Let the record show that week five of the 2016 college baseball season was the week where the top of the College Baseball Central top 25 rankings got turned upside down. This comes after four weeks where the top had remained relatively untouched. I suppose getting into conference play will do that.
Right off the top, we had two fallers in Louisville and Vanderbilt. The Cardinals fell from number two to number six after dropping two of three to Miami over the weekend. The Commodores fell from number three to number ten after losing their series to Mississippi State.
Photo - Miami Athletics
But the carnage didn’t stop there. In the middle of the rankings, Cal moved from 11 to 15 after losing their series to USC and LSU fell from 12 to 16 after losing two of three to Alabama. Arkansas also fell six spots, from 17 to 23, after they were swept by South Carolina.
Showing that it was a tough weekend in every portion of our rankings, four teams fell out of the top 25 completely- Oregon, Louisiana-Lafayette, Arizona State, and Cal State Fullerton.
The first two notable risers this week are Texas A&M and Oregon State, who move up to numbers two and three, taking the place of Louisville and Vanderbilt in the rankings. Similarly, Miami moves up to number five, one spot ahead of the Cardinals after taking two of three from them. UNC and TCU also moves up two spots, from seven to five and nine to seven, respectively, after the former scored a resounding win over ECU in the midweek, along with a win over Elon, and then dominated Duke in a series sweep and the latter after a 4-0 week that included a midweek win over Rice and a sweep of West Virginia.
Interestingly, Mississippi State moves up just one spot, from ten to nine, after their series win over Vanderbilt. That was a loud statement to make, but two perplexing losses to Eastern Kentucky and Oral Roberts in the midweek undermined their efforts to move up more.
Also taking advantage of the carnage were four teams that are in the top 25 after being unranked last week, starting with South Carolina at 18, coming off of their sweep of Arkansas. Missouri State jumps in at 20 after a 5-0 week that included a pair of midweek wins over Western Illinois and a sweep of Iowa. Long Beach State slots in behind the Bears at 21 after going 4-1 on the week with a win over Loyola Marymount and a series win (3 out of 4) against Ivy League favorite Columbia. After dropping out for a couple of weeks, the Houston Cougars return to the rankings at 24 after a 5-0 week.
1. Florida Gators (21-1)
Last week: 1
Results: Florida State W 6-0, Missouri W 4-3, Missouri W 6-2, Missouri W 7-5
2. Texas A&M Aggies (18-2)
Last week: 4
Results: Texas W 5-4, Auburn W 12-8, Auburn L 9-7, Auburn W 12-10
3. Oregon State Beavers (15-2)
Last week: 5
Results: Arizona State W 3-2, Arizona State W 12-2, Arizona State W 7-3
4. Miami Hurricanes (16-4)
Last week: 6
Results: UCF W 5-2, Louisville W 8-4, Louisville W 6-3, Louisville L 4-3
5. North Carolina Tar Heels (17-2)
Last week: 7
Results: East Carolina W 17-4, Elon W 11-6, Duke W 11-2, Duke W 12-2, Duke W 8-2
6. Louisville Cardinals (16-4)
Last week: 2
Results: Xavier W 11-1, Wright State W 9-1, Miami L 8-4, Miami L 6-3, Miami W 4-3
7. TCU Horned Frogs (16-3)
Last week: 9
Results: Rice W 6-4, West Virginia W 10-6, West Virginia W 7-1, West Virginia W 14-2
8. Florida State Seminoles (15-5)
Last week: 8
Results: Florida L 6-0, Pittsburgh W 17-4, Pittsburgh W 10-2, Pittsburgh L 5-2
9. Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-6-1)
Last week: 10
Results: Eastern Kentucky L 16-12, Oral Roberts L 3-1, Vanderbilt W 2-1, Vanderbilt W 5-4, Vanderbilt L 12-6
10. Vanderbilt Commodores (17-3)
Last week: 3
Results: Northern Illinois W 9-2, Mississippi State L 2-1, Mississippi State L 5-4, Mississippi State W 12-6
11. Mississippi Rebels (19-2)
Last week: 13
Results: UAB W 8-1, UAB W 5-1, Tennessee L 3-2, Tennessee W 6-4, Tennessee W 10-7
12. North Carolina State Wolfpack (16-6)
Last week: 14
Results: Indiana State W 8-3, Indiana State L 11-7, Notre Dame W 9-1, Notre Dame L 8-4, Notre Dame W 16-6
13. UCLA Bruins (11-7)
Last week: 15
Results: Washington State W 5-2, Washington State W 6-5, Washington State W 11-2
14. Virginia Cavaliers (15-6)
Last week: 16
Results: Towson W 4-3, Towson W 10-8, Wake Forest W 4-0, Wake Forest W 6-4, Wake Forest L 9-8
15. California Golden Bears (11-6)
Last week: 11
Results: USC W 5-4, USC L 18-5, USC L 5-4
16. LSU Tigers (14-5)
Last week: 12
Results: New Orleans W 9-4, Alabama L 4-3, Alabama L 6-0, Alabama W 7-5
17. Clemson Tigers (16-3)
Last week: 20
Results: The Citadel W 12-1, The Citadel W 5-4, Boston College W 6-2, Boston College W 6-1, Boston College W 3-2
18. South Carolina Gamecocks (20-2)
Last week: NR
Results: South Carolina- Upstate W 12-6, Davidson W 15-2, Arkansas W 10-6, Arkansas W 6-2, Arkansas W 8-6
19. Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-7)
Last week: 21
Results: Abilene Christian W 8-4, Dallas Baptist W 7-6, Michigan W 6-3, Michigan W 5-4, Michigan L 4-2
20. Missouri State Bears (17-2)
Last week: NR
Results: Western Illinois W 13-4, Western Illinois W 15-3, Iowa W 4-1, Iowa W 5-4, Iowa W 8-6
21. Long Beach State Dirtbags (14-6)
Last week: NR
Results: Loyola Marymount W 6-4, Columbia W 4-1, Columbia W 8-3, Columbia W 7-2, Columbia L 8-6
22. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (13-8)
Last week: 24
Results: UNC- Wilmington W 6-4, Longwood L 5-2 Longwood W 7-2, Longwood W 11-2
23. Arkansas Razorbacks (15-6)
Last week: 17
Results: Grambling State W 14-4, Grambling State W 3-2, South Carolina L 10-6, South Carolina L 6-2, South Carolina L 8-6
24. Houston Cougars (13-7)
Last week: NR
Results: Lamar W 4-3, Texas Southern W 7-1, Grand Canyon W 5-0, Grand Canyon W 3-1, Grand Canyon W 5-1
25. East Carolina Pirates (13-7)
Last week: 25
Results: North Carolina L 17-4, Monmouth W 4-3, Monmouth W 5-2, Monmouth L 4-0
Out: Oregon (18), Louisiana-Lafayette (19), Arizona State (22), Cal State Fullerton (23)
Others Considered: BYU, Florida Atlantic
