SEC Baseball Power Rankings after three weeks of non-conference play

The college baseball season is underway and teams are already beginning to find their identities. When it comes to identifying the contenders in the SEC, you almost always have your usual suspects — Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Texas A&M.

Other programs that have started to find their identities early on in the season are Kentucky, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.

Then, you have other programs like Missouri, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State that have each struggled to find their footing this season.

Nonetheless, the SEC is unpredictable and consistently changing. Therefore, it is way too early to pencil teams in or out of any kind of postseason play.

Roll Tide Wire provides its first SEC baseball power rankings of the 2024 season.

Missouri Tigers (6-6)

Missouri continues to struggle in non-conference play. The Tigers have dropped three of the last five games to non-power-five programs. It has been an uphill battle under first-year head coach Kerrick Jackson. Needless to say, this program has a long way to go and is currently in a rebuilding stage.

Ole Miss Rebels (8-5)

Ole Miss struggled early on to begin the season. However, the Rebels seem to be finding their footing this season. Mike Bianco’s squad has won six out of their last seven games. That is certainly something positive to take away. The lone loss during the seven-game stretch came against a good Iowa team. Ole Miss will play host to Morehead State for a three-game series this weekend.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-4)

Mississippi State is another program that was struggling to begin the season. However, the Bulldogs have since won six straight. Chris Lemonis has his squad trending in the right direction with conference play approaching. On Tuesday, Mississippi State defeated a promising opponent in Southern Miss. The Bulldogs will play host to Evansville for a three-game series this weekend.

South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)

South Carolina got off to one of the best starts in the conference. Over the weekend, Mark Kingston’s squad dropped two out of three against in-state rival, Clemson. The Tigers are ranked No. 10 in the country by D1Baseball’s rankings. South Carolina will play host to Davidson on Wednesday afternoon. The Gamecocks will host Longwood for a three-game series this weekend.

Kentucky Wildcats (11-1)

Kentucky continues to stay hot. Nick Mingione’s squad has won its last seven games. The Wildcats recently swept Lipscomb this past weekend. On Wednesday, Kentucky will take on in-state foe, Eastern Kentucky. This weekend, Kentucky will play host to Kennesaw State for a three-game series. It will be interesting to see if the Wildcats continue their winning ways. They could see a rise in our rankings if they continue to play well.

Vanderbilt Commodores (11-3)

Vanderbilt suffered some early losses to begin their season. The Commodores have had a tough stretch of games thus far having faced programs like Gonzaga, Louisiana, and Texas. However, the ‘Dores won five of the six games that they played versus those three opponents. Tim Corbin’s squad has won six in a row and seems to be peaking heading into conference play.

Auburn Tigers (10-2)

Auburn dropped a game over the weekend to UConn. While the Huskies are not as good as they were a season ago, they are still a competitive squad to say the least. Butch Thompson’s squad was slated to play Air Force twice during the midweek. However, the Tigers had the first game rained out and defeated the Falcons on Wednesday. This weekend, Auburn will take on a tough team in Austin Peay State. It will be a good test for the Tigers.

Florida Gators (8-3)

Florida was off to a hot start but has since simmered down. The Gators have now lost two of their last three contests. Kevin O’Connell’s squad fell to Miami (FL) twice over the weekend. Florida will play a midweek game against in-state foe, Central Florida prior to playing a three-game series at home versus St. Mary’s.

Georgia Bulldogs (10-1)

Georgia got off to a hot start to the season. The Bulldogs began the season with a 7-0 start. Their lone loss came last week against Michigan State. Since then, Georgia swept Georgia Tech and knocked off Georgia Southern on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will take on Stetson on Wednesday prior to a three-game series against Northern Colorado this weekend.

Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1)

Alabama has gotten off to a good start to the season. First-year head coach Rob Vaughn has the Crimson Tide trending in the right direction. Alabama has won 11 of the first 12 and have one ranked win. That came against Indiana this past weekend as a part of the Frisco Classic. Alabama will play host to Troy in the midweek before hosting Lipscomb for a three-game series this weekend.

Arkansas Razorbacks (10-2)

Out of all of the schools in the SEC, Arkansas may have one of the tougher, non-conference schedules. The Razorbacks knocked off a ranked opponent in Oregon State. Over the weekend, Arkansas swept Murray State. Then, they knocked off in-state foe, Central Arkansas on Tuesday. Their weekend series will come against McNeese State.

Tennessee Volunteers (12-1)

Tennessee has gotten off to a strong start to begin the 2024 season. The Volunteers have won 11 of their last 12 games. Tony Vitello’s squad swept Bowling Green this past weekend. During the midweek, Tennessee defeated Kansas State 15-5. The Volunteers have another midweek contest against Southern Indiana on Wednesday prior to playing a three-game series inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium against Illinois.

LSU Tigers (11-1)

LSU lost early on in the season to Stony Brook. Since then, the Tigers have not lost. Over the weekend, Jay Johnson’s squad traveled to Minute Maid Park for a three-game series. The Tigers took all three games in which they defeated Texas, Louisiana, and Texas State. On Wednesday, LSU will take on Southeastern Louisiana. Then, the No. 2-ranked Tigers will play host to Xavier for a three-game series.

Texas A&M Aggies (12-0)

Texas A&M is the only team in the SEC that has not lost a game. The Aggies are off to a very promising start to the 2024 season. Over the weekend, the Aggies competed in the Globe Life Classic. Jim Schlossnagle’s squad knocked off USC and Arizona State. On Tuesday, Texas A&M defeated Texas in the midweek. This weekend, the Aggies will play host to Rhode Island for a three-game series. Until Texas A&M loses, it will be hard for them to slide from the No. 1 spot after jumping LSU in our latest rankings.

Story originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire