Polls are out after Week 5 of the 2026 college baseball season. It was an impactful week, as SEC and ACC in-conference play began in earnest. Several of the powers stepped up to have great weeks, while others faltered in road matchups.
2026 Post-Week 5 College Baseball rankings
Here’s a look at the top 25 (coaches’ poll via USA Today) after Week 5:
- UCLA
- Texas
- Georgia Tech (+1)
- Auburn (+1)
- Georgia (+3)
- Mississippi State (-3)
- Arkansas (-1)
- Oklahoma (+3)
- Florida State (+6)
- North Carolina (+4)
- USC (+8)
- Virginia (+4)
- NC State (-3)
- Florida (+4)
- Southern Miss (-8)
- Oregon State (+1)
- Clemson (-8)
- Kentucky (+4)
- Oregon (JUMP)
- Coastal Carolina (+5)
- Texas A&M (-1)
- West Virginia (JUMP)
- Tennessee (-2)
- Ole Miss
- Wake Forest (-13)
TCU and LSU slipped out of the top 25.
It was an impressive week for Georgia Tech, as the Yellow Jackets walked into Clemson and took two of three in a top-ten matchup between ACC teams. Georgia Tech beat up on Aidan Knaak in the opener, then won 9-3 in Game #2 before falling in the finale.
Drew Burress had a good week but catcher Vahn Lackey might have had one of the most impressive weeks we’ve seen in a while. The junior hit a home run in each of the first two games, which at one point gave him a five-game streak of at least one batted ball to leave the field.
Top-ranked UCLA continues its rampage across the Big 10. The Bruins swept Michigan in Los Angeles, winning two of the three games by five runs. Roch Cholowsky hit his 10th home run of the season over the weekend. Logan Reddemann struck out seven over six strong during the opener.
Also in the top three is Texas, off to an 18-1 start to 2026. The Longhorns dropped their SEC opener in extras to Ole Miss before winning the final two of that series. Ethan Mendoza drove in four in the Longhorns’ two victories. In the final game, Dylan Volantis struck out 11 and Carson Tinney homered.
This past weekend, though, saw many of the top powers across the college baseball landscape slip.
Wake Forest had a brutal week. The Demon Deacons lost a midweek road game at Coastal Carolina, and were then swept by Florida State. The Seminoles shut Wake Forest out in the first two games. Chris Levonas pitched well in the middle game but was outmatched by junior Trey Beard, who struck out 14 over six scoreless innings.
Mississippi State lost two of three in their first SEC weekend of the season to Arkansas. The Razorbacks won the first two games at home before dropping the finale 7-2.
Tennessee, under first-year coach Josh Elander, continue to figure things out. The Volunteers lost two of three on the road against Georgia. Tennessee took the first game but lost the second. In the rubber match, the Vols gave up eight runs from the fifth inning onward to give Georgia the edge.
But perhaps the big bomb came in Nashville, as LSU lost two of three to Vanderbilt on the road. LSU’s pitching staff took a beating, as the Tigers conceded at least nine runs to Vanderbilt in all three games.
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