Ad Disclosure
SEC Baseball Week 4 Power Rankings: Vols, Tigers stay on top, but what’s wrong with A&M?
By Joe Cox
Published:
Barely a week out from SEC conference play, college baseball’s top conference is continuing to come into focus. That said, a surprising number of teams have had significant issues since last report. Texas A&M seems badly broken, Oklahoma got run-ruled, and Florida took a couple of ugly losses. Still, we’re operating in cautious “What does it all mean, Nigel?” mode for the time being. But with SEC play a single-digit number of days away, the time for patience is running out. Here’s where SEC baseball stands.
Our SEC Baseball Week 4 Power Rankings:
16. Missouri (6-6)
That 6.88 team ERA will keep the Tigers near the bottom of the SEC. A four game-split with Evansville doesn’t exactly make the Tigers look particularly imposing. Missouri also has the second-most errors in the SEC, so a bad pitching staff being supported by bad defense isn’t exactly a promising recipe.
15. Mississippi State (8-4)
This probably isn’t entirely fair to the Bulldogs. Three of their 4 losses came to ranked teams. But somebody has to be No. 15. State came into Wednesday sitting at 17 for 17 in stolen bases. Their pitching staff has gotten a ton of swings and misses (136 strikeouts in 91 innings). But State hasn’t been good in close games, and that hurts them here.
14. South Carolina (11-3)
Yes, Clemson is good. But getting South Carolina swept while scoring just 6 runs in a 3-game series is a bad sign. A .268 team batting average and just 14 homers seems to indicate a lack of punch that could get significant in SEC play if not addressed before then.
13. Auburn (11-2)
Auburn has taken its 2 losses by a total of just 3 runs. Freshman Chase Fralick is hitting .474, which should supplement Ike Irish’s production pretty effectively. The Tigers could work out fine, but it’s hard to tell yet just how high their ceiling actually is.
12. Kentucky (10-1)
Kentucky has 9 straight wins and is playing fine. The Wildcats do have a relatively low number of games, as weather has been a concern at the most northern school in the SEC. The Wildcats’ 1.80 ERA leads the SEC and if that holds, UK has the potential to be very, very good.
11. Ole Miss (11-1)
It took a walkoff over Murray State for Ole Miss’s active win streak to reach 10 in a row. The Rebels trailed 7-4 in the eighth inning, but tied it up on a Will Furness single in the ninth. Meanwhile, Hunter Elliott has 3 wins and a 0.00 ERA. Don’t sleep on the Rebels.
10. Vanderbilt (10-3)
The Commodores have had plenty of up and down in the young season. Surprisingly, Vandy is somehow 15th in the SEC in ERA with a 3.88 mark. With just 7 homers and the leagues’ 13th ranked batting average, Vandy needs to figure out what to hang its collective, metaphorical hat on in 2025… and preferably quickly.
9. Texas A&M (7-5)
Yes, so we weren’t overreacting… but maybe we are now. This is starting to feel like the 2021 Florida team that was a preseason favorite and quickly tumbled to mediocrity. A&M seems well on that way. The Aggies have the worst defense in the league, racking up a ton of errors. Add that to a (gulp) .245 team batting average and Aggie fans have the making of some genuine trouble.
8. Alabama (14-0)
Still undefeated? Yep. An 11-1 win over Jacksonville State follows a 3-1 win over Troy. Justin Lebron’s 8 homers and 32 RBIs point out his capability as a run producer. Alabama has the SEC’s top batting average (.351) and second-leading home run attack (29 bombs). If the pitching can hold up (and their 3.88 ERA is 15th in the SEC), they could be in Omaha.
7. Oklahoma (11-1)
OU has done plenty to like. But losing 11-0 to Dallas Baptist and getting 2 hits does give them a bit of a prestige drop. Kyson Witherspoon is 3-0 and has whiffed 28 batters in 18 innings. OU lacks power (just 11 homers), but ties for most stolen bases in the SEC (37).
6. Texas (10-1)
The Longhorns have now won 10 in a row since losing their opener to Louisville by a run. Texas has been solid all around with a .320 team batting average and a 2.98 ERA, which ranks third best in the SEC. Max Belyeu has been tremendous, hitting .468 with 6 doubles.
5. Florida (12-2)
All is not necessarily well with the Gators. A pair of ugly losses (13-8 to Miami, 13-3 to UCF) suggest some potential issues. Notably, those 13 runs per game allowed. Florida’s pitching numbers had been among the best in the league, but they took a significant slide. Could pitching depth undermine UF? Brody Donay and Bobby Boser have been a great 1-2 power punch, but UF has to work out the pitching issues.
4. Georgia (15-1)
Georgia’s hitting continues to impress. Zabronski got a mention last week, and he’s still at .452. But Slate Alford’s 23 RBIs ranks second in the SEC. Georgia is tied for second in the SEC in homers (29). The Bulldogs have won a dozen in a row and if the pitching holds up, this could be a team to watch for in Omaha.
3. Arkansas (12-1)
On the other hand, pitching has always been the story for Arkansas. Ohio State transfer Landon Beidelschies continues to shine with a 2-0 mark and a 1.29 ERA. Zach Root has 26 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings. If not for a 1-run loss to Kansas State, Arkansas would still have a perfect record.
2. LSU (13-1)
Some have jumped LSU to No. 1 and there’s reason for that optimism. On the hill, Chase Shores (3-0, 3.00 ERA), Kade Anderson (2-0, 2.30), and Anthony Eyanson (2-0, 3.18) have looked rock steady as starters. LSU’s infield has been the story on offense. Second baseman Daniel Dickenson has 23 RBIs to go with his .400 average. First baseman Jared Jones is hitting .413 and shortstop Steven Milam is hitting .373. LSU has enough weapons to be near the top all year long.
1.Tennessee (13-0)
Still undefeated, still our No. 1. What doesn’t UT have? Louisville transfer Gavin Kilen is hitting .488 with 7 homers. Freshman Levi Clark is hitting .500 with 5 homers. Starting pitchers Marcus Phillips and Liam Doyle each have sub-1.00 ERAs. To say that it’s impressive to see UT reconstruct a national champion into another national contender would be an understatement.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
