Ranking each SEC baseball team entering conference play

13. South Carolina

Ethan Petry is playing like the star he is, hitting .377 and slugging .754. The outfielder has a strong chance of being a first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Nathan Hall has also been great for the Gamecocks, posting a 1.093 OPS in 74 plate appearances. South Carolina is 14-3 and could improve throughout the season under new head coach and college baseball legend Paul Mainieri.

12. Vanderbilt

It is odd to see the Commodores ranked this low, but here they are after an underwhelming showing in the Southern California College Baseball Classic. They dropped games to USC and UConn, but they rebounded this past weekend by outscoring Xavier 25-3. Outfielders RJ Austin and Jacob Humphrey have been their biggest standouts so far, but true freshman Brodie Johnston has been great, too, with half of his hits going for extra bases.

11. Auburn

The Tigers are 13-3 with home losses to Holy Cross and Old Dominion, but Auburn could have one of the most dangerous lineups in the SEC. Six players with over 50 plate appearances have an OPS greater than 1.000 and that is excluding potential first-round pick Ike Irish. The Tigers will be tested in the country’s toughest conference, but they have the talent to be near the top of the standings by season’s end.

Ethan Petry is still good pic.twitter.com/T5ChTsQAxV

— College Baseball Central (@CollegeBaseCNT) February 14, 2025