What a nightmare of a week it was for the former No. 2 team in the country, the LSU Tigers.
Last year’s Men’s College World Series champions entered the season looking pretty solid, but last week was certainly one to forget. Earlier in the week, LSU lost a home game to Northeastern, 13–10, then suffered another loss on the road to UL-Lafayette, this one 7–2. With the home series against Sacramento State underway, it looked like the Tigers would right the ship back in Baton Rouge, and that happened with an impressive 15–4 mercy-rule victory in seven innings in the first game. But disaster struck again when Sacramento State’s Cameron Sewell hit a grand slam in the eighth inning of Saturday’s contest to help solidify a 5–4 victory for the Hornets, and then the Hornets won the last game of the series 6–1. After a 1-4 week, the Tigers dropped to 13th in this week’s rankings.
Outside of LSU, the Florida Gators had even bigger drops, falling from 9th to 23rd, and the North Carolina Tar Heels dropped from 8th to 15th.
Two teams dropped out of the rankings, the Miami Hurricanes and West Virginia Mountaineers, making room for the Virginia Cavaliers to enter at No. 14 – the biggest jump of the week – and the USC Trojans at No. 25.
Here are the complete Top 25 rankings as of March 9, as well as our favorite moments and what we’re looking forward to in the week ahead.
top moment
We had to include Sewell’s grand slam here. There’s nothing better than getting it on in one of the more hostile environments in all of college baseball, besides winning, of course.
Are you all seeing this too?👀@SacStBaseball To extend their lead over LSU in the 8th with a grand slam!#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @11point7 pic.twitter.com/GpUwd1YhcC
– NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) 7 March 2026
Now let’s take a look at this extremely impressive throw from Kentucky’s Scott Campbell.
That’s some throwback, Scott Campbell 😮💨🫨#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @UKBaseball
– NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) 8 March 2026
player to watch
Daniel Jackson, C/OF, Georgia
We’ve got some powerful hitters this year, and the new home run leader this week is Georgia’s Daniel Jackson. He’s hit a total of 14 homers already this year – five of which he hit in the last week alone – and he’s a big reason why Georgia continues to climb the rankings. With conference play intensifying, how will he stack up against SEC pitchers? We will just have to wait and see.
That’s some throwback, Scott Campbell 😮💨🫨#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @UKBaseball
– NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) 8 March 2026
series worth watching
No. 3 Mississippi State at No. 5 Arkansas
Game 1: Friday 7 pm
Game 2: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday 3 p.m.
Conference play begins this weekend, and with several ranked teams facing off, it was hard to pick one to focus on, with Clemson facing Georgia Tech, Georgia hosting Tennessee and the midweek matchup between Florida and Florida State. But it’s hard to miss a top-five series between these two SEC giants.
Despite losing a close 7–6 game to Southern Miss the previous week, Mississippi State responded with a series sweep over Lipscomb, but it was no ordinary sweep. The Bulldogs scored 26 runs in the final game of the series – yes, 26 – and 43 runs over the entire weekend. His bats are hot right now, and he should definitely carry this momentum with him into Fayetteville. Meanwhile, with Arkansas dropping a weekend game to Stetson, and figuring he’ll be back in action on Monday for the fourth game against Stetson, the Razorbacks should certainly have plenty of time to prepare. And with this being a home series, the Razorbacks may have a slight edge.
updated top 25
Here are the latest rankings from D1baseball.com, as well as information on each team’s next game.
Eastern all the time.
1. UCLA Bruins
Previous Rank: 1
record: 13-2
Next game: vs. UC Irvine, Tuesday 9 p.m.
2. Texas Longhorns
Previous Rank: 3
record: 15-0
Next game: at Texas State, Tuesday 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Previous Rank: 4
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Tulane, Tuesday 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Previous Rank: 5
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. West Georgia, Tuesday 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
5. Arkansas Razorbacks
Previous Rank: 6
record: 12-4
Next game: vs. Stetson, Monday at 1 p.m. (SEC Network+)
6. Auburn Tigers
Previous Rank: 7
record: 13-2
Next game: vs. UAB, Tuesday 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
7. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Previous Rank: 10
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Ole Miss, Tuesday 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
8. Georgia Bulldogs
Previous Rank: 11
record: 15-3
Next game: vs. Tennessee Volunteers, Friday 6 p.m. (SEC Network+)
9.Oklahoma Sooners
Previous Rank: 12
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. UT Arlington, Tuesday 7:30 PM (SEC Network+)
10. NC State Wolfpack
Previous Rank: 13
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Elon, Tuesday 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
11. Clemson Tigers
Previous Rank: 14
record: 15-1
Next game: vs. Georgia Southern, Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Previous Rank: 15
record: 15-1
Next game: at Coastal Carolina, Tuesday 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
13. LSU Tigers
Previous Rank: 2
record: 12-5
Next game: vs. Creighton, Tuesday 7:30 pm (SEC Network+)
14. Virginia Cavaliers
Previous Rank: N.R.
record: 13-3
Next game: vs. William & Mary, Tuesday 4 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
Previous Rank: 8
record: 13-3-1
Next game: vs. Bucknell Tuesday 4 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
16. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Previous Rank: 16
record: 9-6
Next game: vs. Wake Forest, Tuesday 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
17. TCU Horned Frog
Previous Rank: 17
record: 9-6
Next game: vs. Kansas, Tuesday 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
18. Oregon State Beavers
Previous Rank: 18
record: 10-4
Next game: vs Xavier, Monday 8:35 pm
19. Tennessee Volunteers
Previous Rank: 19
record: 12-4
Next game: vs. Tennessee Tech, Tuesday 6 p.m. (SEC Network+)
20. Florida State Seminoles
Previous Rank: 20
record: 13-2
Next game: at Florida, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network+)
21. Kentucky Wildcats
Previous Rank: 21
record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Ball State, Tuesday 6:30 pm (SEC Network+)
22. Texas A&M Aggies
Previous Rank: 22
record: 14-1
Next game: vs SFA, Tuesday 7pm (SEC Network+)
23. Florida Gators
Previous Rank: 9
record: 14-3
Next game: vs. Florida State, Tuesday 6:30 PM (SEC Network+)
24. UTSA Roadrunner
Previous Rank: 25
record: 13-2
Next game: at Texas Tech, Tuesday 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
25. USC Trojans
Previous Rank: N.R.
record: 15-0
Next game: vs. Long Beach State, Tuesday 9 p.m.
