ATHENS — Georgia baseball shocked the country on Monday, taking the No. 1 spot in two national polls after its sweep at Missouri. The Bulldogs (39-11, 15-9 SEC) are the top team in the country according to Baseball America and Perfect Game.
UGA also moved up to No. 6 on D1Baseball’s top 25, the poll used on ESPN broadcast score bugs. Georgia moved up after Arkansas swept former No.
1 Texas last weekend. The Bulldogs beat Arkansas at Foley Field three weeks ago. UGA also swept SEC bottom-feeder Missouri, winning its sixth SEC series this season and logging its third sweep.
Georgia hit 15 conference wins on Sunday, the benchmark that every SEC team tries to reach to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The No. 1 ranking is sure to cause some controversy in SEC and national circles.
At first glance, it makes plenty of sense, as UGA is tied for third in the SEC with LSU behind Texas and Arkansas. Other national powers like Oregon, Florida State and West Virginia have higher win percentages in their respective conferences. But the Bulldogs have a leg up on the entire country in one key statistic used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
UGA was No. 1 in RPI ranking — similar to the strength of record metric used in college football — long before the national media ever ranked it No. 1.
Six of Georgia’s eight SEC opponents were ranked in the top 15 when they faced them this season. Georgia also has five wins against top-10 teams in the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls. The Bulldogs beat Arkansas twice and swept Auburn earlier this season.
The Auburn sweep might be Georgia’s best resume booster. The Tigers have only lost one series since leaving Athens and are a consensus top-10 team in all three polls mentioned above. Georgia had some help to get to the top.
Higher-ranked teams like the Longhorns, Clemson and LSU all lost to lower-ranked opponents last weekend. There are two big reasons UGA likely didn’t climb higher in D1Baseball’s poll. The Bulldogs were swept at Texas and Vanderbilt earlier this season.
While Georgia wasn’t widely expected to win either series, two sweeps in three weekends was enough reason to hold skepticism about ranking a team atop the entire country. Now the Bulldogs are tasked with defending that No. 1 ranking and perhaps earning another one from D1Baseball.
Georgia can take a great step in that direction with another road series win at No. 23 Alabama this weekend. UGA will not have a midweek game, so it can fully focus on turning the Crimson Tide.
Georgia is now in resume-boosting mode, as every additional SEC win increases its chances at a top-eight national seed, clinching home-field advantage until the College World Series. Georgia was a projected No. 10 overall seed by D1Baseball’s most recent Field of 64.
That was before several top teams lost and UGA went 4-0 last week. Here’s a look at where every SEC team ranks according to D1Baseball’s national poll. Where every SEC team ranks nationally
