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. To start the week off, LSU lost a home game to Northeastern 13-10, then on the road at UL-Lafayette, suffered another loss, this one 7-2. With a home series against Sacramento State, it seemed like the Tigers would right the ship back in Baton Rogue, and it did in the first game with a dominant 15-4 mercy-rule win in seven innings. But disaster struck again as Sacramento State’s Cameron Sewell hit a grand slam in the eighth inning of Saturday’s contest to help solidify a 5-4 win for the Hornets, and then the Hornets took the last game of the series with a 6-1 win. After the 1-4 week, the Tigers dropped to the No. 13 spot in this week’s rankings.
Outside of LSU, the Florida Gators took an even bigger drop, going from No. 9 to No. 23, and the North Carolina Tar Heels dropped from No. 8 to No. 15.
Two teams fell out of the rankings, the Miami Hurricanes and West Virginia Mountaineers, making room for the Virginia Cavaliers to enter at No. 14 — the week’s biggest riser — and the USC Trojans at No. 25.
Here are the entire top 25 rankings as of March 9, plus our favorite moments and what we’re watching in the week to come.
Top moments
We had to include Sewell’s grand slam here. There’s nothing better than getting this off in one of the more hostile environments in all of college baseball, well, in addition the win of course.
Y’all seeing this too?👀@SacStBaseball with a GRAND SLAM to extend their lead over LSU in the 8th!#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @11point7 pic.twitter.com/GpUwd1YhcC
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) March 7, 2026
Now let’s take a look at this super impressive throw from Kentucky’s Scott Campbell.
THAT IS SOME THROW, SCOTT CAMPBELL 😮💨🫨#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @UKBaseball
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) March 8, 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 has hit a total of 14 homers this year already — five of which he hit just last week — and has been a big reason Georgia is continuing to climb up the rankings. With conference play ramping up, how will he hang against the SEC pitchers? We’ll just have to wait and see.
THAT IS SOME THROW, SCOTT CAMPBELL 😮💨🫨#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @UKBaseball
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) March 8, 2026
Series to watch
No. 3 Mississippi State at No. 5 Arkansas
Game 1: 7 p.m. on Friday
Game 2: 2 p.m. on Saturday
Game 3: 3 p.m. on Sunday
Conference play begins this weekend, and with several ranked teams facing off, it was hard to choose just one to focus on with Clemson facing Georgia Tech, Georgia hosting Tennessee and a midweek matchup between Florida and Florida State. But a top-five series between these two SEC heavyweights is hard to pass up.
Despite dropping a close 7-6 game to Southern Miss last week, Mississippi State responded with a series sweep over Lipscomb, but it wasn’t just any sweep. The Bulldogs put up 26 runs — yes, 26 — in the final game of the series, and 43 runs across the entire weekend. Their bats are hot right now, and they should certainly be carrying this momentum with them into Fayetteville. Meanwhile, Arkansas dropped a weekend game to Stetson, and thought it will be back in action Monday for a fourth game against Stetson, the Razorbacks should surely have plenty of time to prepare. And with this being a home series, the Razorbacks might have a slight edge.
Updated top 25
Here are D1baseball.com’s latest rankings, plus information on each team’s next game.
All times Eastern.
1. UCLA Bruins
Previous rank: 1
Record: 13-2
Next game: vs. UC Irvine, 9 p.m. on Tuesday
2. Texas Longhorns
Previous rank: 3
Record: 15-0
Next game: at Texas State, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Previous rank: 4
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Tulane, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Previous rank: 5
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. West Georgia, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)
5. Arkansas Razorbacks
Previous rank: 6
Record: 12-4
Next game: vs. Stetson, 1 p.m. on Monday (SEC Network+)
6. Auburn Tigers
Previous rank: 7
Record: 13-2
Next game: vs. UAB, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
7. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Previous rank: 10
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
8. Georgia Bulldogs
Previous rank: 11
Record: 15-3
Next game: vs. Tennessee Volunteers, 6 p.m. on Friday (SEC Network+)
9. Oklahoma Sooners
Previous rank: 12
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. UT Arlington, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
10. NC State Wolfpack
Previous rank: 13
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Elon, 3 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)
11. Clemson Tigers
Previous rank: 14
Record: 15-1
Next game: vs. Georgia Southern, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Previous rank: 15
Record: 15-1
Next game: at Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
13. LSU Tigers
Previous rank: 2
Record: 12-5
Next game: vs. Creighton, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
14. Virginia Cavaliers
Previous rank: NR
Record: 13-3
Next game: vs. William & Mary, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
Previous rank: 8
Record: 13-3-1
Next game: vs. Bucknell 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)
16. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Previous rank: 16
Record: 9-6
Next game: vs. Wake Forest, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
17. TCU Horned Frogs
Previous rank: 17
Record: 9-6
Next game: vs. Kansas, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
18. Oregon State Beavers
Previous rank: 18
Record: 10-4
Next game: vs. Xavier, 8:35 p.m. on Monday
19. Tennessee Volunteers
Previous rank: 19
Record: 12-4
Next game: vs. Tennessee Tech, 6 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
20. Florida State Seminoles
Previous rank: 20
Record: 13-2
Next game: at Florida, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
21. Kentucky Wildcats
Previous rank: 21
Record: 14-2
Next game: vs. Ball State, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
22. Texas A&M Aggies
Previous rank: 22
Record: 14-1
Next game: vs. SFA, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
23. Florida Gators
Previous rank: 9
Record: 14-3
Next game: vs. Florida State, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)
24. UTSA Roadrunners
Previous rank: 25
Record: 13-2
Next game: at Texas Tech, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)
25. USC Trojans
Previous rank: NR
Record: 15-0
Next game: vs. Long Beach State, 9 p.m. on Tuesday
