The good news is that conference play is almost here. The bad news is that everything before conference play is … well … kind of hard to sort out. So South Carolina was bad … until they won a series with the nation’s top-ranking team. Mississippi State was bad … but they’ve also played a bunch of tough opponents. Tennessee has been phenomenal, but they’ve definitely played a light nonconference schedule. As has Missouri, among others. What does it all mean? Seven SEC teams are ranked in Baseball America’s Top 25 this week, including 4 in the top 10. But it’ll get a lot clearer in a week. But until then, here’s our best guess at power ranking the SEC.

14. Texas A&M (10-5)

The Aggies drop a spot just based on ease of schedule. They went 3-1 last week, but when the games are against Tarleton and Santa Clara, that doesn’t count for much. The Aggies are dead last in the SEC in batting average and runs scored — more than 100 runs behind league-leader Tennessee! That will have to change in SEC play or it’ll be a long season.

13. Missouri (11-2)

It was a 2-1 week for the Tigers, losing to No. 20 Gonzaga, but then besting San Francisco and Arizona State. Missouri has been better than expected so far, working to a sub-4 ERA. But the Tigers are near the bottom of the SEC in home runs (13) and figure to struggle in an increasingly competitive East.

12. Auburn (13-4)

The Tigers had a poor week, losing a series to Middle Tennessee State. Auburn is 3rd in the SEC in ERA, but last week gave up 21 runs to MTSU over 3 games. The Tigers have issued the 2nd-most walks in the SEC, and against the potent offenses upcoming, that’s not exactly a recipe for success.

11. South Carolina (9-6)

The Gamecocks rise from last because they won a series over then-No. 1 Texas. Of course, this is on the heels of a 15-7 loss to Xavier. Reality is that the Gamecocks have played one of the tougher schedules so far, and weren’t as bad as they looked. But they probably also aren’t beating-the-No. 1-team good, either.

10. Alabama (12-5)

The Tide lost to North Alabama and then swept a series over Binghamton. Despite an offensive bonanza in that series (28 runs in 3 games), the Tide are still just 1 of 4 SEC teams that hasn’t yet reached 100 runs scored for the season. Per game, they’re last in the SEC at 5.76. That’s probably too much pressure for a pitching staff that’s still learning on the job.

9. Kentucky (14-3)

Kentucky rallied from a 7-0 deficit to lose 9-8 to Ohio U, but then beat Murray State and swept High Point. The good news is that UK has the 3rd-highest batting average in the league and the 2nd-most runs (157 or 9.2 per game). The bad news is that their 4.65 ERA is 13th in the league, a full half-run a game behind 12th-place Mississippi State. Kentucky better prepare for some slugfests.

8. Mississippi State (11-7)

The Bulldogs split a pair of games with Texas Tech, swept Princeton, and then put together an 8-run 8th inning to best Binghamton on Monday. That was the good news. The bad news is that star pitcher Landon Sims and reliever Stone Simmons are both gone for the year. Both suffered UCL tears in the Tulane series in early March.

The Bulldogs are still 13th in the SEC in batting average and 12th in ERA. It’s a talented team that has played a tough early schedule. But it also looks like the best candidate to have a massive fall — from defending champions to middle of the SEC pack.

7. No. 18 Georgia (13-3)

The Bulldogs opened the week with an ugly 13-5 loss to Georgia Southern. They won a rematch 5-1 and then swept Lipscomb. The pitching staff has done a good job with runners on base. In the Lipscomb series, UGA had 31 hits to 29 for Lipscomb, but the Bulldogs not only swept the series, but won the run battle 26 to 10. Georgia slipped 4 spots to No. 18 in the Baseball America poll.

6. No. 16 LSU (13-3)

The Tigers had a 4-0 week, with their sweep of Bethune-Cookman finishing with a 15-0 shellacking. The Tigers are holding opponents to a .194 batting average. Considering how good the offense is, that bodes well. With Dylan Crews, Cade Doughty and Jacob Berry (SEC-best 8 HRs) putting runs on the board, the Tigers will be a tough out if the pitching keeps rolling.

5. No. 13 Florida (13-4)

The Gators picked up a pitching duel victory 1-0 over Jacksonville and then won 2 of 3 from Seton Hall. The only real warning was a horrible 9th inning on Saturday for the bullpen that turned an easy 11-3 win to an 11-9 cliff-hanger. That won’t fly in SEC play, but otherwise, the Gators are rolling. The Gators host No. 8 Florida State on Tuesday before opening SEC play at Alabama this weekend.

4. No. 7 Arkansas (11-3)

The Hogs had an easy week, going 4-0 vs UIC. That said, the wins weren’t always dominating, as Thursday’s 5-4 win that was a 4-1 deficit in the 8th inning or Sunday’s 10-8 win that was a 6-2 deficit in the 7th inning. The good news is that Arkansas is winning these games. The bad news is that it seems a little harder than it should be.

3. No. 9 Tennessee (15-1)

They’ve been great, including a 5-0 week with a walk-off 10th-inning win over James Madison 9-8 on Tuesday. Are they really this good? It’s fair to wonder. We won’t learn much more from the Vols sweeping the likes of Rhode Island. Time for legitimate competition. We’ll see how the Vols hold up and whether their league-high 43 HRs are a product of weaker competition or legitimate bats. (We think it’s the latter.) They start SEC play this weekend against visiting South Carolina, but we’re already looking ahead to next weekend’s 3-game set at No. 2 Ole Miss, followed by a 3-game visit to Vandy the next weekend.

2. No. 6 Vanderbilt (13-2)

Vandy swept Wagner, which doesn’t count for much. But scoring 40 runs over 3 games is news for this Vanderbilt team. Tim Corbin’s pitching staff will be a handful, and the offense is rounding into form just in time for conference play. The Vandy Boys start their SEC slate this weekend against visiting Missouri.

1. No. 2 Ole Miss (13-2)

The Rebels did take a Sunday 8-4 loss to Oral Roberts. But that’s about all of the bad news possible. Three Rebels starting pitchers have sub-2 ERAs and Derek Diamond was sharp in his last appearance. At the plate, the Rebels haven’t been perfectly consistent. But this is the most balanced and talented squad in the SEC thus far. The next chapter will be fascinating. Ole Miss opens SEC play this weekend at Auburn, a tuneup of sorts for its showdown series next weekend against Tennessee.