Polls 4/29/2024

[fryeguy93]

Baseball America is the first to gate this morning.
D1 for several years was always first but it appears BA likes being first in 2024

1. Texas A&M (1) 3-1 last week
2. Arkansas (2) 3-1
3. Tennessee (3) 4-0
4. Clemson (2) 2-2
5. Florida State (6) 3-1 (2 wins at Duke were impressive)
6. East Carolina (8) 4-0 big win midweek over NC State
7. North Carolina (12) 3-1 I think they got the jump due to a lot of losses by teams ahead
8. Duke (5) 1-3 Should have fallen further. Run ruled twice Campbell and FSU.
9. Kentucky (7) 1-2 Cats r back loaded schedule now may become a death march. They loss in 2 walkoffs and barely avoided a 3rd
10. Virginia (11) 3-1 against subpar competion. They have ACC off week.
11. Oregon State (13) 3-1 Subpar effort in 3rd Duck game. But the Beavers will be a media darling by tourney time.
12. UC-Irvine (14) 4-0 Won @UCLA midweek and crushed Riverside
13. NC State (17) 3-1 No excuse for them to jump 4 spots. Midweek loss @ ECU and cruised against Ball State in ACC off week @ FSU this week.
14. Vanderbilt (9) 2-2 Midweek walkoff against might UTM could not save them on 2 miss state collapses.
15. Wake Forest (10) 1-3 This team needed to fall further. Loss to Elon. 2 losses to ND. Win was vs ND was Fri Chase Burns game
16. Oklahoma State (19) 4-0 Swept ORU and pretty bad BYU teams
17. Alabama (20) 3-1 1 loss was by 1 run at Ole Miss. Finally showed up on the road with series win.
18. South Carolina (22) 2-1 Here comes SC. They should've swept UK. Bases loaded in with 1 out in their 1 loss.
19. Oklahoma (16) 2-2 It think a 3 spot drop was hasty. Lost series to Texas at home due to Sunday shortened DH .
20. West Virginia (21) 3-0
21. Oregon (18) 2-2 Played Ore State tougher than I thought they would. Lost 2 close games though though
22. Louisiana (25) 2-2 lost midweek to Houston Christian but took 2 from USM.
23. Miss State (NR) 3-1 Best stretch of year for MSU. Have won 7 or last 8 games and won at suddenly soft Vanderbilt
24. Indiana State (NR) 2-1 Have won 16 straight conference series.
25. UCSB (NR) 3-1 Lost to LMO, swept Fullerton


Notre Dame attendance for weekend against a ranked Wake Forest team.
493
1,003
792

There were more people than that in the beer line on first base plaza in Knoxville.

 

[fryeguy93]

D1 follows up quickly

1. Texas A&M (1)
2. Arkansas (2)
3. Tennessee (3)
4. Clemson (5) (Not sure how a team goes 2-2 and gains in top 5)
5. East Carolina (7)
6. Oregon State (9)
7. Florida State (6) 3-1 (2 wins at Duke were impressive)
8. Kentucky (4)
9. UC-Irvine (12)
10. Duke (6)
11. Virginia (14)
12. North Carolina (15)
13. Wake Forest (8)
14. Oklahoma State (19)
15. South Carolina (24)
16. Miss State (NR)
17. Vanderbilt (11)
18. Louisiana (17)
19. Georgia (20)
20. NC State (21)
21. Arizona (16)
22. Oklahoma (18)
23. Alabama (23)
24. Indiana State (25)
25. Utah (NR)

Coastal Carolina (13) dropped from polls at 0-5 week at Creighton and 3 to Troy at home (2 by blowout)
The Chants have zero change to host now. Their RPI is 24 and they go to USM this week. They are behind GaSouthern and lowly Appy State in the SBC East standings in 6th overall.

 

[fryeguy93]

I know Duke had a good 2023 but I'm not sure why the pollsters are keeping them so high. (8 & 10 so far)
There RPI is a pedestrian #20
I don't think they have a standout series win (2-1 @ WF; 2-1 UVA)
They were run ruled 18-4 by Campbell last week and lost 2/3 against visiting FSU. They've lost 4 of last 6 and have ugly losses to Pitt, William & Mary, Campbell, Rider, and Akron . Their only sweep was over sub .500 Miami. (whose only series wins were NJT and Long Island)

Clemson has looked strong early on but are getting shakier now that the weather has warmed.

 

[volplaya8]

I know Duke had a good 2023 but I'm not sure why the pollsters are keeping them so high. (8 & 10 so far)
There RPI is a pedestrian #20
I don't think they have a standout series win (2-1 @ WF; 2-1 UVA)
They were run ruled 18-4 by Campbell last week and lost 2/3 against visiting FSU. They've lost 4 of last 6 and have ugly losses to Pitt, William & Mary, Campbell, Rider, and Akron . Their only sweep was over sub .500 Miami. (whose only series wins were NJT and Long Island)

Clemson has looked strong early on but are getting shakier now that the weather has warmed.

They are going to make sure the Tennessee-Wake super regional happens as long as both teams advance.

 

[tennrich1]

Baseball America is the first to gate this morning.
D1 for several years was always first but it appears BA likes being first in 2024

1. Texas A&M (1) 3-1 last week
2. Arkansas (2) 3-1
3. Tennessee (3) 4-0
4. Clemson (2) 2-2
5. Florida State (6) 3-1 (2 wins at Duke were impressive)
6. East Carolina (8) 4-0 big win midweek over NC State
7. North Carolina (12) 3-1 I think they got the jump due to a lot of losses by teams ahead
8. Duke (5) 1-3 Should have fallen further. Run ruled twice Campbell and FSU.
9. Kentucky (7) 1-2 Cats r back loaded schedule now may become a death march. They loss in 2 walkoffs and barely avoided a 3rd
10. Virginia (11) 3-1 against subpar competion. They have ACC off week.
11. Oregon State (13) 3-1 Subpar effort in 3rd Duck game. But the Beavers will be a media darling by tourney time.
12. UC-Irvine (14) 4-0 Won @UCLA midweek and crushed Riverside
13. NC State (17) 3-1 No excuse for them to jump 4 spots. Midweek loss @ ECU and cruised against Ball State in ACC off week @ FSU this week.
14. Vanderbilt (9) 2-2 Midweek walkoff against might UTM could not save them on 2 miss state collapses.
15. Wake Forest (10) 1-3 This team needed to fall further. Loss to Elon. 2 losses to ND. Win was vs ND was Fri Chase Burns game
16. Oklahoma State (19) 4-0 Swept ORU and pretty bad BYU teams
17. Alabama (20) 3-1 1 loss was by 1 run at Ole Miss. Finally showed up on the road with series win.
18. South Carolina (22) 2-1 Here comes SC. They should've swept UK. Bases loaded in with 1 out in their 1 loss.
19. Oklahoma (16) 2-2 It think a 3 spot drop was hasty. Lost series to Texas at home due to Sunday shortened DH .
20. West Virginia (21) 3-0
21. Oregon (18) 2-2 Played Ore State tougher than I thought they would. Lost 2 close games though though
22. Louisiana (25) 2-2 lost midweek to Houston Christian but took 2 from USM.
23. Miss State (NR) 3-1 Best stretch of year for MSU. Have won 7 or last 8 games and won at suddenly soft Vanderbilt
24. Indiana State (NR) 2-1 Have won 16 straight conference series.
25. UCSB (NR) 3-1 Lost to LMO, swept Fullerton


Notre Dame attendance for weekend against a ranked Wake Forest team.
493
1,003
792

There were more people than that in the beer line on first base plaza in Knoxville.

Thanks for posting. Saved me a lot of time researching. Excellent post!

 

[Volprofch05]

 

[fryeguy93]

They are going to make sure the Tennessee-Wake super regional happens as long as both teams advance.

Wake would use up their 1 pitcher before even facing Tennessee.

In 2001, Wake came to Knoxville (as #1 seed actually) and tried to save pitching when they faced Tenn. and lost to Tenn. Tech in game #1. Their two bets pitchers were Cory Sullivan and Kyle Sleeth and neither pitched game 1.

That 2001 regional had some awesome pitching. UT and Wyatt Allen beat MTSU at Dewon Brazelton 2-1. Burke had a leadoff triple in the first inning and that was mostly it for offense until the 7th when both teams scored unearned runs. Both pitchers went complete game.

Wake Forest did beat Tenn with their last regular starter in elimination game 10-3 but Tenn. won the last game over a spot guy. Vols didn't have to face the Deacs top 2 guys. Both high round draft picks.

Wyatt Allen pitched 1 game in AAA the next season but spent most of career in A ball. Ironically his last professional appearance was in Kinston, NC in 2006 where East Carolina hosted the super regional in 2001.

Brazelton had an eventful ML career. Mostly with TB

Cory Sullivan played CF in MLB with six different seasons in Colorado (4) NYM and Hou. His first 2 season in COL were his only 2 full seasons.

Kyle Sleeth was a top round draft pick whose career was shortened by arm injury. Played MiLB in 2004, missed all of 200, came back late in 2007 and ended his after 2007

 

[fryeguy93]

Coaches Poll

1. Texas A&M (1)
2 Arkansas (2)
3. Tennessee (3)
4. Clemson (4)
5. East Carolina (7)
6. Florida State (9)
7. Oregon State (10)
8. Kentucky (5)
9. Duke (6)
10. Virginia (12)
10. UC-Irvine (13)
12. North Carolina (14)
13. Vanderbilt (8)
14. South Carolina (21)
15. Wake Forest (11)
16. Oklahoma State (22)
17. Alabama (18)
18. Georgia (17)
19. Louisiana (16)
20. NC State (23)
21. Miss State (NR)
22. Indiana State (25)
23. Oklahoma (18)
24. Arizona (20)
25. Dallas Baptist (NR)


I believe Georgia deserves better than dropping 1 spot after going 2-2 against the #1 and #4 teams last week
Still not buying Clemson as a top-5 team but honestly not sure who I would put up there. There may be a big gap between top-3 and everyone else.
I know there's a rush to try to rank the ACC as being at or near the SEC level but I remain unconvinced about those past Florida State. Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State do not strike me as "host-worthy teams". But right now, 3 or 4 of them would likely host as regional sites with Clemson and possibly Fla State being national seeded.

I believe the subpar season by Big12 and the ongoing decline- and end of the Pac12; is artificially inflating ACC's value.

 

[volplaya8]

Wake would use up their 1 pitcher before even facing Tennessee.

In 2001, Wake came to Knoxville (as #1 seed actually) and tried to save pitching when they faced Tenn. and lost to Tenn. Tech in game #1. Their two bets pitchers were Cory Sullivan and Kyle Sleeth and neither pitched game 1.

That 2001 regional had some awesome pitching. UT and Wyatt Allen beat MTSU at Dewon Brazelton 2-1. Burke had a leadoff triple in the first inning and that was mostly it for offense until the 7th when both teams scored unearned runs. Both pitchers went complete game.

Wake Forest did beat Tenn with their last regular starter in elimination game 10-3 but Tenn. won the last game over a spot guy. Vols didn't have to face the Deacs top 2 guys. Both high round draft picks.

Wyatt Allen pitched 1 game in AAA the next season but spent most of career in A ball. Ironically his last professional appearance was in Kinston, NC in 2006 where East Carolina hosted the super regional in 2001.

Brazelton had an eventful ML career. Mostly with TB

Cory Sullivan played CF in MLB with six different seasons in Colorado (4) NYM and Hou. His first 2 season in COL were his only 2 full seasons.

Kyle Sleeth was a top round draft pick whose career was shortened by arm injury. Played MiLB in 2004, missed all of 200, came back late in 2007 and ended his after 2007

No…in a super…if both advance. Let’s say Tennessee as 2-3 seed and Wake as the 14-15 seed. Not the regionals. I think just think they will try to match up the seeds for supers. Now it is no guarantee either team makes it out of regionals though. In a super of course we will see all they have and they will get all we have!

 

[Ned Land]

Coaches Poll

1. Texas A&M (1)
2 Arkansas (2)
3. Tennessee (3)
4. Clemson (4)
5. East Carolina (7)
6. Florida State (9)
7. Oregon State (10)
8. Kentucky (5)
9. Duke (6)
10. Virginia (12)
10. UC-Irvine (13)
12. North Carolina (14)
13. Vanderbilt (8)
14. South Carolina (21)
15. Wake Forest (11)
16. Oklahoma State (22)
17. Alabama (18)
18. Georgia (17)
19. Louisiana (16)
20. NC State (23)
21. Miss State (NR)
22. Indiana State (25)
23. Oklahoma (18)
24. Arizona (20)
25. Dallas Baptist (NR)


I believe Georgia deserves better than dropping 1 spot after going 2-2 against the #1 and #4 teams last week
Still not buying Clemson as a top-5 team but honestly not sure who I would put up there. There may be a big gap between top-3 and everyone else.
I know there's a rush to try to rank the ACC as being at or near the SEC level but I remain unconvinced about those past Florida State. Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State do not strike me as "host-worthy teams". But right now, 3 or 4 of them would likely host as regional sites with Clemson and possibly Fla State being national seeded.

I believe the subpar season by Big12 and the ongoing decline- and end of the Pac12; is artificially inflating ACC's value.

Absolutely. Especially when you contrast that against Clemson moving up after going 2-2.

 

[fryeguy93]

No…in a super…if both advance. Let’s say Tennessee as 2-3 seed and Wake as the 14-15 seed. Not the regionals. I think just think they will try to match up the seeds for supers. Now it is no guarantee either team makes it out of regionals though. In a super of course we will see all they have and they will get all we have!

I see. But I don't believe Wake is going to get a hosting spot in regional play unless they get far more consistency. The lost 2 games to Notre Dame in front of a crowd of dozens and lost 5 of last 7. They've been swept by UNC. and lost series to Duke and Virginia. They've still go to play - after a week out of conference against WCU) Clemson and at NC State. After they lose (write it down) to High Point tomorrow night and will likely lost at least one game to the Catamounts this weekend.

The Deacs have a top-3 pitcher but are staring at a #2 seed at an SEC school or even at ECU.

 

[volplaya8]

I see. But I don't believe Wake is going to get a hosting spot in regional play unless they get far more consistency. The lost 2 games to Notre Dame in front of a crowd of dozens and lost 5 of last 7. They've been swept by UNC. and lost series to Duke and Virginia. They've still go to play - after a week out of conference against WCU) Clemson and at NC State. After they lose (write it down) to High Point tomorrow night and will likely lost at least one game to the Catamounts this weekend.

The Deacs have a top-3 pitcher but are staring at a #2 seed at an SEC school or even at ECU.

ECU is a hostile environment for sure. That would be fun for viewing purposes.

 

[malibuvol]

I see. But I don't believe Wake is going to get a hosting spot in regional play unless they get far more consistency. The lost 2 games to Notre Dame in front of a crowd of dozens and lost 5 of last 7. They've been swept by UNC. and lost series to Duke and Virginia. They've still go to play - after a week out of conference against WCU) Clemson and at NC State. After they lose (write it down) to High Point tomorrow night and will likely lost at least one game to the Catamounts this weekend.

The Deacs have a top-3 pitcher but are staring at a #2 seed at an SEC school or even at ECU.

Did Wake have a lot of injuries this year?? Hard crash from preseason #1...

 

[fryeguy93]

Did Wake have a lot of injuries this year?? Hard crash from preseason #1...

Everyone loses players.
Truth be told. They're underperforming.

 

[ThatVolGuy]

Lots of consternation in Nashville about the state of Vanderbilt baseball. They've obviously still got a pretty good team, but it seems a growing portion of their fan base is kinda sorta wondering if Corbin can keep up with the rest of the league. No doubt the fact that their hated rival is ensconced in the top five and has perhaps the most dynamic coach (and best recruiter) in the country is contributing to the angst.

I think Corbin will leave when he wants to leave, but I think it's fair to question if their program can ever reclaim its prior success with the current staff. I bet some changes are on the way.

EDIT - Also, have to wonder if Burns is still satisfied with the transfer decision. Maybe a bruised ego meant the bridge was burned, but man, having that guy in our rotation this year would be unfair. Wake has some highs and a lot of unimpressive lows.

 

[NorCalVol67]

Lots of consternation in Nashville about the state of Vanderbilt baseball. They've obviously still got a pretty good team, but it seems a growing portion of their fan base is kinda sorta wondering if Corbin can keep up with the rest of the league. No doubt the fact that their hated rival is ensconced in the top five and has perhaps the most dynamic coach (and best recruiter) in the country is contributing to the angst.

I think Corbin will leave when he wants to leave, but I think it's fair to question if their program can ever reclaim its prior success with the current staff. I bet some changes are on the way.

You just hate to see it.

 

[ThatVolGuy]

You just hate to see it.

Yeah, and the minute you feel sorry for them, take a gander at any of their message boards. We play with illegal bats, Tennessee fans are stupid hillbillies, Tony Vitello is an a**hole, etc. I'm almost certain they think Tim Corbin invented the game of baseball.

Case in point, a post from their Rivals forum:

UT’s emergence the last few years has definitely exacerbated people’s worries about the program and rightfully so. It’ll bother me more if we lose to UT again than if we lose in the regional again. It’s one thing for us to be on the decline but it’s another for UT to be on the way up and destroying us head to head

 

[volplaya8]

Lots of consternation in Nashville about the state of Vanderbilt baseball. They've obviously still got a pretty good team, but it seems a growing portion of their fan base is kinda sorta wondering if Corbin can keep up with the rest of the league. No doubt the fact that their hated rival is ensconced in the top five and has perhaps the most dynamic coach (and best recruiter) in the country is contributing to the angst.

I think Corbin will leave when he wants to leave, but I think it's fair to question if their program can ever reclaim its prior success with the current staff. I bet some changes are on the way.

EDIT - Also, have to wonder if Burns is still satisfied with the transfer decision. Maybe a bruised ego meant the bridge was burned, but man, having that guy in our rotation this year would be unfair. Wake has some highs and a lot of unimpressive lows.

They are just living in the moment way too much and overreacting IMO. Baseball ebbs and flows some and they are still in solid position. I’d let them look at a program like Louisville who went to 5 CWS in 12 years and also has a good coach as a program that won’t be able to keep up anymore. They really would be crying if they had turned into that. It can be worse, much worse Vandy morons!

 

[fryeguy93]

NCBWA

1. Texas A&M (1)
2. Arkansas (2)
3. Tennessee (3)
4. Clemson (4)
5. East Carolina (7)
6. Florida State (8)
7. Oregon State (11)
8. Kentucky (6)
9. North Carolina (14)
10. Virginia (12)
11. UC-Irvine (15)
12. Duke (5)
13. Vanderbilt (10)
14. South Carolina (19)
15. Wake Forest (9)
16. Oklahoma State (25)
17. Georgia (21)
18. Mississippi State (NR)
19. Alabama (23)
20. Indiana State (22)
21. Louisiana (16)
22. NC State (24)
23. Arizona (17)
24. Oklahoma (20)
25. UCSB (NR)

 

[malibuvol]

Lots of consternation in Nashville about the state of Vanderbilt baseball. They've obviously still got a pretty good team, but it seems a growing portion of their fan base is kinda sorta wondering if Corbin can keep up with the rest of the league. No doubt the fact that their hated rival is ensconced in the top five and has perhaps the most dynamic coach (and best recruiter) in the country is contributing to the angst.

I think Corbin will leave when he wants to leave, but I think it's fair to question if their program can ever reclaim its prior success with the current staff. I bet some changes are on the way.

EDIT - Also, have to wonder if Burns is still satisfied with the transfer decision. Maybe a bruised ego meant the bridge was burned, but man, having that guy in our rotation this year would be unfair. Wake has some highs and a lot of unimpressive lows.

Vandy had a tremendous recruiting class lined up for 2023, but I think the top 4 or 5 of their recruits chose to go pro...We may face the same dilemma with our 2024 class...Hope not.