While March Madness has concluded and the NBA and NHL playoffs have begun, don’t forget there is some quality SEC baseball going on in the finest athletics conference in the country.
If you’ve lingering on missed football recruits and unrealized Cinderella opportunities in college basketball, you may have forgotten SEC baseball ranks among the best every year. SEC baseball currently has 8 teams in the top 30, including 5 in the top 10. How do they rank inside the conference? We’ll stack ’em below, with their record and national rank (where applicable) included, for you to agree, disagree or think you’re looking at football rankings.
The Not so Much Group
14. Missouri (20-18, 4-11 SEC)- I thought Missouri was supposed to add to the SEC in all three of the major sports? Instead their football program is in the pits, basketball had a meltdown and their baseball team is hot garbage.
13. Arkansas (21-15, 4-11)- It must be something about Big 8/12 teams. The difference here is Arkansas started decent, but they’ve been swept in back-to-back weeks.
12. Tennessee (20-16, 4-11)- The three headed monster backfield of Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara look poised to lead the Volunteers to an SEC East title. If they care this little about baseball, why bother?
11. Auburn (17-19, 5-10)- They have the best SEC baseball record in this group but are the only ones with a losing record overall. You do you Auburn.
10. Georgia (20-17, 6-9)- A defeat of South Carolina allows Georgia to sneak into the top 10 . . . of the conference. It makes no sense that they were able to take a series from the Gamecocks. Then again, it is SEC baseball.
The Possibly, Maybe Group
9. #15 Ole Miss (26-10, 7-8)- This team reached 20 wins quicker than any other team in school history, which was no small task. Now they can’t seem to get it together unless they’re playing Arkansas.
8. Alabama (22-14, 8-7) Another weekend of taking 2 out of 3 next weekend in SEC baseball will likely see Alabama scratch their way into the top 25.
7. #29 Kentucky (23-12, 9-6)- The Wildcats dropped a series to Vanderbilt but there’s no shame in that. Kentucky looks like one of those teams that could catch fire and shoot up these power rankings.
Betsided
6. #8 LSU (25-11, 9-6)- The 8th best team in the country is only good enough for 6th in SEC baseball. This feels like football season all over again.
5. #4 Vanderbilt (28-8, 9-6)- This Vanderbilt team could very well end up as a national seed. They need to add another SEC baseball sweep or two to their resume, though.
The Contenders
4. #7 Mississippi State (24-12-1, 8-7)- I’m giving the Bulldogs the benefit of the doubt here, as they just had an embarrassingly bad weekend at the hands of Texas A&M. They were #2 in the country before that, though.
3. #11 South Carolina (29-8, 11-4)– Is this going to be like basketball season for the Gamecocks? They get the benefit here too, even if they did just drop 2 to an awful Georgia team.
2. #3 Texas A&M (29-7, 10-5)- South Carolina may have a better conference record but Texas A&M just swept Mississippi State IN STARKVILLE. Texas A&M is looking to represent SEC baseball with a national seed.
More sec: Les Miles continuing to build support at LSU
1. #1 Florida (33-5, 11-4)- There really is no telling about SEC baseball. The Gators lost two to Mississippi State last weekend before sweeping Arkansas this weekend. That Gators can’t afford any slips if they want to remain atop the SEC baseball rankings.