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College  | Story  | 4/11/2011

PG Top 25: Carolina's big leap

Kendall Rogers     

You can follow college baseball managing editor Kendall Rogers on Twitter @KendallRogersPG and can join the Perfect Game College Baseball Facebook page. Fans also can subscribe here to receive the college baseball ultimate ticket.

CHAT TRANSCRIPT: Kendall Rogers' weekly college baseball chat

PREMIUM: PG's college baseball weekly winners and losers


Vanderbilt has been the model of consistency this season, and it showed again last week why it's the favorite to win the national title at the end of the season. The Commodores had a perfect week that included a weekend series sweep over SEC foe Alabama. For that reason and more, the Commodores remain atop the Perfect Game Top 25 rankings.

Virginia, which took two of three on the road from Georgia Tech, remains No. 2 in the rankings, while South Carolina, which hosts Vanderbilt this weekend, is at No. 3 after a perfect week that included fantastic pitching on the road against Tennessee.

Florida comes in at No. 4 after a road series win over Mississippi State, while North Carolina climbed all the way from No. 13 to No. 5 following another great week that included a road series win over Florida State.

Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton, Texas, Fresno State and surprising Oregon State round out the top 10.

Florida State, Georgia Tech and Arizona State dropped to No's 11, 12 and 13 following bad weekends while Troy and Oklahoma State entered the top 20 at No's 19 and 20, respectively, after successful weekends.

LSU dropped out of the rankings after getting swept at Arkansas. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, entered the rankings at No. 25.

The conference breakdowns are as follows: Pac-10 6, SEC 5, SEC 4, Big 12 4 and Conference USA, MWC, Big West, Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun and WAC all with one representative.

The Perfect Game Top 25 is released each Monday during the season, and always will include an additional listing of 25 teams to watch and a live chat with college baseball managing editor Kendall Rogers.

1. Vanderbilt (30-3)
Previous ranking: 1, Weekly record: 4-0
The Commodores put together another fantastic week that included a midweek triumph over Middle Tennessee State and a weekend series sweep against red-hot Alabama.

2. Virginia (31-3)
Previous ranking: 2, Weekly record: 3-1
The Cavaliers had another solid week on the diamond. They defeated Radford in midweek action before hitting the road over the weekend and taking a pair of games from Georgia Tech.

3. South Carolina (26-5)
Previous ranking: 3, Weekly record: 4-0
The Gamecocks have gotten fantastic pitching this season and had another successful week that included a midweek win over South Carolina-Upstate and a weekend series win over Tennessee.

4. Florida (26-7)
Previous ranking: 4, Weekly record: 2-2
The Gators suffered a tough midweek setback to Central Florida to start the week before hitting the road and taking two of three from Mississippi State over the weekend.

5. North Carolina (29-5)
Previous ranking: 13, Weekly record: 3-1
The Tar Heels might be the most pleasant surprise in college baseball this season. The Heels defeated Winthrop in midweek action to begin the week before hitting the road and taking a series from Florida State.

6. Texas A&M (24-8)
Previous ranking: 9, Weekly record: 2-2
The Aggies certainly lost a midweek bout to Houston, but hit the road over the weekend and took two of three from a solid Texas Tech in Lubbock for the first time since 1997.

7. Cal State Fullerton (23-9)
Previous ranking: 10, Weekly record: 3-1
The Titans put together another solid week and finally are on a roll. They defeated Pepperdine in midweek action to begin the week before taking two of three from Big West rival UC Irvine over the weekend.

8. Texas (24-8)
Previous ranking: 11, Weekly record: 3-1
The Longhorns finally are starting to heat up somewhat at the plate. They had another solid week that included a midweek win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a weekend series win over Baylor.

9. Fresno State (22-5)
Previous ranking: 8, Weekly record: 2-2
The Bulldogs had their toughest road series of the year against surprising San Jose State and went 2-2 in the series. Not a great weekend, but certainly not a complete failure, either.

10. Oregon State (24-7)
Previous ranking: 15, Weekly record: 4-0
The Beavers couldn't have had a more impressive week. They defeated Portland in midweek action before sweeping red-hot Arizona State at home over the weekend.

11. Florida State (23-9)
Previous ranking: 6, Weekly record: 2-2
The Seminoles have another huge week coming up, but are coming off a so-so week. They defeated Valdosta State to begin the week before losing two of three at home to North Carolina.

12. Georgia Tech (24-9)
Previous ranking: 5, Weekly record: 1-3
The Yellow Jackets dropped a midweek bout to Kennesaw State to begin the week before returning home and losing two of three to red-hot Virginia in a key ACC series.

13. Arizona State (22-9)
Previous ranking: 7 , Weekly record: 1-3
The Sun Devils started the week on the right foot with a midweek win over Arizona, but stumbled over the weekend with an 0-3 record vs. Oregon State in a crucial Pac-10 series.

14. TCU (22-10)
Previous ranking: 16, Weekly record: 4-1
The Horned Frogs swept a pair of midweek games against Texas-Pan American before staying at home and taking two of three from New Mexico in Mountain West action.

15. Oklahoma (24-8)
Previous ranking: 12, Weekly record: 2-2
The Sooners began the week with a solid midweek win over rival Oklahoma State before hitting the road and dropping a tough series to Kansas State, which hadn't yet won a Big 12 series.

16. Stanford (15-9)
Previous ranking: 14, Weekly record: 2-2
The Cardinal took a small step back last week. They defeated San Jose State in midweek action before hitting the road and finding a way to drop two of three to USC.

17. Arizona (22-11)
Previous ranking: 21, Weekly record: 2-2
The Wildcats dropped a tough contest to rival Arizona State to begin the week before making up for the loss over the weekend with a solid series win over California.

18. California (20-9)
Previous ranking: 15, Weekly record: 1-3
The Golden Bears dropped a midweek bout to Pacific before hitting the road and losing two of three to Arizona. But hey, at least the Golden Bears get to keep their program.

19. Troy (25-6)
Previous ranking: 22, Weekly record: 3-1
The Trojans had yet another solid week on the diamond. They defeated Auburn in midweek action before taking two of three from Florida International in a crucial Sun Belt series.

20. Oklahoma State (24-8)
Previous ranking: 23, Weekly record: 3-1
The Cowboys dropped a tough midweek bout to rival Oklahoma to begin the week before sweeping Missouri at home with strong pitching again leading the way.

21. Stetson (25-7)
Previous ranking: 25, Weekly record: 3-0
The Hatters didn't have a midweek bout last week but did finish the weekend with a 3-0 record as they earned a series sweep over Kennesaw State.

22. Southern Mississippi (23-8)
Previous ranking: 19, Weekly record: 1-3
It's safe to say the Golden Eagles had a week to forget. They dropped a tough midweek bout to Mississippi State before hitting the road and losing two of three to Memphis.

23. Alabama (21-13)
Previous ranking: 20, Weekly record: 0-4
The Crimson Tide needs to regroup from what was a dismal week on the diamond. They dropped a midweek bout to Samford before hitting the road and getting swept by top-ranked Vanderbilt.

24. UCLA (16-11)
Previous ranking: 24, Weekly record: 2-2
The Bruins dropped a midweek bout to UC Riverside before hitting the road and taking two of three from Washington State in Pac-10 play. The Bruins, though, still need to put entire weeks together.

25. Arkansas (23-8)
Previous ranking: NR, Weekly record: 4-0
The Razorbacks easily had their most impressive week of the season. They defeated Texas State in midweek action before winning their first SEC series with a home sweep over LSU.

Kendall Rogers is the managing editor of college baseball for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org