1. LSU (6-1)
The Tigers hit their first bump in the road, taking a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Round Rock Invitational on Saturday. But even so, they didn’t look bad enough to fall from their top spot in these rankings. LSU bounced back from their first loss by trouncing Sam Houston State, 16-4, on Sunday. Dylan Crews broke out for a big week as he won SEC co-Player of the Week, going 9-for-13 with three doubles, seven RBI, six runs scored, and two walks over the week. Paul Skenes had another dominant outing, striking out 11 over six one-run innings.
Previous: 1
2. Wake Forest (9-0)
The Demon Deacons continue to show that they are going to be a team to beat in the ACC this season. For the second straight week, they swept the ACC weekly awards, with Adam Cecere earning ACC Player of the Week honors and left-hander Sean Sullivan was named the Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row. Cecere led the team with 12 RBI, 11 runs scored, and four doubles, while smashing two homers and drawing four walks. Sullivan had a perfect game going through 5 1/3 innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday. He struck out 11 and allowed just one baserunner in six hitless innings overall. While they haven’t played any top competition just yet, Wake Forest has handled business with ease, to the tune of outscoring their opponents 122 to 14 so far. Their first real test won’t come for a little while, when they face Coastal Carolina for one game and Duke for a three-game series next week.
Previous: 2
3. Ole Miss (6-1)
The Rebels took care of business this weekend against the top team in the Big Ten, Maryland. Ole Miss dropped the first game on Friday, 9-2, but took the next two by scores of 12-6 and 18-8. They bashed six homers in the series finale on Sunday, including two from junior catcher Calvin Harris – one being a grand slam that ended the game on a 10-run rule. Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, left fielder Kemp Alderman, right fielder TJ McCants, and second baseman Peyton Catagnier hit the other long balls in the contest.
Previous: 5
4. Stanford (5-2)
After they lost their midweek game to Cal on Tuesday, the Cardinal bounced back with a sweep of Rice in their first home series of the season. It was an easier series following Stanford’s nail-biting series against Cal State Fullerton last weekend. They won by scores of 6-3, 11-1, and 7-4; junior outfielder Eddie Park came through with seven RBI and a homer on 6-for-13 hitting.
Previous: 4
5. Florida (7-1)
The Gators continue to rise in the rankings as they are proving to be right up there with the likes of LSU in not just the SEC, but in the entire country. In their sweep-clinching win over Cincinnati on Sunday, Florida bashed a program record eight homers, including three from two-way star and Co-SEC Player of the Week, Jac Caglianone. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound sophomore went 10-for-21 with six home runs at the plate in five games and tossed 4 2/3 innings while striking out six in his Sunday outing.
Previous: 7
6. Vanderbilt (5-3)
Dominant pitching led the Commodores to a series win over UCLA this past weekend, with the two squads trading wins in the first two games. Left-hander Carter Holton and right-hander Bryce Cunningham combined for the 6-0 shutout on Friday. Holton tossed 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven while allowing one hit and three walks. Cunningham struck out four and walked none over the final 3 1/3 innings.
Previous: 8
7. Tennessee (6-2)
It was a crazy week for the Volunteers, with head coach Tony Vitello being suspended for the weekend series against Dayton, due to a “violation in the program.” There were no problems on the field, as Tennessee swept the Flyers with ease. The suspension for Vitello was not handed down by the NCAA and it was unclear whether it was related to shortstop Maui Ahuna being ineligible to be activated to the roster. But Ahuna, a star transfer from Kansas, was cleared on Monday after missing the first eight games of the season and Vitello was reinstated.
Previous: 9
8. Arkansas (5-2)
They weren’t able to finish the sweep, but the Razorbacks took their series against Eastern Illinois over the weekend. Arkansas won the first two games by a combined 18 runs, 10-run ruling them in the first game.
Previous: 10
9. East Carolina (5-1)
Following a mid-week loss to Campbell, East Carolina defeated North Carolina, 6-5, in both games they played over the weekend. The game scheduled for Saturday was postponed. Both games were comeback victories for East Carolina. The Pirates scored six runs in the eighth inning of Friday’s contest, then overcame a three-run deficit in the seventh inning on Sunday.
Previous: 13
10. Virginia (7-0)
The Cavaliers remained perfect on the season as the swept Columbia following a midweek bludgeoning of Longwood, 26-2. Virginia is currently the top hitting team in the country with a team batting average of .375 and are the only team in the country to rank top-10 in average, ERA, and fielding percentage.
Previous: 12
11. TCU (4-3)
The Horned Frogs struggled this weekend agains Florida State, causing their fall in the rankings. Right-hander Ryan Vanderhei had his strong start on Friday spoiled, as the TCU bullpen surrendered eight runs after the Kansas transfer struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings. They gave up another 10 runs on Saturday before avoiding the sweep with a come-from-behind 3-2 win on Sunday.
Previous: 3
12. Louisville (6-1)
Despite suffering their first loss of the season, to Bowling Green, this weekend, the Cardinals are off to a great start. They responded to the loss by taking the rubber match, 14-1, with seven different batters driving in runs. Christian Knapczyk, Ryan McCoy, Patrick Forbes , J.T. Benson, Logan Beard and Gavin Kilen all had multi-hit games. McCoy now has four homers and 23 RBI on the season, while Eddie King, Jr. leads the team with a .429 average. King mashed the first bomb of his collegiate career in the Cardinals midweek game against Xavier on Wednesday.
Previous: 17
13. North Carolina (4-3)
The Diamond Heels suffered a two-game sweep by the hands of East Carolina over the weekend, but there were bright spots. One of those bright spots was third base Mac Horvath, who delivered three home runs, three doubles, and five RBI in 17 plate appearances. Horvath was named the third baseman of the week by Diamond Sports following his big week.
Previous: 11
14. Virginia Tech (5-2)
The Hokies finished 3-1 for the week, and behind a monster day from Chris Cannizzaro on Sunday, clinched a series win over Bryant. The graduate outfielder completed the cycle in his first four plate appearances while seeing a total of just nine pitches. To put a cherry on top of the day, Cannizzaro blasted his second homer of the game in the seventh inning, finishing 5-f0r-6.
Previous: 14
15. Oklahoma State (4-3)
Previous: 16
16. Southern Mississippi (5-2)
Previous: 18
17. Auburn (5-1-1)
Previous: 21
18. Miami (7-1)
Previous: 22
19. Florida State (6-1)
Previous: Unranked
20. NC State (7-0)
Previous: 23
21. Texas Tech (8-0)
Previous: 25
22. UCSB (5-2)
Previous: Unranked
23. Alabama (8-0)
Previous: Unranked
24. Maryland (3-4)
Previous: 15
25. UCLA (5-2)
Previous: 20
Just missed: Iowa, Campbell, Dallas Baptist, Missouri, Mississippi State
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @KindomProspect
LinkedIn: The Baseball Prospect Kingdom
Contact us: ajkielar@baseballprospectkingdom.com
Follow Alex Kielar on Twitter @AlexTBPK
Main Image Credit: From FloridaGators.com
The Baseball Prospect Kingdom 
