Big 12 Baseball Power Rankings: Oklahoma State Distances Itself From The Rest

Disclaimer: The rankings below are for the games played through Sunday, April 2. Midweek games played since Sunday will be reflected on next week’s Power Rankings.

This past weekend featured several key matchups; Tech and Oklahoma State both won series at home 2-1, with the Red Raiders beating TCU and the Pokes beating Texas. West Virginia went on the road for their first conference series and beat Kansas State. Kansas was the only team to secure a sweep, defeating Baylor. Oklahoma, though not playing a conference series, had an impressive showing going 2-2 against Stanford, a Top Five team.

But which team is the best? Each week, moving forward in the baseball season, we will bring you our Power Rankings, where we decide how the nine teams in the league stand. We have brought together a group from across the league to vote each week during the season on the Big 12 Power Rankings. There are 21 participants in this group, which consists of the KillerFrogs editorial staff plus one or two fans from each of the other schools in the league. Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-9. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below. (For those of you counting, Iowa State does not play baseball).

Here’s how our panel ranks the teams this week:

National rankings listed are based on current rankings by D1Baseball.

Big 12 Baseball Power Rankings

9. Baylor (9-19, 2-7)

Last week #8

Baylor got swept last weekend by Kansas – the only sweep of any of the Big 12 series last week. Congratulations, Baylor. That moved you to the bottom of the list. What’s it going to take to get you to move up?

8. Kansas (12-14, 3-3)

Last week #9

After being swept by TCU the weekend prior, last weekend, the Jayhawks swept Baylor. Who needs basketball when you’re on a four-game winning streak in baseball? Congrats on the big win. Can you do it again, or was that weekend just a one a done to move you up one spot?

7. Oklahoma (15-14, 2-4)

Last week #7

The Sooners had an impressive nonconference series over the weekend, going 2-2 in the four-game series over No. 7 Stanford. But it wasn’t enough to move the needle with our voters. It seems like our voters will need to see something like that in a conference series before OU gets considered for a higher spot.

6. Kansas State (19-11, 5-4)

Last week #5

West Virginia traveled to Manhattan last weekend and won on the road. K-State had started 4-2 in Big 12 play and now sits at 5-4. Last week we asked if this was the Year of the Cat. If it’s going to be, the Cats will need to shake off last weekend and get back to the top half of the rankings.

5. TCU (17-11, 5-4)

Last week #3

You don’t score 16 runs in a game on the road only to lose. That’s unreal. And from a defensive perspective, you don’t give up 37 total runs over a weekend. TCU did just that in the series with Tech. And then, rightfully, dropped two spots in these rankings. They face a tough OSU team this weekend. Win that and move up, maybe. Lose that, and the Frogs could fall further.

4.#24 West Virginia (21-7, 2-1)

Last week #6

Last week, the Mountaineers were only ranked in one poll. This week, they are in all four of the polls KillerFrogs tracks. At 21-7, they have had an impressive start. Last weekend, they played their first conference series and got the road win in the Little Apple. Look out. WVU could be making noise as the season continues.

3. #22 Texas Tech (20-9, 4-5)

Last week #4

The bats were certainly hot out in Lubbock last weekend. Tech scored 37 runs over the weekend. They also, though, gave up 31 runs to TCU. Winning the series got them closer to .500 in conference play. They are ranked in every poll and already have series wins over TCU and OSU. The Red Raiders will be vying for a conference title this season.

2. #21 Texas (20-9, 4-2)

Last week #1

Texas had a tough series last weekend on the road against a strong Oklahoma State team. Sure, OSU won the series, but the rubber match was won with a walk-off. So, Texas held its ground and showed its toughness. The polls this week didn’t penalize the Longhorns for the series loss. Buckle up, as Texas will have much to say about the conference race and the road to Omaha.

1. #16 Oklahoma State (22-7, 6-3)

Last week #2

The Pokes were voted the preseason No. 2 team in the league, only behind TCU. But that vote margin was by one vote. It’s more apparent that they could easily have been voted the preseason favorite. They have a home series win over Texas, a road series loss to Tech, and a sweep of lowly Baylor. OSU travels to Fort Worth this weekend for what should be a great series.

Note: Power Rankings are determined by a group of fans representing most schools currently in the Big 12 Conference.

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