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USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Baseball America ranks every team 1-64 entering 2025 NCAA Tournament: Where is Clemson?
Baseball America ranks every team 1-64 entering 2025 NCAA Tournament: Where is Clemson? After a five-year drought, the Clemson Tigers are hosting an NCAA Tournament regional for the third consecutive season and will face No. 4 seed USC Upstate in its regional opener Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers (44-16 overall), ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 11 by the NCBWA, have the same win total entering the tournament as they finished with in each of the previous two seasons. USC Upstate (36-23) clinched its first NCAA regional bid by winning the Big South conference tournament, 14-2, over Charleston Southern. The No. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers (41-14) and Kentucky Wildcats (29-24) are also in Clemson's regional as the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively. How dangerous is Clemson entering the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Baseball America analyst Peter Flaherty ranked all 64 teams in the field earlier this week. Flaherty has Clemson in his 10 best teams at No. 10. "Head coach Erik Bakich has done a remarkable job since taking the reins of the program prior to the 2023 season. After not hosting a regional since 2018, 2025 marks the third consecutive season that the Tigers have accomplished that feat. Clemson was one game away from hoisting the ACC tournament championship for the second time in three seasons, and its 21 total conference victories marked the third-straight season it's won 20 or more ACC games. The Tigers' 24 Quadrant 1 and 2 wins are also an impressive mark. They haven't made it to the College World Series since 2010, though this could be the year they break down the door to Omaha." Baseball America ranked the Tigers one spot below the streaking Ole Miss Rebels (40-19), the SEC Tournament runner-up. Clemson was ranked one spot ahead of the Georgia Bulldogs (42-15), a team they blanked 3-0 in midweek play on April 22 after Georgia had been near the top of the top 25 polls. Is Clemson on upset alert entering 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament? The Tigers' regional includes the Big 12 regular season champion, an SEC team that had series wins over fellow NCAA tournament teams Tennessee and Oklahoma during the regular season, and a USC Upstate team that scored 34 runs over three games to win the Big South championship. Baseball America listed six teams on upset watch entering the tournament. A team from South Carolina made the list, but it wasn't Clemson. No. 11 Coastal Carolina (48-11), who defeated the Tigers twice in the regular season in midweek play, was named a team to watch for an upset, along with No. 6 Georgia and No. 8 Florida State (38-14). First pitch for Clemson vs. USC Upstate Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama baseball Top 25 rankings: Where Crimson Tide sit after 40-win regular season
Alabama baseball Top 25 rankings: Where Crimson Tide sit after 40-win regular season The Alabama Crimson Tide closed out the regular season in Gainesville with a fairly significant accomplishment. Despite losing two of three to the streaking Florida Gators, the Crimson Tide (40-15 overall, 16-14 SEC) won their 40th game of the season. It marks only the third time Alabama baseball has reached the 40-win margin in a season since 2010. The Tide won 43 games in 2023 and reached the Winston-Salem Super Regional, their first trip to a super regional since 2010. Alabama will head to the SEC Tournament in Hoover as the No. 9 seed and will face the No. 16 Missouri Tigers beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT Tuesday. The game will be televised on SEC Network. Here's a roundup of where Alabama sits in Monday's new college baseball Top 25 rankings and polls. USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll ranking for Alabama The Crimson Tide dropped to No. 21 in this week's USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Alabama is ranked one spot below No. 20 Ole Miss (37-17) and one spot ahead of No. 22 Northeastern (44-9). Last week's Coaches Poll ranking: No. 16. Coaches Poll No. 1 ranked team: LSU Tigers (41-13) Baseball America Top 25 ranking for Alabama Over at Baseball America, the Crimson Tide fell to No. 18. Curiously, Alabama ranks one spot below No. 17 Southern Miss (40-13) -- who the Crimson Tide beat in the regular season just over a month ago -- and one spot ahead of ACC regular season champion Georgia Tech (38-16) in these rankings. Baseball America's Peter Flaherty and Jacob Rudner said of Alabama: "Alabama couldn't carry over the momentum from its series win over then-No. 1 Georgia, dropping two of three at Florida to close the regular season. Still, it capped an undeniably strong campaign—topping 40 wins and finishing 16-14 in SEC play while navigating the nation's No. 16 strength of schedule. Offensively, Justin Lebron and Kade Snell paced a consistent lineup, while Riley Quick, Braylon Myers and Carson Ozmer led the charge on the mound. The Crimson Tide sit on the hosting bubble and will need a strong showing in Hoover to secure a top-16 seed." Last week's Baseball America ranking: No. 16 Baseball America's No. 1 ranked team: LSU D1 Baseball Top 25 ranking for Alabama Veteran analyst Kendall Rogers and staff bumped Alabama down to No. 23 in their rankings, behind No. 22 NC State (33-18) and No. 21 Tennessee (41-15). Last week's D1 Baseball ranking: No. 18. D1 Baseball's No. 1 ranked team: LSU New York Times Top 25 college baseball ranking for Alabama Mitch Light of The Athletic dropped Alabama up to No. 16 in his Top 25 rankings. It marks the Crimson Tide's highest spot in any of the rankings. Alabama is ranked one spot below No. 15 Tennessee and one spot ahead of No. 17 UCLA (39-15). Last week's New York Times ranking: No. 10 New York Times No. 1 ranked team: Texas Longhorns Perfect Game college baseball ranking for Alabama baseball Alabama fell to No. 20 in Perfect Game's top 25 rankings, where they sit between UC Irvine (39-13) at No. 19 and Northeastern at No. 21. Last week's Perfect Game ranking: No. 16 No. 1 team: LSU Alabama baseball SEC Tournament schedule Alabama will face the Missouri on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. CT at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Recent success has Florida Gators surging in latest Baseball America's rankings
Recent success has Florida Gators surging in latest Baseball America's rankings The Florida baseball program started its 2025 Southeastern Conference schedule by winning just one of its first 12 games this spring. However, the tides have turned of late and the Gators are surging back up the standings with one more weekend left in the regular season. Since that 1-11, Kevin O'Sullivan's squad has gone 12-3 with series wins against the Texas Longhorns, South Carolina Gamecocks, Arkansas Razorbacks, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers. The final straw that snapped Florida into action was a three-game sweep in Gainesville at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores ahead of that 15-game turnaround. As a result of the recent success, the Gators are now ranked 13th in Baseball America's top 25 rankings, put together by Peter Flaherty and Jacob Rudner — up from No. 22 in the previous rankings. What Baseball America says about Florida "Florida bounced back from its midweek loss to South Florida with a statement road series win at then-No. 2 Texas in which it bookended the weekend with a pair of victories," they begin. "Eight different Gators hitters drove in at least one run, but their pitching was the biggest bright spot this weekend. In Sunday's series-clinching win, freshman Aidan King was sensational and collected nine strikeouts across seven shutout innings," they continue. "After appearing to be dead in the water in early April, Florida is potentially a series win over No. 16 Alabama away from hosting." Baseball America's Top 25 rankings LSU Auburn North Carolina Georgia Florida State Texas Arkansas Coastal Carolina Oregon Vanderbilt Oregon State UC Irvine Florida Troy Dallas Baptist Alabama Clemson Tennessee West Virginia UCLA NC State Ole Miss Louisville Southern Miss UTSA Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
31-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama makes big jump in new Top 25 college baseball rankings after Oklahoma series win
Alabama makes big jump in new Top 25 college baseball rankings after Oklahoma series win Alabama moved into the top 10 in every major Top 25 poll and rankings after its SEC series victory over the Oklahoma Sooners Sunday. The Alabama Crimson Tide won another big weekend series in SEC play Sunday when they fought both the rain and a furious late-inning comeback attempt by the Oklahoma Sooners for an 8-6 win and another series victory against a Top 25 college baseball program. Alabama (25-4 overall, 6-3 SEC) got out to an 8-1 lead over the ninth-ranked Sooners on Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and held on to win their second of three series in conference play this year, taking two of three from a Top 10 opponent in Oklahoma. After wrapping up a 3-1 week, the Crimson Tide were on the rise in Monday's new Top 25 college baseball polls and rankings. Rob Vaughn's team rose three spots to surge into the top 10 of the new USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll at No. 8. It's the first time all season that Alabama has been ranked in the top 10 of the Coaches Poll. Over at Baseball America, the Crimson Tide rose two spots to No. 8. In Baseball America's rankings, Alabama ranks one spot below No. 7 Clemson (26-5) and one spot ahead of Oklahoma (22-5). Peter Flaherty and Jacob Rudner said of Alabama after its impressive series against Oklahoma: "Alabama continued its strong start with a 3–1 week, highlighted by a marquee series win over No. 8 Oklahoma. After edging North Alabama in a neutral-site midweek game, the Crimson Tide took two of three from the Sooners at home, bookending the series with a pair of 8–6 victories. Kade Snell and Justin Lebron powered the offense—each tallying six hits on the week. Snell drove in five runs and notched two doubles, while Lebron added two doubles of his own along with a home run." Alabama's biggest jump in any of the rankings came from Perfect Game, which moved the Crimson Tide up six spots to No. 8. Perfect Game ranks Alabama one spot below the No. 7 LSU Tigers (26-3) and one spot ahead No. 9 Oklahoma. Over at D1 Baseball, the Tide rose four spots to No. 8. D1 baseball ranks Alabama one spot below LSU and one spot ahead of the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels (21-6). The Tennessee Volunteers (26-2) remained the top-ranked team in each of the major Top 25 polls and rankings. Tony Vitello's club has been No. 1 in the Coaches Poll for six consecutive weeks and swept South Carolina over the weekend in Columbia. Alabama baseball schedule 2025: Who do Crimson Tide play next? Alabama welcomes the Samford Bulldogs to Sewell-Thomas Stadium in midweek play Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide resume SEC play Friday when they take on the Auburn Tigers (20-8) in another Top 25 series at Plainsman Park. First pitched Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. Auburn is ranked No. 17 in the Coaches Poll after falling five spots following a weekend series sweep at the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (28-2) in Athens.
