We snuck in an extra game early this week, with several SEC matchups having Thursday start dates due to Easter.
As up and down as the league has been, any help available is greatly appreciated. While the top handful of SEC squads have been consistent, not much else has been.
Theres’s also a new No. 1 this week.
Here’s where the teams stand heading into the weekend.
16. Mizzou (17-13 overall, 1-8 in SEC)
Giving up 39 runs in a 3-game sweep to Texas A&M didn’t do a thing to help Missouri out. This looks like another pretty dire season for the Tigers.
15. South Carolina (15-16, 2-8)
A 9-1 beatdown of Texas on Thursday is about the best news South Carolina baseball has seen in 2026. That said, it’s tough to conceive of the Gamecocks as anywhere above 15th in the conference with a .209 batting average in league play coming into Thursday.
14. Tennessee (19-10, 3-6)
Unexpected? Yes, but then so was a 3-game sweep on 1-run decisions to Vanderbilt. Giving up a walk-off grand slam in the 16-15 epic on Sunday was the official sign that Tony Vitello’s Vols aren’t walking through the clubhouse door anytime soon. The Vols were tied for sixth in homers in league play heading into Thursday. The slugging has dropped off and the pitching hasn’t picked up the slack.
13. Oklahoma (20-9, 4-6)
The Sooners dropped their fourth-straight league game against Alabama on Thursday. The sweep to Texas had a pair of close games, but the Sooner pitching staff isn’t looking as sharp as it did to open the season. OU had a 6.29 ERA in league play entering Thursday and gave up 8 runs to Alabama in the second inning to fall behind quickly on Thursday.
12. Ole Miss (21-10, 4-6)
The Rebels helped their case with a solid 6-4 win at Florida on Thursday. That was after a weekend sweep from Mississippi State as Ole Miss scored just 6 runs in the 3 games. The Rebels need to improve on hitting .210 in conference action.
11. LSU (20-10, 4-5)
The Tigers claimed a home series over Kentucky thanks to active bats in a 17-10 comeback. They then scored 16 in a midweek win over Southern. The series in Knoxville gives LSU a chance to climb back to .500 in conference play, if the pitching can hold up.
Can the preseason No. 1 team recover in time to make a run to Omaha? Here’s the latest Kalshi market for this year’s College World Series champion:
10. Vanderbilt (19-12, 6-4)
Mark down 4 straight league wins for the Commodores after a 14-8 win over Texas A&M on Thursday. Vandy playing homer-heavy baseball is unusual, but it’s working. The Commodores were second in league play in homers and then added 5 more (3 from Collin Barczi) on Thursday. After a long era of pitching, defense, and speed, Vandy upped its power game significantly.
9. Kentucky (22-6, 5-4)
Kentucky has been fine, but failed to capitalize on 2 straight winnable road series matchups, going from up 7 runs on LSU to losing 17-10. Missouri is up this week so Kentucky can build up a nice SEC buffer above the teams near the bottom of the league.
8. Arkansas (19-12, 4-6)
A fifth consecutive loss in SEC play on a week where Arkansas lost 15-14 to Missouri State is just plain brutal. If the Hogs hadn’t otherwise looked very solid, they’d drop even farther. But a 10-2 loss to Auburn doesn’t start this weekend off on a good path.
7. Auburn (21-8, 5-5)
The Tigers dropped 6 games out of 7, including a sweep to Alabama and a 13-3 loss to Georgia Tech midweek. A 10-2 thumping of Arkansas on Tuesday might start the Tigers in the right direction.
6. Texas A&M (23-6, 5-5)
In 6 straight wins, A&M had scored 78 total runs. The Aggies scored 8 runs against Vandy on Thursday, but took a 14-8 loss. A&M’s 7.56 ERA in conference play is a concern.
5. Florida (23-8, 6-4)
A series sweep at Arkansas helped Florida find mojo it had lost in getting swept by Alabama. Florida then lost to Jacksonville and Ole Miss, so this team is obviously struggling a bit with consistency.
4. Alabama (24-7, 7-3)
With 9 wins in a row, Alabama is the hottest team in the SEC. Giving up just 4 runs in a 3-game sweep of Auburn was some heavy lifting. Heading into Thursday, Alabama was holding SEC hitters to a .193 batting average, which is second-best in the SEC.
3. Mississippi State (25-5, 7-3)
The Bulldogs had a 9-game winning streak ended on Thursday with a 10-9 home loss to Georgia. Sweeps of Vandy and Ole Miss showed that this Bulldog team is balanced and tough. They headed into Thursday leading the league in ERA in conference games at 2.69. State looks ready to be a pivotal factor in the SEC race.
2. Texas (24-5, 7-3)
The Horns took an ugly 9-1 loss at South Carolina after sweeping a series against Oklahoma last weekend. One key — Texas pitchers had allowed just 2 homers in league play heading into Thursday, when South Carolina hit 2 more.
1. Georgia (25-6, 8-2)
What’s not to like with this team? A few inexplicable midweek losses (Kennesaw State, Troy, Western Carolina), but otherwise not much. With 20 homers in SEC play, Georgia is always a threat to break open a big inning. Opening the weekend with a win at Mississippi State bumps the Dawgs to the top spot.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
