6 days ago
Where Alabama lands in Top 25 college baseball polls, rankings entering NCAA Tournament
Where Alabama lands in Top 25 college baseball polls, rankings entering NCAA Tournament
Alabama baseball is coming off its best regular season in the recent history of the program.
With a roster that includes a top MLB draft prospect heading into next year in shortstop Justin Lebron, Alabama (41-16) reached 40 wins in a regular season for the first time since 2002.
Dropping two of three to the Florida Gators to close the regular season and then losing on Day 2 of the SEC Tournament to Tennessee cost Alabama a shot at a host site regional for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but the Crimson Tide got a pretty favorable postseason draw regardless. They're in the Hattiesburg Regional featuring No. 16 overall seed and host Southern Miss (44-14).
To look at it another way, Alabama essentially finished one spot below the host seed line and drew the lowest-seeded team of the 16 regional hosts. The Crimson Tide join the Miami Hurricanes (31-24) and Columbia Lions (29-17) from the Ivy League in Hattiesburg, only about two and a half hours by car from Tuscaloosa.
Here's where Alabama baseball ranks in this week's Top 25 polls entering the NCAA Tournament.
NCBWA updated Top 25 ranking for Alabama baseball
In the latest Top 25 poll from the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association), Alabama fell four spots to No. 19 following their 15-10 loss to Tennessee at the SEC Tournament in Hoover. The Crimson Tide enter the NCAA Tournament ranked one spot below No. 18 Northeastern (48-9) and one spot ahead of No. 20 UC Irvine (41-15).
Southern Miss, which placed second in the Sun Belt regular season standings to Coastal Carolina and was runner-up in their conference tournament, is ranked No. 13.
LSU (43-14) tops the NCBWA poll at No. 1, followed by North Carolina (42-12) at No. 2, Vanderbilt (42-15) at No. 3, and Texas (42-14) at No. 4. Arkansas (43-13) rounds out the top five.
The SEC has 10 schools teams in the NCBWA poll as regionals begin, the most of any conference. The ACC is second with five teams in the NCBWA's poll.
D1 Baseball updated Top 25 ranking for Alabama
D1 Baseball has Alabama at No. 24 in their new rankings, down one spot from last week. UC Irvine ranks one spot ahead of the Tide, while Kansas rounds out the top 25.
UNC topped D1 Baseball's rankings at No. 1. The Tar Heels were also No. 1 in this week's USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and are the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama is ranked No. 20 in the Coaches Poll, up one spot from last week.
Baseball America, Perfect Game ranking for Alabama
Baseball America and Perfect Game did not unveil new rankings after conference tournaments. In the most recent Baseball America poll on May 19, Alabama was ranked No. 18 following the regular season. The Crimson Tide were No. 20 in Perfect Game and No. 16 in The Athletic's rankings.
Alabama's regional schedule
The Crimson Tide, the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional, opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament against No. 3 seed Miami at Pete Taylor Park Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ESPN2. As the higher seed, Alabama will be the designated home team against Miami.
After Alabama-Miami, Southern Miss will face No. 4 seed Columbia at 6 p.m.
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