Oregon State Reaches Top Ten in New Baseball Polls
In this story:
Yesterday, Mitch Canham's perfect week somehow got even better.
After dominating the top-25 USC Trojans last Tuesday, and sweeping the feisty mid-major Mercer Bears over the weekend, Oregon State earned respect from the nation at-large.
Voters in every major national poll - three media polls and one coaches poll - thought highly of Oregon State. In all four of those polls, Mitch Canham's Beavers are now ranked in the top ten.
D1Baseball.com's media poll slotted the Beavers seven spots higher (#9) than they were last week. Above them sits top-ranked UCLA (25-2), then a glut of SEC schools: #2 Texas, #4 Mississippi State, and #5 Georgia. Georgia Tech, last season's ACC regular season champions, is #3. North Carolina, last season's ACC tournament champion, is #6. Florida State (21-6) are squarely behind them. Southern Miss, who beat the Beavers in late February's Round Rock Classic, are ranked one spot above the orange & black.
The National College Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) media poll is identical to D1Baseball, except Oregon State earned more votes than Southern Miss. In this week's poll, the Beavers jumped from #14 to #8. Notably, USC - who Oregon State dismantled last Tuesday - is directly behind them at #9.
Baseball America's media poll placed Oregon State and USC in those same seats. The Southern Miss squad which beat Oregon State last month is all the way down at #16. Alabama, who bested the Beavers late last month, is #10. The Beavers' arch-rival Oregon Ducks. who were hunted down in early March, hold the #17 ranking.
USA Today's coaches poll, which relies on a panel of thirty-one NCAA Division I college baseball coaches, lifted the Beavers from #14 to #9. The ranking is one spot above Oregon State's big rival in Eugene.
Oregon State have won seven consecutive games dating back to Friday March 20th against UC Irvine, and 16 of their last 17 since narrowly defeating Iowa on March 1st.
Oregon State's next plays tonight at home against former Pac-12 neighbors Washington, with first pitch slated for 5:35 PM PST at Goss Stadium, and the action televised on Portland's CW. Later this weekend, the Beavers travel to Lamar (Beaumont, TX) to face a 17-11 Cardinals' team that won 40 games last season, and 44 games in 2024.
About State of the Beavs
Each week, veteran sports broadcaster and writer Matt Bagley examines the news and storylines at play for Oregon State University Athletics. Occasionally joined by contributors for On SI's coverage of the Beavers, as well as the occasional guest spot from Beavers past, present, and future. Get caught up with the playlist below. New episodes are typically released on Tuesday mornings.
Want to interact with the show? Talk to Matt: mbagleyradio@gmail.com
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.