The second weekend of the 2025 college baseball season came to an end for most of the country’s schools on February 23. A day later, the second coaches’ poll was released, resulting in a new #1 school in Division I. The reigning champions, Tennessee, move up to the top spot after a roaring start.
Here’s the results of the USA Today/Coaches’ Poll for February 24, the first in-season poll of 2025.
- Tennessee (+1)
- Texas A&M (-1)
- LSU
- Arkansas (+1)
- Florida State (+1)
- North Carolina (+2)
- Florida (+3)
- Georgia (+1)
- Clemson (+2)
- Oregon State (-3)
- Virginia (-7)
- Vanderbilt (+6)
- Wake Forest (+2)
- Texas (-1)
- Oregon (-1)
- Mississippi State (+3)
- Oklahoma (+8)
- Dallas Baptist (+3)
- UC Santa Barbara (+3)
- Alabama (JUMP)
- Duke (-9)
- TCU (+1)
- Southern Miss (JUMP)
- Troy (+1)
- Oklahoma State (-8)
Tennessee jumps into the spot after a dominant 7-0 start. The Volunteers swept Hofstra and Samford on consecutive weekends. In between those series was a 29-4 victory over UNC Asheville on February 18.
The reigning national champions, despite looking drastically different from last year, remain a powerhouse. It’s been a collective effort, thanks to notable bats, both returners and newcomers. Freshman Levi Clark is batting .538, while draft-eligible sophomore leads the team in hits (9). Curley, Clark, and junior Dalton Bargo all have three home runs.
Those numbers mean that even if Texas A&M didn’t lose to Cal Poly on February 23, Tennessee was likely to jump them nonetheless.
Arguably the most notable fall is from Virginia. The Cavaliers lost on Opening Day and haven’t truly recovered since then. In the Round Rock Classic, UVA lost to Oregon State and Oklahoma. Their long victory in Round Rock came against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
If there is some good news to take away from the last two weeks, it’s that the Cavs’ core of Henry Godbout, Eric Becker, Bryson Moore, and Tomas Valincius have been good. Harrison Didawick, however, is batting .091 with six strikeouts in six games.
However, the biggest falters from the past week were from Duke and Oklahoma State.
After losing two of three to Cincinnati on opening weekend, the Blue Devils were shocked by Ivy League Cornell on February 21. Kyle Johnson gave up three earned runs over five innings and Duke committed four errors. Duke rebounded to win the final two games.
OK State, meanwhile, lost three of four, including a 4-2 loss against Texas State on February 18. Gabe Davis and Harrison Bodendorf both have ERA figures over 5.00. On the ohter hand, the Cowboys, as a team, are hitting .322 with a .568 slugging percentage.
As for the risers, Vanderbilt moved up six spots, while Alabama and Southern Miss move into the top-25.
The Golden Eagles, in particular, have been a great story thus far. Southern Miss received strong pitching and hitting, en route to a 7-1 start. Butler transfer Joey Urban went 9-21 (.429) with 16 total bases over the first two weeks.
As for the SEC schools, Justin Lebron is batting .379/.525/.931 (1.456 OPS) with four home runs and 27 total bases, the latter of which is tied for 12th in the NCAA Division I ranks. RJ Austin, from Vanderbilt, is not far behind. Austin racked up 25 total bases.
Be sure to check out more of our college baseball content.