Barry Lewis
Big 12 Baseball Power Rankings: Let’s Play Ball
For the last month, we’ve enjoyed the crack of the bats, the late-inning heroics, the smell of the ballpark hotdogs and nachos, and have watched some good baseball. That was all nonconference fun. Most teams have another week of non-conference games, however, Baylor and TCU play each other this weekend. So, Big 12 conference play is here, and now the real fun begins. All these teams have dreams of ending their season in Omaha. Some in this group of teams may do just that.
We have gathered a group of fans that represent most of the schools in the Big 12 (we still could use a West Virginia fan). Each week this group will rank the teams 1-9 based on how their season is going. We take their votes and determine the average rankings and present them here.
Here are the initial Big 12 Power Rankings:
National rankings listed are based on current rankings by D1Baseball
Power Rankings
9. Kansas (7-8, 0-0)
March Madness is upon us. Let’s not worry about Kansas Baseball, yet. Let them have their opportunity on the hoops court first, then we can talk about the losing season that’s already underway in Lawrence. They open up Big 12 play next weekend at Oklahoma State.
8. Kansas State (8-7, 0-0)
Kansas State had a tough beginning of the season, losing six of their first seven games but have now won five straight. They host Morehead State this weekend and then open up conference play next weekend at TCU.
7. West Virginia (9-6, 0-0)
West Virginia hasn’t played many strong baseball teams yet, so it’s hard to get a good picture of this team. They play at Campbell this weekend. They have two more weeks before they open up conference play when they come to Fort Worth in early April.
6. Baylor (9-7, 0-0)
The Bears started the season being swept by Maryland but then beat a ranked LSU team two weeks ago. They are struggling at times as they are giving up a lot of runs. They open up conference play hosting TCU this weekend.
5. Oklahoma (11-5, 0-0)
The Sooners have had a rollercoaster of a season so far. They opened the season in Arlington in the same tournament that Tech was in and came out with a 2-1 record (Tech was 1-2). But since then, they’ve added a few losses. This weekend, they host New Orleans before hosting Baylor next weekend to begin conference play.
4. #11 Oklahoma State (11-6, 0-0)
Oklahoma State was a preseason Top Five. They won a road series against another Top Five team, Vanderbilt, and things were looking up for the Pokes. Then they lost a midweek game to Sam Houston State and got swept at home by Gonzaga. They host Seton Hall this weekend before hosting Kansas next weekend to open up conference play.
3. #21 TCU (12-4, 0-0)
The Horned Frogs had a brutal non-conference schedule, but the good news is they are undefeated in the state of Texas. After a tough road trip through Kentucky two weeks ago, the Frogs have fought back, winning four straight. They travel to Waco this weekend to open conference play. They need this series if they want to prove they deserve a ranking higher than No. 21.
2. #17 Texas Tech (16-3, 0-0)
Texas Tech had a tough opening weekend losing games to Auburn and Arizona but has been on fire since that weekend. Their only other loss was one game to Mississippi State, who just happens to be the defending national champion. They play a weekend series at Iowa this weekend. They open Big 12 play next week, hosting Texas.
1. #2 Texas (14-5,0-0)
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Longhorns. They started the season destroying opponents and looked invisible. Then they lost starting pitcher Tanner Witt, and the impact was immediate. Texas split a midweek series last week with Texas State, then lost a road series last weekend to South Carolina. Our fans still put them at the top, for now, but their margin there is very thin.
Note: Power Rankings are determined by a group of fans representing most of the ten schools currently in the Big 12 Conference.
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