 10 by earning a No. 10 ranking after it swept Ole Miss over the weekend.

Georgia and Florida each dropped to No. 11 and No. 12 respectively. Missouri dropped one place to No. 14 while Arkansas jumped a place to No. 15 after winning the series at Alabama. As for the Crimson Tide, they fall three spots to No. 17.

Mississippi State checks in at No. 18 after taking a week off of SEC play, and Kentucky jumps to No. 21 after its series win at Auburn.

Here is a look at this week’s USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Last Week
1	Texas	38-6	791	1
2	Oklahoma	42-4	772	2
3	Tennessee	34-8	720	4
4	Oklahoma State	39-8	666	6
5	Duke	39-6	652	3
6	LSU	35-10	592	7
7	Stanford	36-10	590	5
8	Washington	30-8	566	8
9	UCLA	27-9	554	12
10	Texas A&M	37-9	536	11
11	Georgia	36-11	516	9
12	Florida	37-10	466	10
13	Virginia Tech	35-9-1	403	15
14	Missouri	35-13	377	13
15	Arkansas	32-12	360	16
16	Florida State	36-10	294	18
17	Alabama	31-12	291	14
18	Mississippi State	30-13	240	17
19	Arizona	31-13-1	235	19
20	California	31-14	235	19
21	Kentucky	29-15	120	24
22	Clemson	31-15	117	21
23	Boston University	40-4	110	23
24	Oregon	26-16	100	22
25	Louisiana	33-15	74	25

Others Receiving Votes

Northwestern (25), South Carolina (21), Texas State (19), Virginia (9), Miami (6), Auburn (4), Grand Canyon (3), Baylor (2), Eastern Kentucky (1).

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Florida drops out of USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll in Week 9 update

After a few weekends of losing, the Florida Gators are no longer ranked inside the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll.

Florida’s free fall out of the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll continued last week as the Gators were mercy-ruled by Florida State (again) and beaten twice at home by South Carolina.

Despite snapping a six-game losing streak on Sunday, Florida is officially outside of the top 25 after the Week 9 update. The Gators did receive some top-25 votes, but 22 poll points are only good for the unofficial No. 30 spot in the country.

Looking at the rest of the top 25, the top 10 went through some major changes but is ultimately made up of nine of the same teams. Texas A&M’s big sweep over Vanderbilt bumped the Aggies into the No. 1 spot and knocked the Commodores down to No. 12.

Arkansas still earned seven first-place votes and is as strong a No. 2 as they come. No. 3 Tennessee and No. 5 Kentucky earned first-place votes as well. No. 4 Oregon State did not.

Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia also made the list at Nos. 14, 21 and 23, respectively.

Here is a full look at the Week 9 update.

Rank	Team	Overall	Points (1st)	Previous Rank	Change
1	Texas A&M	32-4	764 (22)	3	–
2	Arkansas	30-5	738 (7)	1	–
3	Tennessee	30-6	703 (1)	4	–
4	Oregon State	29-5	656	5	–
5	Kentucky	30-5	628 (1)	8	–
6	Clemson	59-6	627	2	–
7	Florida State	30-5	577	9	+3
8	Duke	28-8	528	10	+8
8	Virginia	26-10	528	7	+3
10	East Carolina	27-8	505	11	+1
11	North Carolina	29-7	491	12	+2
12	Vanderbilt	26-10	432	6	-5
13	Wake Forest	24-11	369	8	-5
14	Alabama	24-12	307	17	+3
15	Louisiana	28-9	267	22	+7
16	UC Irvine	25-7	264	15	-1
17	Oklahoma State	25-11	258	14	-3
18	Oregon	25-10	235	9	-9
19	Dallas Baptist	26-8	184	NR	+8
20	Coastal Carolina	24-11	183	21	+1
21	South Carolina	25-11	172	23	+2
22	Virginia Tech	23-10	115	NR	+7
23	Georgia	27-9	93	NR	+3
24	West Virginia	22-13	81	NR	+12
25	Indiana State	27-7	77	NR	+7

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 Florida; No. 19 UCF; No. 21 Nebraska; No. 23 Mississippi State;

Others Receiving Votes

Arizona 64; Nebraska 40; Oklahoma 27; Mississippi State 23; Florida 22; North Carolina State 21; Lamar 19; Texas Tech 14; Northeastern 13; UC Santa Barbara 11; UCF 10; Campbell 10; Utah 9; Creighton 7; Georgetown 2; Georgia Tech 1;

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Auburn baseball fails to receive votes in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll following Kentucky series

The Tigers look to turn things around during the second half of SEC play.

Auburn baseball’s struggles continued last weekend as the Tigers suffered a sweep at the hands of the red-hot Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats, who boast an impressive 14-1 SEC record, won a tight game over Auburn in game one of the series before winning the final two games by a comfortable margin.

The series win moves Kentucky to the No. 5 spot in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, a three-spot increase from last week’s rankings. As for Auburn, they are out of poll consideration for the third week in a row.

The SEC is represented by eight programs, with four of the top five teams belonging to the conference. Texas A&M is the nation’s new No. 1 team after sweeping then-No. 6 Vanderbilt in College Station. The sweep drops Vanderbilt to No. 13 in this week’s poll. The Aggies jumped Arkansas for the No. 1 spot after the Razorbacks suffered a series loss to No. 14 Alabama over the weekend.

Tennessee moves one spot to No. 3 after sweeping LSU in Knoxville, and Alabama moves to No. 14 following its series win over No. 2 Arkansas. South Carolina and Georgia enter this week’s polls after successful weekends over Florida and Missouri respectively.

Auburn baseball looks to get back on track this weekend by facing Mississippi State on the road beginning Friday. The Bulldogs received 23 votes in this week’s poll.

Florida drops out of top 25 in final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Coaches Poll puts the Gators at a de facto No. 27 ranking at the end of the season.

The men’s college basketball season came to a close on Monday night with the UConn Huskies prevailing over the Purdue Boilermakers in the NCAA Tournament Finals, 75-60, for their second-straight title.

The Huskies got to the title game by beating the Southeastern Conference’s lone survivor, the Alabama Crimson Tide, in the Final Four on Saturday, 86-72. The Boilermakers got past the Cinderella NC State Wolfpack in the semis to make their championship appearance, 63-50.

The Florida Gators were unable to make it past the opening game, falling to the Colorado Buffaloes, 102-100, after making a deep run in the SEC Tournament. In the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll update, the Orange and Blue fell from No. 23 in the nation out of the top 25 to a de facto rank of No. 27 with 44 votes.

Around the Southeastern Conference, Alabama is the top-ranked team at No. 4, followed by the Tennessee Volunteers (No. 5), Auburn Tigers (No. 17), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 19) and South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 23). The Texas A&M Aggies also took home 13 final votes.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where did Auburn finish in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll of the season?

Auburn dropped its lone NCAA Tournament game to Yale last month. How did it affect the Tigers’ final ranking?

Auburn basketball ended its SEC Tournament championship season on a sour note last month by dropping its lone NCAA Tournament game to Yale, 78-76. The loss made a giant impact on where the Tigers finished in the final polls.

The final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released Tuesday, and the Tigers will cap the 2023-24 season by being ranked No. 17, which is a 10-spot drop from their standing in the final regular season poll.

The round-of-64 loss, plus their plummet in the final rankings, place Auburn in College Sports Wire’s loser column. Patrick Conn writes that the Tigers must re-load to reach its full potential next season.

One of the few upsets of the NCAA Tournament came at the expense of the Auburn Tigers. Bruce Pearl and company fell to Yale in the 4-13 first-round matchup in the East bracket. Yale won only their second win all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Their quick exit caused them to fall out of the top 10 down to No. 17.

Bruce Pearl and the staff will need to reload and get ready for another run in 2024-25.

Five SEC teams earned a spot in the final ranking. Alabama, the conference’s lone representative in the Final Four, ends the season at No. 4 after its impeccable run. Tennessee is one place behind Alabama at No. 5, with Kentucky and South Carolina finishing at No. 19 and No. 23 respectively.

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

Tennessee ranked top five in final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Tennessee basketball is ranked top five in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Tennessee (27-9, 14-4 SEC) is ranked top five to conclude the 2023-24 basketball season.

The Vols are ranked No. 5 in the final 2023-24 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Tennessee won the 2024 Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for a second time in program history.

The Vols recorded NCAA Tournament wins against Saint Peter’s, Texas and Creighton before being eliminated by eventual national runner-up Purdue. UConn defeated the Boilermakers in the national championship game.

The 2023-24 campaign was the ninth season for the Vols under head coach Rick Barnes.

PHOTOS: A look at Rick Barnes through the years

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.

Florida baseball plummets in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after sweep at Mizzou

Florida got swept this weekend and dropped in the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll, but the Gators are still ranked inside the top 25.

Following a weekend sweep on the road against Missouri, Florida plummeted down the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll to No. 18 overall.

Everything that was keeping Florida in the top 10 fell apart against Missouri. Florida couldn’t hit when it got good starting pitching, and Jac Caglianone delivered his worst start of the season after being the rock of this team through the first half of the year.

The teamwide slump at the plate seemingly came to an end on Sunday, but a busy week with Florida State and South Carolina on the schedule will test the Orange and Blue. Another weekend series loss could push the Gators out of the top 25.

The Gators aren’t the only SEC team struggling right now. Georgia, LSU and South Carolina all dropped out of the top 25 this week. Eight teams from the conference still check in with a number beside their names, though, with Mississippi State moving back in.

Here is a full look at the Week 8 update.

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

Schools Dropped Out

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

Others 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;

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida baseball drops in Week 7 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Florida’s weekend of comebacks against Mississippi state wasn’t enough to keep the Gators in the No. 6 spot, but they did stay inside the top 10.

A pair of comeback wins at home against Mississippi State wasn’t enough to convince the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll voters that the Florida Gators are deserving of a top-five spot.

In the week 7 update, Florida fell three spots from No. 6 to No. 9 in the country. A 16-11 record is by far the worst in the top 10. Wake Forest is the only other team with double-digit losses inside the top 25.

What’s keeping Florida inside the top 10 is a perfect series weekend against SEC opponents. Texas A&M is ranked No. 3 overall, LSU is ranked No. 18 and Mississippi State earned the most poll votes without cracking the top 25.

The Gators have one of the toughest remaining schedules in the country. Every series left on the schedule except next week’s road trip to Missouri is against a ranked opponent. Arkansas is ranked No. 1, Tennessee is No. 4, Vanderbilt is No. 6, Kentucky is No. 16, South Carolina is No. 19 and Georgia is No. 24.

Here is a full look at the Week 7 update.

Rank	Team	Overall	Points (1st)	Previous Rank	Change
1	Arkansas	23-3	775 (31)	1	—
2	Clemson	24-3	726	3	+1
3	Texas A&M	25-3	711	4	+1
4	Tennessee	24-5	659	5	+1
5	Oregon State	21-4	619	2	-3
6	Vanderbilt	23-6	588	9	+3
7	North Carolina	25-4	540	11	+4
8	Dallas Baptist	23-4	533	10	+2
9	Florida	16-11	515	6	-3
10	Duke	20-8	488	13	+3
11	Virginia	22-6	417	8	-3
12	Florida State	12-4	392	17	+5
13	East Carolina	20-6	373	16	+3
14	Alabama	21-7	359	18	+4
15	Virginia Tech	21-5	355	15	–
16	Kentucky	24-4	319	21	+5
17	UC Irvine	22-3	307	19	+2
18	LSU	20-9	229	7	-11
19	South Carolina	21-7	218	14	-5
20	NC State	18-7	167	22	+2
21	Coastal Carolina	20-7	152	20	-1
22	Wake Forest	17-10	151	12	-10
23	Nebraska	20-5	88	NR	+7
24	Georgia	22-6	82	24	–
25	TCU	20-7	61	25	–

Schools Dropped Out

No. 23 Mississippi State;

Others Receiving Votes

Mississippi State 52; UCF 45; Indiana State 36; Oregon 22; Texas 17; Texas Tech 11; Oklahoma State 10; Kansas State 10; Campbell 9; Lamar 8; UC Santa Barbara 6; Louisiana 6; Northeastern 5; Creighton 5; Miami (FL) 4; St. John’s 3; Louisiana Tech 2;

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Clemson jumps to No. 2 in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

NCAA Baseball: The Clemson Tigers moved up one spot to No. 2 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, April 1.

Clemson moved up one spot to No. 2 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, April 1. It’s the Tigers’ highest ranking in the coaches poll this season.

Coach Erik Bakich’s team is 24-3 overall and went 2-1 last week after taking two of three games from Miami in ACC play.

The Tigers also moved up one spot to No. 2 in the new D1Baseball Top 25 rankings, in addition to the team’s No. 2 ranking in Baseball America’s Top 25.

Arkansas (23-3) remained at No. 1 after sweeping reigning national champion LSU in a three-game series over the weekend.

With Clemson at No. 2, Texas A&M (No. 3, 25-3), Tennessee (No. 4, 24-5), and Oregon State (No. 5, 21-4) rounded out the top five.

Other ACC schools ranked in this week’s coaches poll are No. 7 North Carolina and No. 9 Duke. Virginia fell three spots from last week to land at No. 11. Florida State moved up five spots to No. 12, and Virginia Tech stayed at No. 15.

NC State (No. 20) and Wake Forest (No. 22) also placed in the top 25. Wake Forest fell 10 spots in the coaches poll after being swept by North Carolina in Winston-Salem.

Clemson is scheduled to face SC Upstate in midweek action Tuesday in Greenville. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT.