College Top 25: April 1

Vincent Cervino

Craig Cozart

With another great week of college baseball behind us, we are now basically at the halfway point of the season. Things calmed down a bit this week but there is one theme becoming very evident and that is that in the nation’s elite conferences no one is safe if they have a down weekend. Another trend that is playing out is that home field advantage is proving to be a real thing and if the visitors can prevent getting swept it could be considered a good series. There were some big movers in both directions this week and here are the highlights.

There was a little bit of change in the Top-5 but not at the top as the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (23-3) continue to flex their pitching muscle with a perfect (4-0) week. They have also opened a 2-game lead in the SEC West as they sit (8-1) in league play. Clemson (24-3) holds onto the No. 2 spot after going down to Miami and winning a tough road series. The Tigers by the way, have the most Q1 wins (15) of any club in the country. The Texas A&M Aggies (25-3) slide into the No. 3 spot after a (4-0) week and are now tied for the most wins in Division 1. Landing at No. 4, the Oregon State Beavers (21-4) lost their first series of the year in a weather shortened two game set at USC. Tennessee (24-5) had a solid (3-1) week and the Vols now find themselves at No. 5 in the poll as they slugged their way to a series win against Georgia and threw a shutout in Game 3 yesterday.

The No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels (25-4) are one of the hottest teams in the country and achieve their highest ranking of the season after sweeping Wake Forest on the road. Kentucky (24-4) jumps to No. 12 this week and they have opened a 2-game lead in the SEC East with a (8-1) conference record. The LSU Tigers (20-9) find themselves outside the Top-15 at No. 16 after getting swept on the weekend and sit in 6th place in the SEC West with a dangerous (2-7) record in league play. Wake Forest (17-10) plummets to No. 24 after getting swept at home and are now sitting 6th in the ACC Atlantic division with a (4-8) record and only have (2) Q1 wins all season.

We have four teams in the poll that were unranked last week and two of them are making their season debut. Indiana State (21-5) jumps in at No. 17 having won 8 of their last 10 and have put together a solid resume to the halfway point of the season. UCF (18-7) continue to play timely baseball and won a solid series at home against Texas Tech last weekend and come in at No. 20 this week. The No. 21 NC State Wolfpack (18-7) is only a half game out of the lead of the ACC Atlantic division after sweeping Notre Dame in dramatic fashion. They also have the second most Q1 wins (9) of any team nationally. Rounding out the Top-25, the Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-5) are on a 10-game win streak and are off to a perfect (3-0) in Big 10 play.

Rank	Team		Prev. Rank	Weekly Rec.	Overall Rec.
1		Arkansas	1	(4-0)	(23-3)
2		Clemson	2	(2-1)	(24-3)
3		Texas A&M	5	(4-0)	(25-3)
4		Oregon State	3	(0-2)	(21-4)
5		Tennessee	6	(3-1)	(24-5)
6		Florida	4	(2-2)	(16-11)
7		Dallas Baptist	7	(4-0)	(24-3)
8		Vanderbilt	8	(4-0)	(23-6)
9		Duke	11	(3-1)	(20-8)
10		North Carolina	14	(4-0)	(25-4)
11		Florida State	12	(3-1)	(22-4)
12		Kentucky	15	(4-0)	(24-4)
13		Virginia	10	(2-2)	(22-6)
14		Virginia Tech	17	(3-1)	(21-5)
15		Alabama	16	(3-1)	(21-7)
16		LSU	9	(1-3)	(20-9)
17		Indiana State	NR	(4-0)	(21-5)
18		East Carolina	19	(4-0)	(20-6)
19		UC Irvine	20	(4-0)	(22-3)
20		UCF	NR	(3-1)	(18-7)
21		NC State	NR	(3-0)	(18-7)
22		Coastal Carolina	22	(2-1)	(20-7)
23		South Carolina	18	(2-2)	(21-7)
24		Wake Forest	13	(1-3)	(17-10)
25		Nebraska	NR	(3-0)	(20-5)