Where Tennessee baseball is ranked after series win over Kentucky
Tennessee baseball climbed in most rankings on Monday, after winning two of three games over the weekend against Kentucky at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols are now ranked as high as No. 9 nationally by Perfect Game, moving up two spots from last week.
The Vols are ranked No. 18 by D1 Baseball, up three spots from last week. They’re ranked No. 19 by USA Today, up one spot from last week, and up six spots in Baseball America’s Top 25, ranked No. 19. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper dropped Tennessee one spot to No. 29.
On Friday night Tennessee started the Kentucky series with a 10-6 win. The Vols won 10-7 on Saturday before being shutout in a 10-0 loss Sunday afternoon in Knoxville.
Tennessee (35-17, 14-13 SEC) hosts Belmont on Tuesday (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network+) and goes to South Carolina (37-14, 15-11) this weekend in the three-game series of the regular season.
The Vols and Gamecocks start at 7 p.m. ET Thursday on SEC Network+ and 7 p.m. ET again on Friday on SEC Network+. The regular-season finale on Saturday is a 2 p.m. ET start on SEC Network.
The SEC Tournament will be held May 23-28 at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Ala. Tennessee is currently fourth in the SEC standings, one game behind Kentucky and 1.5 games behind South Carolina. Florida and Vanderbilt are tied atop the SEC East with 17-9 records.
Tennessee stayed at No. 23 in the RPI after the loss to Kentucky on Sunday. The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 in RPI. South Carolina is up to No. 3 in the RPI, up one spot from last week. The Gamecocks are coming off a series loss at Arkansas, losing two of three in Fayetteville against the Razorbacks.
Kentucky swept South Carolina in Lexington a week ago. The Gamecocks also lost two of three at home against Auburn April 28-30 in Columbia, a week after sweeping Florida at home.
D1Baseball last week had Tennessee projected as a No. 2 seed in the Coastal Carolina regional, with North Carolina State as the No. 3 seed and Wofford as the No. 4. Baseball America had the Vols as a No. 2 seed in the Indiana State regional, with Notre Dame as the No. 3 seed and Central Michigan as the No. 4.
Coastal Carolina was the No. 12 national seed in the D1Baseball NCAA Tournament projection last week. Indiana State was the No. 15 overall seeds. The top 16 seeds in the 64-team field host regional four-team tournaments.
Tennessee in the weekly polls (May 15)
Perfect Game – No. 9 (+2)
D1 Baseball – No. 18 (+5)
USA Today – No. 19 (+1)
Baseball America – 19 (+6)
NCBWA – No. 19 (-3)
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper – No. 29 (-1)
Source: On3.com
