There’s a new No. 1 this season.
After going 5-0 last week and beating top-25 ranked Dallas Baptist, the LSU Tigers have climbed to the top of the poll, replacing Texas A&M, which had been holding the top spot since the preseason rankings were released. After the Aggies dropped three of four contests last week, they paved the way for the rest of the top 10 to jump one spot while plummeting to 14. And there was major shakeup outside the top 10, too.
Duke, Cincinnati, Mississippi State and TCU all dropped out after lackluster performances, and losses, across the board. Duke went 3-2 last week, but it wasn’t enough to keep it ranked with the way other teams competed. Auburn, Alabama, Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma State took the last four spots in this week’s ranking after all but OSU went 4-0 over last week, with the Cowboys going 4-1.
Here are how the entire top 25 rankings look for Week 3, plus one of our favorite plays of the week and what we’re watching for in the weeks to come.
Play of the week
Check out this incredible play from LSU. It looked like a sure base hit for Nebraska, but it instead showed why the Tigers are the newly minted No. 1 team in the country.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? WHAT. A. PLAY.
📺 D1 Baseball pic.twitter.com/emqSlsvj4f
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 2, 2025
Player to watch
Jayson Jones, IF/OF, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State got itself into the top 25 this week, and no doubt plays like this one from Jones helped the Cowboys get back on track after a little bit of a bumpy 1-3 start to the season.
A Jones GEM to hold the dogs off.@jay_joness13 pic.twitter.com/Dd8UxffkWC
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) March 2, 2025
Jones has a couple home runs on the season so far to go along with nine RBIs, both good numbers, but the junior is making great defensive plays to go along with. With over a week and a half until the Cowboys get into conference play, Jones can continue to refine his play.
Game to watch
No. 24 Coastal Carolina at No. 4 North Carolina: 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)
As conference play is starting up this week for the Tar Heels, they’ll have the perfect tune-up (or test) against the newly-ranked Chanticleers on Tuesday. North Carolina has yet to lose a game this season, but even though Coastal has only entered the rankings this week, it has been playing solid baseball and has a 10-2 overall record. Can Coastal get the upset and continue its ascend, or will UNC use this game as a launching pad to ACC dominance? We’ll have to wait and see. Hunter Stokely (four home runs, 17 RBIs) and Luke Stevenson (three home runs, 13 RBIs) have been leading UNC, so if their bats get hot, it could spell trouble for the Chanticleers.
Updated top 25
Here are D1baseball.com’s latest rankings, plus information on each team’s next game.
All times Eastern.
1. LSU Tigers
Previous rank: 2
Record: 11-1
Next game: vs. North Dakota State, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
2. Tennessee Volunteers
Previous rank: 3
Record: 11-0
Next game: vs. Radford, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
3. Arkansas Razorbacks
Previous rank: 4
Record: 10-1
Next game: vs. ULM, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
4. North Carolina Tar Heels
Previous rank: 5
Record: 12-0
Next game: vs. Coastal Carolina, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)
5. Georgia Bulldogs
Previous rank: 6
Record: 13-1
Next game: vs. High Point, 3 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
6. Florida State Seminoles
Previous rank: 7
Record: 11-0
Next game: vs. North Florida, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)
7. Florida Gators
Previous rank: 8
Record: 11-1
Next game: at UCF, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
8. Oregon State Beavers
Previous rank: 9
Record: 7-3
Next game: vs. San Diego, 8:35 p.m. on Friday
9. Virginia Cavaliers
Previous rank: 10
Record: 7-3
Next game: vs. William & Mary, 3 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)
10. Oregon Ducks
Previous rank: 11
Record: 10-2
Next game: vs. Utah Tech, 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday
11. Clemson Tigers
Previous rank: 13
Record: 10-1
Next game: vs. USC Upstate, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
12. Texas Longhorns
Previous rank: 15
Record: 9-1
Next game: vs. Texas A&M Corpus, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
13. Oklahoma Sooners
Previous rank: 16
Record: 11-0
Next game: at Dallas Baptist, 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
14. Texas A&M Aggies
Previous rank: 1
Record: 6-4
Next game: vs. UTSA, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Previous rank: 12
Record: 10-3
Next game: at App State, 5 p.m. on Tuesday
16. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Previous rank: 20
Record: 9-2
Next game: at USC, 9 p.m. on Tuesday
17. Ole Miss Rebels
Previous rank: 24
Record: 10-1
Next game: vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
18. Vanderbilt Commodores
Previous rank: 14
Record: 9-3
Next game: vs. St. Bonaventure, 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday (SECN+)
19. Troy Trojans
Previous rank: 21
Record: 11-1
Next game: vs. Alabama, 5 p.m. on Wednesday (SECN+)
20. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Previous rank: 22
Record: 9-3
Next game: at Ole Miss, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (SECN+)
21. Dallas Baptist Patriots
Previous rank: 19
Record: 8-3
Next game: vs. Oklahoma, 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
22. Auburn Tigers
Previous rank: NR
Record: 11-1
Next game: at UAB, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
23. Alabama Crimson Tide
Previous rank: NR
Record: 12-0
Next game: at Jacksonville State, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
24. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Previous rank: NR
Record: 10-2
Next game: at North Carolina, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)
25. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Previous rank: NR
Record: 6-4
Next game: vs. Winthrop, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
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