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There’s a new No. 1 in town. With the college baseball season winding down — just two more weeks of regular-season play before conference tournaments begin — Tennessee has claimed the top spot for the first time this season. The Vols beat Florida twice in Gainesville this past weekend, and elsewhere former No. 1 Texas A&M dropped a road series to LSU and fell to No. 3 in the first rankings of May.
Clemson has risen to the No. 2 ranking and the the rest of the top five includes two more SEC schools with Kentucky at No. 4 and Arkansas at No. 5.
With teams making their final push to qualify for the NCAA Division I baseball tournament, these next couple of weeks will surely be entertaining from the top to bottom.
Here are the players we’re watching in May, plus the current top 25.
Players to watch
Blake Wright, INF, Clemson
Wright was dominant in Clemson’s series against Georgia Tech, especially in Friday’s doubleheader where he hit a combined three home runs and registered a career-high seven RBIs in the second game. On the season, he has a 65 RBIs and 19 home runs, though he did just break a 15-game hit streak after not recording a single hit in the series finale vs. the Yellow Jackets. That aside, Wright has been steady for the No. 2 ranked Tigers in ACC play.
🔥 @BlakeWr86324186‘s Friday 👀
6-for-9
3 home runs
1 double
1.777 slugging %
10 RBIs
5 runs
2 HBPs
.727 on-base % pic.twitter.com/j4AEPPdG5D— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) May 4, 2024
Clark Candiotti, RHP, Arizona
With a nickname like the “Candi Man”, of course we’re going to mark this pitcher as someone we’re watching. Candiotti threw a complete-game shutout over the weekend, and he has been an instrumental part in why Arizona has broken its way into the top 25. He has a 2.93 ERA to go along with 77 strikeouts and five wins this season, putting him in the top five of each of those categories in the Pac-12. And the only players with a better ERA than him? Fellow Wildcats Cameron Walty (2.63 ERA) and Jackson Kent (2.88). The Pac-12 has some solid teams this year, and we’re eager to see what else the Candi Man has up his sleeve.
.@clarkcandiotti caught ’em napping 😴 pic.twitter.com/dQ8G8IIG0s
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 5, 2024
Current top 25 rankings
Here is the D1baseball.com poll as of May 6, plus information for each team’s next couple of games.
All times Eastern
1. Tennessee
Record: 39-9
Next two games: vs. Queens, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+,
at Vanderbilt, Friday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+
2. Clemson
Record: 36-10
Next two games: at Charlotte, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Wake Forest, Friday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX
3. Texas A&M
Record: 40-8
Next two games: vs. Rice, Tuesday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+,
at Ole Miss, Friday at 8:30 p.m. on SEC Network
4. Kentucky
Record: 35-10
Next two games: at Xavier, Tuesday at 6 p.m.,
at Florida, Friday at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+
5. Arkansas
Record: 40-9
Next two games: vs. Mississippi State, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network+ ,
vs. Mississippi State, Saturday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+
6. East Carolina
Record: 37-9
Next two games: vs. Duke, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Tulane, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
7. Oregon State
Record: 35-12
Next two games: at Gonzaga, Monday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+,
vs. UCLA, Friday at 10 p.m. ET
8. Florida State
Record: 35-10
Next two games: vs. Jacksonville, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX,
at Pitt, Friday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX
9. Duke
Record: 32-14
Next two games: at East Carolina, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Georgia Tech, Friday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX
10. Virginia
Record: 35-12
Next two games: vs. Georgia Washington, Wednesday at 1 p.m. on ACCNX,
vs. NC State, Saturday at 4 p.m. on ACCNX
11. North Carolina
Record: 35-11
Next two games: vs. Campbell, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX,
vs. Louisville, Friday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX
12. Wake Forest
Record: 32-16
Next two games: vs. North Carolina A&T, Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX,
vs. Clemson, Friday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX
13. South Carolina
Record: 35-15
Next two games: at Winthrop, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+,
vs. Georgia, Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU
14. Mississippi State
Record: 32-16
Next two games: at Arkansas, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network+,
at Arkansas, Saturday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+
15. Georgia
Record: 35-12
Next two games: at South Carolina, Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU,
at South Carolina, Friday at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network
16. UC Irvine
Record: 34-10
Next two games: vs. UCLA, Tuesday at 9 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Long Beach State, Friday at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
17. Arizona
Record: 29-17
Next two games: at Arizona State, Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.,
at Utah, Friday at 1 p.m.
18. Oklahoma
Record: 29-17
Next two games: vs. Baylor, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+ Sooner Vision,
vs. Baylor, Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ Sooner Vision
19. Oklahoma State
Record: 32-16
Next two games: vs. Texas Tech, Friday at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+,
vs. Texas Tech, Saturday at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+
20. Indiana State
Record: 34-10
Next two games: vs. Evansville, Friday at 4:30 on ESPNU,
vs. Evansville, Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
21. Troy
Record: 34-15
Next two games: vs. Alabama, Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Texas State, Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
22. Louisiana
Record: 34-15
Next two games: vs. Jackson State, Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+,
at Georgia Southern, Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+
23. NC State
Record: 26-18
Next two games: vs. Norfolk State, Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ACCNX,
at Virginia, Friday at 7 p.m. on ACC Network
24. Oregon
Record: 32-15
Next two games: at Washington, Friday at 10:05 p.m.,
at Washington, Saturday at 8:05 p.m.
25. UC Santa Barbara
Record: 31-12
Next two games: vs. Pepperdine, Tuesday at 7:35 p.m.,
at Cal State Bakersfield, Friday at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
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