Big 12 baseball is in full swing, as we just wrapped up the first full month of conference play. Last week, we had a major shakeup in the power rankings, and this week, things were no different! So, without further ado, here are my Big 12 baseball power rankings for the week!
#1 West Virginia (Last Week: 2)
For the first time this season, the West Virginia Mountaineers take the top spot in the power rankings. After a sweep against an improved Houston team on the road and a Kansas collapse, the Mountaineers earned the right to be number one.
#2 Arizona (Last Week: 3)
After a loud statement series win a week ago against Arizona State, the Wildcats followed that up with another key series win against Oklahoma State. While Arizona may be new to the Big 12 baseball scene, they are certainly making their mark.
#3 TCU (Last Week: 5)
Don’t look now, but the Horned Frogs are climbing and climbing up fast. It’s going to be extremely rare for any team in the Big 12 to sweep Kansas, and TCU did it like it was nothing. They put a beatdown on the Jayhawks Friday night, followed by a close win on Saturday, and closed things out on Sunday with an easy 7-2 victory.
#4 Kansas (Last Week: 1)
Coming down from number one was bound to happen at some point, but I didn’t think it would be because Kansas would get swept by somebody. I am positive the Jayhawks will rebound, but this past weekend put a little damper in the Big 12 title race.
#5 Arizona State (Last Week: 4)
For the second weekend in a row, the Sun Devils find themselves on the wrong end of a series. That number-one ranking a few weeks back now seems like a lifetime ago.
#6 Oklahoma State (Last Week: 6)
Some may not agree with this, but I didn’t penalize Oklahoma State for dropping a series against Arizona in Tucson. The main reason is that the Cowboys swept the next team on the list just a week ago.
#7 Kansas State (Last Week: 7)
A series win is a series win, but I am not ready to put them over Oklahoma State just yet after taking down a bad UCF team this past weekend.
#8 Cincinnati (Last Week: 9)
Slowly but surely, Cincinnati is climbing out of the Big 12 baseball cellar for the last couple of weekends. They just had a big series win over a good Arizona State team and I am curious to see how they follow that up.
#9 Texas Tech (Last Week: 11)
I am not saying I am fully bought in on the Red Raiders but this past weekend against Baylor was a big step in the right direction for this ball club.
#10 Houston (Last Week: 8)
Even though I didn’t expect much out of Houston this weekend, I didn’t think they would get swept at home. It just goes to show you just how good West Virginia really is this season.
#11 Baylor (Last Week: 10)
At one time, Baylor was a lock to be in the top ten in my power rankings week in and week out, but things have changed. The Bears fell short against Texas Tech and are now trying to stay out of the bottom tier of the Big 12.
#12 UCF (Last Week: 13)
Despite losing to Kansas State, I couldn’t drop the Knights below the next two teams on the list. But at some point, this team needs to get their stuff together and figure it out. This team is too talented to be this bad.
#13 Utah (Last Week: 14)
Even though they are way down the list, there is some good news for Utah. Number one, they got out of last place and number two, they beat their in-state rival. Not a bad weekend of work!
#14 BYU (Last Week: 12)
Do I really need to say anything here? Utah was ranked dead last a week ago and BYU just dropped a series to the Utes. Sorry BYU fans.
