POWER RANKINGS
Halfway through SEC play, the top of the league is beginning to solidify.
For the first time since conference play began, Arkansas no longer holds the top spot in the power rankings after dropping a series to Alabama, with Texas A&M taking over. The Aggies are also ranked No. 1 in both the D1Baseball and Baseball America polls. Here’s how the league stacks up this week:
All rankings and stats are based on games as of April 14.
1. Texas A&M
Arkansas’ series loss means that only Kentucky is undefeated in series. But of all the options for the top spot, Texas A&M has been the most impressive and has the best combination of hitting and pitching.
2. Arkansas
Arkansas falls out of the top spot after losing a series at Alabama. The Razorbacks stand out for their exceptional pitching, but their offense is just OK. Arkansas travels to South Carolina this weekend.
3. Kentucky
Kentucky deserves a lot of credit for winning each of its first five series as well as performing well on the road. The Wildcats already have two road sweeps, over Auburn and Ole Miss. No other team in the league has swept a road series.
4. Tennessee
Tennessee swept LSU at home and continues to hold serve at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols stand out most for their powerful offense. They will get a road test by traveling to Kentucky.
5. Vanderbilt 2 1 5 3 4
Vanderbilt has dominated the teams in the bottom half of the league, especially at home, but the Commodores also have been swept in two road series and were shut out twice in three games at Texas A&M. Vanderbilt hosts Florida this weekend. 6. South Carolina
South Carolina doesn’t have a real weakness, but it doesn’t stand out in any one area either. Winning a road series against Florida was big as the Gamecocks prepare to host Arkansas.
7. Alabama 7 9
The Crimson Tide has two of the league’s most impressive series wins at home (Arkansas and Tennessee), but it’s been swept in both of its road series and looked non-competitive.
8. Mississippi State 6
Losing the Egg Bowl to Ole Miss for the first time since 2015, in a year that the Rebels have one of their worst teams, is a tough pill to swallow. The Bulldogs are still a solid team, but their offense may not pack enough punch.
It’s time to start wondering if LSU will even qualify for a regional at this point after losing its first five SEC series and getting swept twice. There’s a lot of talent on the Tigers, but the team has seemed disjointed all year.
13. Missouri
Missouri deserves a ton of credit for being competitive in SEC play after a poor start to the non-conference. The offense is woeful, but the Tigers have enough pitching to pull out some close wins in low-scoring games.
14. Auburn 11 12 14
As well as Missouri has done in close games, Auburn has done poorly. The Tigers have already lost four one-run games during SEC play. Auburn is probably not the worst team on talent, but the record here is simply too poor to ignore.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.