After winning the series against Florida in Gainesville this past weekend, the Tennessee Volunteers earned the No. 1 slot in Monday’s college baseball Top 25 rankings from D1 Baseball. The series win over the Gators was Tennessee’s seventh straight series win this season.
After D1 Baseball’s rankings were published, Tennessee was also revealed to be the latest No. 1 according to USA Today Coaches Poll, Baseball America, and Perfect Game.
So, Tennessee is the No. 1 team in the nation. When was the last time the Vols held the top spot?
The 2022 season.
Before that?
Never.
More from RTI: Where Tennessee Baseball Stands In SEC Championship Race With Two Weeks Remaining
Tennessee began SEC play as the second-ranked team in the nation in 2022, kicking things off with a three-game sweep over South Carolina in Knoxville. It didn’t take long for Tennessee to prove themselves worthy of the top spot, though, sweeping No. 1 Ole Miss in three games in Oxford in the second conference series of the season. Tennessee won 12-1 on Friday, 10-3 on Saturday, and 4-3 on Sunday.
Tennessee earned the consensus one-seed after defeating the Rebels and carried that fight through the SEC with series wins over Vanderbilt (sweep), Missouri (sweep), Alabama, Florida (sweep), Auburn, Georgia, and Mississippi State (sweep).
The Vols’ 2022 roster carried that top ranking into the SEC Tournament, winning four games (Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky, Florida) en route to the SEC Tournament championship. Tennessee held its top spot in the nation until a loss to Notre Dame in the Super Regional ended the Vols’ season.
That leads us to today, May 6, as Tennessee gets a second chance at a run with the No. 1 ranking. The Vols are winners of their last seven series and will look to continue that push to the tournament with series against Vanderbilt and South Carolina to close the season.
The Vols might be swimming in uncharted waters when it comes to the frequency of No. 1 ranking, but the recency of Tennessee’s run in 2022 could help push the Vols into new territory.
For more on Tennessee baseball entering the final two weeks of the season, check out Rocky Top Insider’s notebook here.
