The SEC has been the cream of the crop of college baseball for years and most of the 21st century — they’ve won the last six Men’s College World Series and 11 since 2009.
There’s a pool of fans that only know a world where the SEC reigns supreme.
2026 seemed to be no different with 11 of the 25 teams in D1Baseball’s preseason rankings hailing from the conference, hyping up the idea that this year will be the seventh in a row.
Heading into mid-March, things begin to get more serious around the country as conference play starts, especially in the SEC, where the 16 teams have a combined record of 225-50 (.818) and 11 teams are still ranked.
Let’s take a look at how the group has played, storylines and more.
Leading the pack
Texas
16-0.
There’s not much else that needs to be said about the Longhorns, who are one of two teams in DI baseball still undefeated. They’ve steamrolled through their competition, taking down then-No. 9 Coastal Carolina on their way to winning the Bruce Bolt College Classic and tied the program record for scoring double-digit runs in six straight games.
Outside of that late weekend, Texas hasn’t faced much Power 4 competition besides a three-game series with Michigan State, but the feat is still incredible. Texas also leads the conference in ERA (2.42). It will be interesting to see how long it holds up in SEC play.
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs have been the second-best team in the conference, holding a 15-2 record and dominating in coach Brian O’Connor’s first season in Starkville.
Mississippi State’s only blemishes came against No. 1 UCLA, losing 8-7 in extra innings at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, and on the road to then-No. 10 Southern Miss, 7-6, in one of college baseball’s most difficult environments to win in.
With the best batting average in the SEC (.354), the Bulldogs have scored at least six runs in all 17 contests.
Auburn
The first week of the season was an interesting one for Auburn. They beat Youngstown State, 2-1, in its first two contests, poured in 17 runs in the finale and got shut out by Cincinnati at home on the following Tuesday.
They didn’t look back after the loss to the Bearcats, though, winning Weekend 2 of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with back-to-back victories over then-No. 9 Florida State and then-No. 15 Louisville.
And they haven’t taken their foot off the gas pedal yet. They are 13-2 and winners of their last six. The offense, which entered the season as arguably one of the best in the country, has three guys batting over .390. The pitching staff, which had more questions than answers heading into the season, has the second-best ERA in the SEC (2.48)
Oklahoma
The Shriners Children’s College Showdown featured three D1Baseball preseason ranked squads in its six-team field with Arkansas, TCU and Vanderbilt.
The winner of the tournament? Oklahoma.
The Sooners, who finished last season under .500 in SEC play, put the college baseball world on notice during the first weekend of the season. They beat three of their opponents by a combined 32-6, including a run rule on then-No. 10 TCU, 12-2.
OU has lost just two times since then, sitting at 14-2 with a weekend rotation already locked in place. Their top two starters, LJ Mercurius and lefty Cameron Johnson, hold 0.39 and 2.11 ERAs, respectively.
Records entering SEC play throughout the years
It’s nearly impossible for any SEC team’s non-conference slate to live up to a conference schedule, but it does provide insight and a preview of what to possibly expect from each program.
Here’s a look at all 16 teams’ records entering SEC play since 2019 and how the six national champs fared early on.
2020 wasn’t included due to the shortened season. Oklahoma and Texas’ 2019-24 records aren’t shown due to both joining the conference ahead of 2025.
| Team | 2026 record | 2025 record | 2024 record | 2023 record | 2022 record | 2021 record | 2019 record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 15-3 | 17-1 | 15-2 | 16-2 | 12-6 | 14-3 | 16-2 |
| Arkansas | 12-5 | *16-1 | 14-2 | 15-2 | *13-3 | 12-2 | *14-2 |
| Auburn | 14-2 | 14-3 | 13-3 | 13-3-1 | *13-4 | 11-5 | *15-2 |
| Florida | 15-3 | 16-2 | *10-6 | *16-3 | 13-4 | 13-5 | 14-5 |
| Georgia | 15-3 | 19-1 | 18-2 | 13-4 | 17-3 | 13-3 | 15-2 |
| Kentucky | 15-2 | 13-2 | *14-3 | 15-2 | 14-4 | 11-3 | 13-4 |
| LSU | 13-5 | **17-1 | 16-2 | **16-1 | 15-3 | 15-3 | 12-5 |
| Mississippi State | 15-2 | 13-4 | 13-5 | 13-5 | 11-7 | **14-3 | *16-1 |
| Missouri | 15-2 | 8-8 | 9-8 | 13-3 | 12-2 | 7-10 | 11-5 |
| Oklahoma | 14-2 | 15-1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ole Miss | 15-3 | 14-2 | 13-5 | 14-3 | **13-3 | 13-4 | 12-5 |
| South Carolina | 12-6 | 15-3 | 14-3 | 17-1 | 10-6 | 11-4 | 14-3 |
| Tennessee | 13-4 | 17-0 | **17-1 | *15-3 | 16-1 | *15-3 | 17-1 |
| Texas | 16-0 | 14-1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Texas A&M | 15-1 | 10-6 | *17-0 | 13-4 | *10-6 | 15-4 | 15-4 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 14-3 | 15-3 | 13-5 | 14-2 | *13-2 | **14-3 |
*Reached the Men’s College World Series
**Won the Men’s College World Series
A rough final week of non-con play
The final full week of non-conference play, including the Monday, March 9, left multiple SEC teams with a few bruises, some more than others. The losses seeped through the conference, six by the SEC’s two representatives at the 2025 MCWS.
LSU
No team suffered more than the reigning national champions across the seven-day span, experiencing one of its worst weeks in years.
LSU lost back-to-back midweek meetings against Northeastern (March 2) and Louisiana (March 4), the first time the Tigers lost consecutive games against unranked opponents since 2023. Matters went from bad to worse for the reigning national champions by the day, losing the weekend series against Sacramento State, 2-1. It was the program’s first non-conference series loss at home since 2021.
The Tigers, who won the Jax College Baseball Classic in late February, entered the week 11-1 and left 12-5.
Arkansas
The second half of the SEC’s representation in Omaha didn’t win its weekend series either.
The Razorbacks trotted into Sunday with a 3-0 record in the week, pummeling Oral Roberts, 10-2, on Tuesday and outscored Stetson 20-2 in their first two victories. Playing a four-game series, Arkansas just needed one more win to take it.
However, the roles reversed between the two teams on Sunday and Monday, as the Hatters’ pitching staff shined to beat the Razorbacks 4-1 and 6-4, respectively. It was the first time since 2014 that Arkansas had lost or tied a non-conference series.
Monday Funday? Stetson certainly thinks so ⚡️
Currently leading No. 6 Arkansas going into the 6th 👀#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @StetsonBaseball pic.twitter.com/n5evDKcuTQ
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) March 9, 2026
Florida
Riding a 13-game win streak, the Gators had been untouchable heading into its weekend series at home against High Point.
The Panthers erased that momentum in the first two games, winning both and taking the series without needing a Sunday rubber match. They nearly swept Florida, but they allowed the Gators to score four runs in the ninth inning and win on a walk-off. It marked the program’s first non-conference series loss since 2022.
Florida dropped out of D1Baseball’s top 10 rankings and down to No. 23 following the unexpected weekend.
Surprisingly good (and bad) starts
Missouri
The most runs scored in a single game by an SEC team this season was Missouri, beating Mount St. Mary’s 34-3.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The shock value of that fact isn’t the staggering number — it’s the team that did it. Mizzou was the worst team in the conference last year, going 3-27 in conference play, the worst by any SEC team since it moved to a 30-game schedule in 1996.
They’ve turned over a new leaf in 2026, so far, sitting at 14-2 with three players hitting over .400 in infielder/outfielder Tyler Macon (.476), outfielder Cameron Benson (.425) and designated hitter Jase Woita (.404). The team’s schedule has been light, facing opponents with a combined 39-62-1 record (.382), but they carry tons of momentum entering conference play.
Vanderbilt
Much hasn’t gone right in the Commodores’ fall from grace, starting the season as D1Baseball’s preseason No. 23 team to the SEC’s worst record at 10-7.
Vanderbilt went 1-2 at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown to start the season, won its next five matchups, but lost its footing at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic, going 0-3. They proceeded to lose a midweek contest to Central Arkansas and North Dakota State a few games later.
Volatile best describes their first 18 games. They’ve scored 10 or more runs in nine of their 11 wins and averaged less than three runs in losses.
Can the Commodores find stability with the higher level of competition entering SEC play?
South Carolina
Hiccups have echoed throughout South Carolina’s season so far, sitting at 12-6 with losses scattered throughout their schedule.
The Gamecocks started 2-0, but they lost the final game of their series against Northern Kentucky. They fell to Army three games later at the Salute the Troops Weekend and lost three of their next four to Queens and Clemson in the Palmetto Series. South Carolina proceeded to go on a five-game win streak, but was stunned on the road by The Citadel on Tuesday.
South Carolina currently holds the second-worst record in the SEC, the same position it finished in the 2025 standings. More consistency will be essential, especially in conference play, if the Gamecocks don’t want to end up at the bottom again.
Schedule for SEC’s opening weekend
All times listed in ET.
- No. 2 Texas vs. Ole Miss, starting Friday at 7:30 p.m.
- No. 3 Mississippi State at No. 5 Arkansas, starting Friday at 7 p.m.
- No. 6 Auburn at Missouri, starting Friday at 7 p.m.
- No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 19 Tennessee, starting Friday at 6 p.m.
- No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 22 Texas A&M
- No. 13 LSU at Vanderbilt, starting Friday at 7 p.m.
- No. 21 Kentucky vs. Alabama, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m.
- No. 23 Florida vs. South Carolina, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m.
