Top 5 remains steady in College Baseball Hall of Fame Power Poll
LUBBOCK, Texas – With the completion of the regular season and conference tournaments on the horizon, the Top 5 in the College Baseball Hall of Fame Power Poll remained intact, with Wake Forest remaining at No. 1 for the third straight week.
The Demon Deacons (45-9) took care of rival Virginia Tech with a series victory in ACC action to maintain their hold on the top spot, earning all first-place votes for the second straight week. Wake will be the top seed in the ACC tournament, which starts Tuesday. The next four teams also held on to their spots from last week with three series wins and a sweep.
Florida (42-13) stays at No. 2 after earning an SEC series victory over Kentucky. The Gators will be the No. 1 seed and received a first-round bye in the upcoming SEC tournament, which starts Tuesday. No. 3 Stanford (37-14) took care of Washington State with a sweep in Pac-12 action. The Cardinal are the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 tournament, which starts Tuesday. Rounding out the Top 5, LSU (42-12) comes in at No. 4 after beating Georgia in an SEC series over the weekend, while Miami (Fla.) (37-18) holds on at No. 5 after holding off Duke to take its ACC series over the Blue Devils.
The rest of the Top 10 consists of No. 6 Tennessee (38-18), which jumps one spot after beating South Carolina in a SEC series, No. 7 Arkansas (38-15) which switched places with the Volunteers after falling to South Carolina in SEC action, 2-1, and No. 8 Dallas Baptist (41-15), which handled Western Kentucky to win a Conference USA series. Oklahoma State (38-17), which beat its Bedlam rival Oklahoma 2-1 in Big 12 play, and Southern Miss (36-16), which beat Louisiana 2-1 in a key Sun Belt Conference series, are tied for No 9.
For the second week in a row, South Carolina (38-17) has the distinction of suffering the biggest drop in the poll, this week down eight spots to No. 24 after falling five spots the previous week.
Traditional power Clemson (39-17) makes its debut in the poll this week at No. 21. The Tigers have been one of the hottest teams in the country over the past two months, winning 12 in a row and 23 of their last 27 since an April 1 loss to Wake Forest.
Dropped out: Indiana.
Also receiving votes: Texas 7, Indiana 6, Auburn 5, Northeastern 4, Alabama 3, UC-Irvine 2, Alabama State 1.