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Seminoles are at No. 5 while the Gators move to No. 9 in the latest college baseball poll.
As expected, the first two weeks of college baseball were full of upsets and incredible action. Opening weekend saw electric pitching performances and amazing walk-offs, like Louisville over Texas. The second weekend showcased much of the same with the likes of Oklahoma beating BOTH Oregon State and Virginia.
Our Just Baseball analysts got together for the first biweekly update of our college baseball top 25 rankings.
A New Number One – Tennessee Volunteers
There was a chance Texas A&M may repeat as the number one team in the country in our first update, but many factors led to the Tennesse Volunteers becoming the new number one team.
Let’s start with why Texas A&M fell one spot. Although the Aggies are 6-1, they did hit some bumps in the road. Over the last two weeks, the Aggies played Elon and Cal Poly. While they had their way with Elon outsourcing them 32-14 in three games, they were tested by Cal Poly.
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The Mustangs played up to the Aggies level and played them pretty tough in all three games. The most significant run differential was in game one, where the Aggies beat them 6-1. Outside of that, the Aggies won game two 4-3 and eventually lost the third game 3-2 on Sunday.
Cal Poly’s pitching held what is supposed to be a powerful Texas A&M lineup at bay.
The Aggies only had six hits on Saturday and five hits on Sunday. The pitching staff kept them in the game, but the lineup couldn’t capitalize. Starter Myles Patton matched his career-high with seven innings while striking out eight.
This snapped the Aggies’ 35-game win streak against non-conference opponents. This team is still super talented, and this is likely just a blip on the radar. They’ll look to right the ship against Texas State on Tuesday.
Regarding Tennessee, it was hard not to put the defending champs into the number one spot. Sure, they only played Hofstra, UNC-Asheville, and Samford, but they outscored all three teams 98 to 11. Yes… you read that right, 98 to 11.
This team is just so well built from top to bottom. There were some question marks surrounding the rotation entering the season, but Liam Doyle has emerged as a legit Friday night ace, and Marcus Phillips has been a solid number two.
Dean Curley, Gavin Kilen, Andrew Fischer, Reese Chapman, and Hunter Ensley have also provided a ton of thump for this lineup. It’s hard to ignore their numbers on both sides of the ball.
Biggest Riser
#16 Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama may have been the hottest team over the last two weeks. The Crimson Tide jump from #24 to #16 on our top 25. Rob Vaughn, in his second season as head coach, has his squad running on all cylinders.
Alabama is 8-0 with huge wins over Coastal Carolina and NC State. They also had an epic comeback against Ohio State on Sunday, where they were down 10-0 and eventually won 12-10. This is the kind of start you want in non-conference play.
Sophomore and potential top pick for the 2026 MLB Draft Justin Lebron has been red hot over these last few games, slashing .370/.525/.931 with four home runs and 16 RBI. They’ve gotten a ton of production from Will Hodo, who hit the walk-off against Ohio State, and Bryce Fowler as well.
The pitching staff has been dominant as well. Alabama has definitely earned every bit of their rise in the top 25 and could be a team to watch in the SEC.
Biggest Faller
#19 Duke Blue Devils
This one was tough, but Duke dropped nine spots from #10 to #19. It’s not that we don’t think this is a talented team, it’s just they’ve gotten off to a slow start.
Duke started the season by losing a series to a sneaky good Big 12 team, the Cincinnati Bearcats. In one of those losses, they lost 19-5. In the one game they won, it took them 12 innings to finally get the victory.
They followed that Cincinnati series with a terrible loss to Cornell on Friday night, although they took the next two in easy fashioned winning 16-2 and 18-1.
A lot of the early struggles can be attributed to the offense’s struggles to get going. Ben Miller is hitting .172, and AJ Gracia is hitting .227 to start the year. These two bats are needed to help the Blue Devils get going.
Despite this, they’ve started to find their footing a bit offensively. As mentioned, they showed up in a big way in Cornell in the last two games and you can see why this team is super talented.
Who’s In?
#20 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
UC Santa Barbara’s ascent into the top 25 baseball rankings is primarily attributed to the exceptional performances of junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner and sophomore right-hander Jackson Flora.
Bremner, an All-American and Preseason First-Team honoree, has been his most dominant on the mound but recently struck out six batters over three innings against Seattle. Flora has also been electric, dominating both Campell and San Diego State.
Their combined efforts have propelled the Gauchos to a strong start, solidifying their position among the nation’s elite teams.
#21 Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels have climbed into the top 25 baseball rankings after a strong showing at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. Standout performances from key players such as Hunter Elliott and Luke Hill have propelled them.
Redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Hunter Elliott has been exceptional on the mound, tying his career-high with 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings in a recent 8-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky.
Junior infielder Luke Hill has been a force at the plate, boasting a .429 batting average through the early season, including a 3-for-3 performance with two home runs and five RBIs against No. 15 Clemson.
Ole Miss was highly overlooked this preseason, even by us, and now seems to be one of the stronger teams in the SEC.
#22 Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals have made a strong impression early in the 2025 baseball season. Like Ole Miss, they also had a very strong Shriners Children’s College Showdown, beating a ranked Arizona team 13-1 and beating a ranked Texas team 4-3.
Standout performances have led them from key players like Patrick Forbes and Zion Rose. Junior right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes has been pivotal on the mound, delivering consistent performances that anchor the Cardinals’ rotation.
Sophomore outfielder and catcher Zion Rose has been equally impactful offensively. In the same game against Texas, Rose delivered a clutch RBI single in the 10th inning, tying the game and setting the stage for a walk-off victory.
Head Coach Dan McDonnell said all preseason that he firmly believed in this team and that they’d be a sleeper. He is very much looking like he’s right.
#25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have surged into the top 25 baseball rankings, bolstered by exceptional performances from key players.
Sophomore center fielder Drew Burress, a consensus first-team All-American and the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year, has continued his offensive prowess into the 2025 season.
In a recent game against Georgia Southern, Burress showcased his power with a home run to the left center, which contributed to the team’s 5-3 victory.
On the mound, senior right-handed pitcher Mason Patel has been a cornerstone of the Yellow Jackets’ bullpen. In the same matchup against Georgia Southern, Patel delivered 5.1 perfect innings in relief, retiring 16 straight batters.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Tate McKee has been instrumental in Georgia Tech’s strong start to the 2025 baseball season and has solidified himself as their ace. These Yellow Jackets shouldn’t be slept on at all.
Who’s Out?
#18 Arizona Wildcats
Week one was rough for the Wildcats. You can read more about it in our week one recap, but they went to Arlington, Texas, for the Shriners Children’s College Showdown and left without a win, losing to unranked Louisville, Ole Miss, and ranked Clemson at the time.
Sure, Louisville and Ole Miss are ranked now, and you could argue that the Wildcats should still be in the top 25, but outside of a 2-1 loss to Ole Miss they were crushed by all of their opponents. Clemson beat them 15 to 6, and Louisville beat them 13 to 1.
The biggest concern for the Wildcats was the lack of offense. With Brendan Summerhill and Mason White in the lineup, you expected much more from this team.
The bullpen also really struggled for them in this one. Against Louisville, Smith Bailey went four scoreless innings only to have the bullpen come in and give up eight earned runs in the fifth.
Luckily for the Wildcats, they’ve won four-straight with a midweek win against New Mexico and a sweep of San Diego this past weekend. Arizona could likely return to our top 25 in the next update.
#19 NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack handled their business in week one, easily taking down Fordham. But things have gone downhill as they’ve run into four straight losses. It started with a mid-week loss to Liberty, and then they ran into a buzzsaw in Jacksonville, Florida.
They came to Jacksonville for the Jax College Baseball Classic. They faced Ohio State, Alabama, and Coastal Carolina and didn’t come away with a single victory. It’s not the weekend you want if you are the Wolfpack.
On Friday, Ohio State got a quick 3-0 lead in the second thanks to a throwing error. They came back to tie it in the bottom of the third, but that would end the scoring for NC State, who would lose 8-3. On Saturday, they got blanked 4-0 by Alabama thanks to a stellar performance from Riley Quick and the Crimson Tide bullpen.
Sunday wasn’t much better as they dropped that game 10-3 to Coastal Carolina. The common theme in this article is that it’s early. But we will need to see a ton more from the Wolfpack, especially the lineup, if they want to return to the top 25.
#23 Oklahoma State Cowboys
Like the Arizona Wildcats, Oklahoma State struggled at the Shriners Children’s College Showdon in Arlington, Texas. They did get an excellent win over Lousiville, nearly ten-run ruling them, but had a tough 6-5 loss to Clemson, and their pitching struggled against Texas as they lost 14-8.
The Cowboys followed that tough weekend with a 4-2 loss against Texas State. The problem is not with the lineup, as they hit .322 over that span while hitting 27 extra-base hits and driving in 45.
The pitching staff hasn’t been awful, but it hasn’t been great. They posted a 4.19 ERA as a team, but their two main starters, Gabe Davis and Harrison Bodendorf, have ERAs over five. They did turn things around with a 19-4 win over a team they should beat in UT-Arlington on Sunday.
Again, it’s still early, and like the Wildcats, this team is very talented. There is a good chance we will see them back in the top 25 soon.
#25 Indiana Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are definitely the team I was most concerned with. They opened their college baseball season in Surprise, Arizona, as they played in the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic.
What seemed like it could be a relatively easy schedule turned into a weekend the Hoosiers likely wanted to forget. They suffered extremely tough losses, losing to UNLV 4-2, Xavier 8-6 in extras, and UNLV again 12-12 in extras. They also lost to ranked Oregon State 6-0.
While the Oregon State loss won’t hurt them much, those losses to unranked teams, especially the two extra-inning ones, sting.
Indiana struggled as they weren’t getting a ton of production from their top two players, Jasen Oliver and Devin Taylor. While Oliver hit a game-tying home run against Xavier, he was quiet the rest of the tournament.
Pitching has also been a big question mark for the Hoosiers. They lost some key arms last year to the draft. Their starters have been somewhat holding it down, especially Cole Gilley, but the bullpen has really failed to keep them in games.
On a positive note, Indiana headed to Cary, North Carolina, to play a tournament at the USA Baseball facility and have strung together two wins in a row, beating Fordham 15-2 and Harvard 14-4. Two 10-run rule games, regardless of whoever they are against, is a good sign moving forward.