Oregon State Baseball Dips in National Rankings With Eight Games Left
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Oregon State baseball began last week in the top five of two major polls. However, the past seven days have been a bit of a roller coaster with two unexpected losses - one to UTRGV out of the Southland, and one to the Big West's Cal State Northridge.
The Beavers also got the unfortunate news that their ace and early favorite to be the 2027 top MLB Draft choice Dax Whitney's season is over, and potentially more. Whitney is set to have UCL surgery in the near future.
That news, compounded with the losses, undoubtedly played a role in their small, but noticeable, drop in the major polls this week.
D1Baseball.com: Current Rank - No. 10, Previous Rank - No. 6
Baseball America: Current Rank - No. 7, Previous Rank - No. 5
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association: Current Rank - No. 7, Previous Rank - No. 5
RPI: Current Rank - No. 15, Previous Rank - No. 15
USA Today Coaches Poll: Current Rank - No. 8, Previous Rank - No. 6
Beginning this postseason, the NCAA tournament selection committee will rank the top 32 teams, not just the 16 regional hosts. Seeds 17-32 will be slotted into regionals based on that ranking: teams 29-32 will be paired with the top four national seeds, 25-28 with seeds 5-8, 21-24 with seeds 9-12 and 17-20 with seeds 13-16. Oregon State are seeking to host their 14th regional as they seek a return trip to the College World Series in Omaha.
Oregon State's overall record now stands at 36-11 heading into the final eight games of the season. The Beavers return to Hillsboro on Tuesday evening for a game against the Portland Pilots at the new Hillsboro Hops Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. PT, broadcasting on ESPN+ and in the Portland area on KUNP. Portland won the first matchup between the two sides this season 3-1 back on March 17.
It will be the 11th neutral-site contest for Oregon State this season. The Beavers are 6-4 in those games entering Tuesday.
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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