College baseball Week 2: Top 25 rankings, play of the week and what to watch

Last Updated: February 23, 2026By

Feb 23, 2026, 09:56 AM ET

Kent State did the unthinkable this past week. After pushing LSU to the edge in Baton Rogue in a midweek matchup, the Golden Flashes took that momentum with them into Knoxville and won a road series against Tennessee. And as a result, the Vols took a big slide in this week’s rankings, dropping seven spots to No. 20.

How will the Vols respond? Well, they’re facing the top team in the country in UCLA on Friday, so they’ll have to bounce back fast. The Bruins, and the four teams behind them, held steady in the rankings after dominant performances, but after that there were more shakeups.

TCU had a rough week overall. After losing its midweek game to UT Arlington, it got swept by UCLA in Los Angeles, causing the Horned Frogs to drop 11 spots. The week’s biggest risers were Southern Miss and Oklahoma, which each climbed up eight spots. Louisville fell out of the rankings completely, paving the way for Ole Miss to break through at No. 25.

Here are how the entire top 25 rankings look as of Feb. 23, plus our favorite plays and what we’re watching in the week to come.

Top plays

Not that LSU needs anymore power than it already has, now it has Jake Brown launching home runs like this.

And how about another home run? This one from UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky. He certainly is living up to all the hype he had before the season started.

Player to watch

Jackson Flora, RHP, UCSB

Flora has been rising up draft boards, and for good reason. The junior, who Kiley McDaniel has at No. 4 in his MLB draft rankings, touched 100 MPH in his 2026 debut and he has kept up the heat since then. Does he have enough to over take Cholowsky for the No. 1 pick? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Games to watch

No. 10 Florida at No. 17 Miami

Game 1: 7 p.m. on Friday (ACC Network Extra)
Game 2: 6 p.m. on Saturday (ACC Network Extra)
Game 3: 1 p.m. on Sunday (ACC Network Extra)

We can’t get enough of these early top-ranked series, and an in-state one makes this all the better. Miami has been solid to open the season, and though the Canes are ranked behind Florida, they do sport a perfect 7-0 record for the year, while the Gators have already dropped one game. Florida will have to be ready for Miami’s Alex Sosa, who has been dominant this season so far with five home runs and 17 RBIs. And if he wasn’t a tall enough task, there’s Daniel Cuvet right behind him with five homers himself to go along with 13 RBIs. It looks to be a high-scoring affair in Coral Gables this weekend.

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: 6-1
Next game: vs. Tulane, 8 p.m. on Tuesday

2. LSU Tigers

Previous rank: 2
Record: 8-0
Next game: vs. McNeese, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

3. Texas Longhorns

Previous rank: 3
Record: 7-0
Next game: vs. UTRGV, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

4. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Previous rank: 4
Record: 8-0
Next game: vs. Austin Peay, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Previous rank: 5
Record: 8-0
Next game: at Georgia State, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)

6. Arkansas Razorbacks

Previous rank: 8
Record: 6-1
Next game: vs. Arkansas State, 4 p.m. on Monday (SEC Network+)

7. Auburn Tigers

Previous rank: 9
Record: 6-1
Next game: vs. West Georgia, 7 p.m. on Wednesday (SEC Network+)

8. North Carolina Tar Heels

Previous rank: 10
Record: 6-1-1
Next game: vs. NC A&T, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra)

9. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Previous rank: 6
Record: 5-2
Next game: vs. Campbell, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)

10. Florida Gators

Previous rank: 12
Record: 7-1
Next game: vs. FIU, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)

11. Georgia Bulldogs

Previous rank: 14
Record: 6-1
Next game: vs. Troy, 3 p.m. on Wednesday (SEC Network+)

12. Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Previous rank: 20
Record: 6-1
Next game: vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)

13. Oklahoma Sooners

Previous rank: 21
Record: 7-0
Next game: vs. Arizona State, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

14. NC State Wolfpack

Previous rank: 17
Record: 5-1
Next game: vs. Richmond, 3 p.m. on Tuesday

15. Clemson Tigers

Previous rank: 19
Record: 7-0
Next game: vs. Presbyterian, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (ACCNX)

16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Previous rank: 22
Record: 6-1
Next game: at UNCG, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN+)

17. Miami Hurricanes

Previous rank: 23
Record: 9-0
Next game: at FAU, 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday

18. TCU Horned Frogs

Previous rank: 7
Record: 2-5
Next game: at Loyola Marymount, 4 p.m. on Monday

19. Oregon State Beavers

Previous rank: 11
Record: 4-3
Next game: at Houston, 3 p.m. on Friday

20. Tennessee Volunteers

Previous rank: 13
Record: 5-2
Next game: vs. Bellarmine, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

21. Florida State Seminoles

Previous rank: 16
Record: 4-2
Next game: vs. North Florida, 5 p.m. on Wednesday (ESPN+)

22. Kentucky Wildcats

Previous rank: 18
Record: 5-2
Next game: vs. Western Kentucky, 4 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

23. Texas A&M Aggies

Previous rank: 24
Record: 7-0
Next game: vs. Lamar, 7 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)

24. West Virginia Mountaineers

Previous rank: 25
Record: 5-1
Next game: vs. Ohio, 1 p.m. on Wednesday (ESPN+)

25. Ole Miss Rebels

Previous rank: NR
Record: 8-0
Next game: vs. Southeast Missouri State, 5 p.m. on Tuesday (SEC Network+)




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