The Tennessee baseball team lost their first series of the season this last weekend at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats. While Tennessee (42-6) was able to win the final game of the series on Saturday, Kentucky did take the first two games, thus handing Tennessee its first series loss.
Taking a look at the college baseball polls around the country and it’s clear to see that one publication was somewhat troubled by Tennessee’s weekend. However, on the other hand, other voters seem as though they still believe in the Vols’ track record and future projections.
Here’s a look at some of the most well-known college baseball Top 25 rankings.
Top 25 Spots for Tennessee Baseball – Monday, May 9
- D1 Baseball – No. 1 – Prev: No. 1
- Baseball America – No. 2 – Prev: No. 1
- Perfect Game – No. 1 – Prev: No. 1
- USA Today Coaches Poll – No. 1 – Prev: No. 1
- Collegiate Baseball – No. 2 – Prev: No. 1
- NCBWA – No.2 – Prev: No. 1
See Also From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Repeats As SEC East Champions
When viewers turn on Tennessee’s game against Bellarmine this Tuesday on the SEC Network, audiences will still see Tennessee as the No. 1 team on the broadcast despite one No. 2 ranking. That is because the television broadcast uses the D1 Baseball Top 25 rankings.
Unlike college football or college basketball, the ranking systems aren’t always nice and neat. Instead, in the college baseball world, there are a small number of polls that are distributed from different organizations and publications. The most commonly used ranking system is D1 Baseball, with Baseball America arguably the second-most popular ranking.
In Baseball America’s ranking, the Oregon State Beavers are the new top team in the nation after an impressive week.
“Oregon State climbs to No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 after sweeping in-state rival Oregon and extending its lead in the Pac-12 standings,” Baseball America’s ranking stated. “The Beavers beat the Ducks four times last week and now hold a three-game lead in the Pac-12 standings. Oregon State is the fifth team to rank No. 1 this season and is atop the Baseball America Top 25 for the first time since its 2018 national championship.”
While in Lexington this weekend, Tennessee lost to Kentucky by a score of 3-2 in a 13-inning marathon. The Vols and Wildcats couldn’t complete their Friday game due to weather troubles, which resulted in a Kentucky win during the competition of the game on Saturday by a score of 5-2. With Tennessee on the verge of getting swept by a rival, the Vols finally woke up and won their final Saturday game by a score of 7-2 (7 innings due to Friday game completion back-to-back).
Tennessee has eight games remaining before the end of the regular season: two individual matchups and two SEC series. The Vols will first take on Bellarmine this Tuesday before opening up an SEC series with Georgia this weekend in Knoxville (Th, Fri, Sat.). Tennessee will then follow that up with a midweek game on Tuesday against Belmont before closing out the regular season with a series against Mississippi State in Starkville (Th, Fri, Sat.).
