Well, it took being the best ever in a particular category and reaching 20-0 with a sweep of one of the best teams in the country, but one national outlet has finally given the Tennessee Vols their due credit on Monday morning.
D1 Baseball finally softened on their LSU preference to move the Vols up to the #1 spot in their latest baseball poll. To the surprise of no one, Tennessee remained #1 in the other polls, including Baseball America.
D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: Week Five
(Presented by @NettingPros)It was a wild weekend in college baseball, and defending champ @Vol_Baseball inched ahead of LSU at the top while @LouisvilleBSB entered. https://t.co/ZONGxN3YQQ
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) March 17, 2025
NEW COLLEGE TOP 25
New week, three new teams join the list.
Here are the best teams in the country following an exciting weekend of conference play: https://t.co/4zBKndZXk2 pic.twitter.com/24syetr71d
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) March 17, 2025
Yes, it’s early and polls don’t matter as much, but it’s a matter of being recognized for what’s fair, and that’s the Tennessee Vols having played like the best team in the country for the first month of the season.
With their sweep of the Gators over the weekend, the Vols became the first defending national champion to reach a mark of 20-0 the following season. And they handled the Gators across three games to do it, winning a variety of ways. 9-run inning to win by run-rule. Mid-game comeback from 4-1 deficit. The Vols were resilient and pounced when the opportunities were there.
LSU also swept their opponent over the weekend in Baton Rouge, but it was 8-11 Missouri. Not exactly on the same level as Florida.
Next up for Tennessee is ETSU on Tuesday at home before a trip to Tuscaloosa for a weekend series against the Crimson Tide. Bama (#12 in D1 Baseball/#10 in Baseball America polls) has had a strong start to the season, sweeping free-falling Texas A&M on the road last week.