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It was an eventful week in SEC softball as last week’s top-2 teams, Texas and Oklahoma, both dropped their respective weekend series.
With the Longhorns and Sooners faltering, Texas A&M nabbed the top spot in this week’s SDS SEC softball power rankings. The Aggies have won 14 games in a row and look like they may be a dominant force in this year’s Women’s College World Series.
As it did last week, this story will go through all 15 SEC softball teams entering this weekend.
SEC softball power rankings
Here’s a look at the latest SEC softball power rankings entering the weekend of April 19:
Bringing up the rear
15. Missouri (22-26, 3-14 SEC)
Runs have been hard to come by for Mizzou all season, and that hasn’t changed over the past week. The Tigers dropped a series last weekend to Mississippi State, in which they were out-scored by 11 runs over the 3-game set. Mizzou is the clear last-place team in the SEC at this point in the season.
14. Kentucky (27-17, 6-9 SEC)
Kentucky got the week off from SEC play and took full advantage, sweeping Boston University in a double-header before beating Western Kentucky in a mid-week showdown. Kentucky is 30th in RPI heading into the weekend, but I still have the Wildcats in this bottom tier for now.
13. Georgia (27-16, 5-13 SEC)
Georgia has been struggling lately, and things don’t appear to be getting better — the Bulldogs let up 20 runs at home to Ole Miss on Thursday night. Georgia is 14th in the SEC in ERA this season, so it’s been an issue all year. If the Bulldogs are going to make any sort of noise in the postseason, that’s something they’ll need to get figured out in a hurry.
12. Auburn (27-18, 4-15 SEC)
Auburn picked up a huge series win last weekend as it took 2-out-3 from a ranked Georgia team. That result moves Auburn ahead of the Bulldogs for this week despite a worse overall conference record. Auburn has now won back-to-back SEC series, but that streak will be tested against a red-hot Tennessee team.
Middle of the pack
11. Ole Miss (32-11, 8-8 SEC)
Ole Miss dropped a competitive series to Florida last weekend, so it’s tough to move the Rebels any higher than this. But this is a dangerous team with one of the best power hitters in the country in Lexie Brady (.849 slugging percentage) at the center of a strong lineup.
10. Mississippi State (33-11, 9-6 SEC)
A sweep would have been nice, but Mississippi State did win the series against Missouri this weekend. Things get a lot tougher this weekend, though, as the Bulldogs make the trip to Oklahoma to face the Sooners in a 3-game set.
9. South Carolina (32-11, 7-8 SEC)
It was a tough week for South Carolina. The Gamecocks lost a 3-game series to Arkansas and then fell in extra innings to rival Clemson. South Carolina is No. 3 in RPI, but Warren Nolan’s ELO rating is much lower on the Gamecocks — 17th. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle, but I have South Carolina at No. 9 in the SEC this week.
8. Alabama (31-16, 8-8 SEC)
It was an excellent week for Alabama as the Crimson Tide took 2-of-3 from Oklahoma in Tuscaloosa. This is somewhat of a rebuilding year for the Sooners, but they’ve still been one of the better teams in the country this year, so winning any series against Patty Gasso’s bunch is impressive. Alabama’s pitching was especially impressive as OU’s vaunted lineup managed just 2 runs over the final 15 innings of this series.
7. Florida (37-10, 9-7 SEC)
Florida earned a much-needed series victory against Ole Miss last weekend, but it’s not all good news. The big concern here is that Keagan Rothrock has not been herself for several weeks now. After missing time earlier this season due to an injury, she got tagged for 10 earned runs in 8 innings against Ole Miss. Rothrock also got shelled in a loss to Alabama on Thursday night. If Rothrock isn’t right, it’s hard to imagine Florida contending this season, so the Gators are sliding down a tier for now.
Upside to contend
6. Arkansas (32-9, 10-8 SEC)
The Razorbacks move up 1 spot and 1 tier this week. Arkansas picked up yet another SEC series win over South Carolina last weekend. They’ve now won series against Florida, Kentucky (sweep) and Tennessee over the last month. The résumé is becoming undeniable, even if their statistical profile lags a bit behind the other SEC contenders.
5. LSU (35-9, 8-8 SEC)
Here’s the bad news: LSU got swept last weekend. The not-so-bad news is that it happened in College Station, so there’s not too much shame in that result. Texas A&M has a real case as the best team in the country, particularly after it handled the Tigers this weekend. It doesn’t get much easier this weekend, though, with Texas on deck.
The Favorites
4. Tennessee (35-9, 10-6 SEC)
Tennessee went into Austin, Texas, and took 2-of-3 from the Longhorns. That’s incredibly impressive. The Vols continue to boast the best pitching staff in the country and now have series wins in both Austin and Norman. It’s hard to come to any other conclusion besides the Vols are a real contender for the Women’s College World Series this year. They stay at No. 4 for this week, but I did move the Vols into the top tier.
3. Oklahoma (36-5, 10-5 SEC)
Oklahoma slips to No. 3 this week after dropping another SEC series, this time on the road in Tuscaloosa. The Sooners are 36-5 this season, but the metrics don’t love this team. They’re 11th in RPI and 6th in Warren Nolan’s ELO rankings. Pitching has been inconsistent all year, but the bats aren’t as good as they’ve been in the past, either. OU will host Mississippi State this weekend.
2. Texas (40-5, 12-4 SEC)
A series loss to Tennessee certainly hurts, but this Texas team is still amongst the best in the country. The Longhorns’ offense is ridiculous as they boast 3 of the SEC’s top 5 leaders in batting average. There should be enough pitching, too, for Texas to make a deep run this season.
1. Texas A&M (39-5, 13-3 SEC)
Texas A&M absolutely dominated one of the best teams in the country in LSU this past weekend, winning all 3 games by multiple runs. The Aggies are top-3 in the SEC in both ERA and slugging percentage. They’ve won 14 games in a row. They’re also No. 1 in both RPI and Warren Nolan’s rankings this week — in addition to being the top choice for these power rankings. A&M has SEC series remaining against Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
