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No matter the year, there are always significant surprises in college baseball.
This year, UNLV and Central Arkansas seem to be cut from that cloth. UNLV and UCA each were expected to finish in the middle of their respective conferences this spring. But thanks to incredibly fast starts, both entered this week's Perfect Game College Top 25.
The Rebels certainly are the more known commodity in this sport. Head Coach Tim Chambers built a junior college power at the College of Southern Nevada, and now has things headed the right direction at UNLV with a good balance of starting pitching and hitting. Meanwhile, the Bears shocked the country over the weekend with a road series win over red-hot Mississippi State, marking the first big statement this program has made since moving Division I in 2007.
While the Rebels and Bears are new entrants in this week's rankings, North Carolina holds steady atop the rankings after doing a clean sweep of Wake Forest in impressive fashion last weekend. The top five now includes the Tar Heels, Vanderbilt, LSU, UCLA and new top-five member Oregon State, which is off to a great 15-0 start.
In terms of movement in this week's rankings, Stanford dropped from No. 5 to No. 18 following a dismal weekend against UNLV, while Arizona State continues to climb the rankings, going from No. 19 to No. 19. Meanwhile, Notre Dame catapulted from No. 23 to No. 17 after tallying a 2-1 record in last week's Dodgertown Classic.
UC Irvine (21) and Virginia Tech (25) dropped out of this week's rankings. The Anteaters dropped a series to BYU over the weekend, while the Hokies dropped a tough home series to sizzling Georgia Tech.
Conference breakdown
SEC: 7
Pacific 12: 6
ACC: 5
Big 12: 1
Big East: 2
Big West: 1
Conference USA: 1
Mountain West: 1
Southland: 1
The Perfect Game Top 25 will be released each Monday morning throughout the college baseball season.
ALSO SEE: Sunday's roundup/Weekend in review
| Rank |
Team |
W-L |
Conference |
Previous rank |
| 1. |
North Carolina
|
14-0 |
Atlantic Coast |
1 |
| 2. |
Vanderbilt
|
15-2 |
Southeastern
|
2 |
| 3. |
Louisiana State |
15-1 |
Southeastern
|
3 |
| 4. |
UCLA
|
11-3 |
Pacific 12 |
4 |
| 5. |
Oregon State
|
15-0 |
Pacific 12 |
6 |
| 6. |
Georgia Tech
|
14-2 |
Atlantic Coast |
9 |
| 7. |
South Carolina
|
13-2
|
Southeastern |
7 |
| 8. |
Mississippi
|
16-1 |
Southeastern |
12 |
| 9. |
Cal State Fullerton |
13-3
|
Big West |
11 |
| 10. |
Louisville |
12-2
|
Big East |
14 |
| 11. |
Florida State |
15-0 |
Atlantic Coast |
15 |
| 12. |
Kentucky
|
13-2 |
Southeastern
|
13
|
| 13. |
Arizona State
|
10-2
|
Pacific 12 |
19 |
| 14. |
Mississippi State
|
17-2 |
Southeastern
|
10 |
| 15. |
North Carolina State |
12-4 |
Atlantic Coast
|
8 |
| 16. |
Arkansas
|
11-5 |
Southeastern |
16 |
| 17. |
Notre Dame |
10-3 |
Big East
|
23 |
| 18. |
Stanford
|
10-5 |
Pacific 12 |
5 |
| 19. |
Oregon |
11-5 |
Pacific 12 |
17 |
| 20. |
Rice
|
9-7 |
Conference USA |
20 |
| 21. |
Oklahoma |
12-4 |
Big 12
|
18 |
| 22. |
Virginia
|
14-1 |
Atlantic Coast |
24 |
| 23. |
Arizona |
13-5 |
Pacific 12
|
22 |
| 24. |
UNLV
|
11-3 |
Mountain West |
NR |
| 25. |
Central Arkansas |
14-2 |
Southland
|
NR |
Dropped out: UC Irvine (21), Virginia Tech (25)
Entered: UNLV, Central Arkansas
Others to watch: Mercer, Florida Gulf Coast, Clemson, Cal Poly, Indiana, San Diego, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas, Furman, Lamar.