NCAA Baseball Rankings 2022: Latest Top 25 D1 RPI, Team Records and Standings

Two weeks away from the start of conference tournaments across the country, the race for the 64 spots in the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament is heating up. 

Tennessee has been the best team in the nation all year, but its hold on the top spot has loosened coming off its first series loss of the season over the weekend at Kentucky. 

Last weekend also marked the second time the Vols have lost back-to-back games. They previously lost a mid-week game against Tennessee Tech on April 12 and their series opener against Alabama on April 15. They followed that up with eight straight wins. 

Oregon State and Connecticut are the only other teams ranked in the top 25 with fewer than 10 losses heading into this week's games. 

Here are the updated top 25 standings, with most teams having fewer than 10 games remaining in the regular season. 

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NCAA Baseball Top 25 (Week of May 8)

1. Tennessee Volunteers (42-6)

2. Oregon State Beavers (38-9)

3. Oklahoma State Cowboys (34-13)

4. Arkansas Razorbacks (36-12)

5. Miami Hurricanes (35-12)

6. Virginia Tech Hokies (33-10)

7. Stanford Cardinal (29-14)

8. Louisville Cardinals (33-13)

9. Virginia Cavaliers (34-12)

10. Connecticut Huskies (40-8)

11. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (36-12)

12. Gonzaga Bulldogs (29-13)

13. Texas Tech Red Raiders (32-16)

14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (28-10)

15. LSU Tigers (32-15)

16. Texas A&M Aggies (30-16)

17. Maryland Terrapins (37-10)

18. Texas Longhorns (34-17)

19. Texas State Bobcats (38-11)

20. Auburn Tigers (32-16)

21. Vanderbilt Commodores (31-15)

22. Georgia Bulldogs (32-16)

23. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (33-11)

24. UCLA Bruins (30-17)

25. Florida State Seminoles (28-17)

Top 25 via USA Today Coaches Poll

NCAA Baseball RPI

1. Tennessee Volunteers (42-6)

2. Oregon State Beavers (38-9)

3. Oklahoma State Cowboys (34-13)

4. Vanderbilt Commodores (31-15)

5. Georgia Southern Eagles (32-15)

6. Dallas Baptist Patriots (30-17)

7. Miami Hurricanes (35-12)

8. Virginia Tech Hokies (33-10)

9. Georgia Bulldogs (32-16)

10. Auburn Tigers (32-16)

11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (28-10)

12. Florida Gators (29-18)

13. Louisville Cardinals (33-13)

14. Virginia Cavaliers (34-12)

15. Maryland Terrapins (37-10)

16. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (36-12)

17. Texas Longhorns (34-17)

18. LSU Tigers (32-15)

19. Clemson Tigers (31-17)

20. Arkansas Razorbacks (36-12)

21. Wofford Terriers (35-13)

22. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (33-14)

23. Texas A&M Aggies (30-16)

24. Oregon Ducks (28-19)

25. Florida State Seminoles (28-17)

via NCAA.com

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Weekend Series to Watch: No. 21 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Arkansas

The race for the No. 2 seed in the SEC East is tight between Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Bulldogs (13-11) have a one-game lead, but the Commodores (12-12) took two out of three at Foley Field last weekend. 

This has been an unusual season for Vanderbilt, which had an 18-game winning streak after dropping two of three in its opening series of the year to Oklahoma State. It has gone 13-13 in 26 games since that winning streak ended on March 25. 

Vanderbilt has really had issues against quality competition. It doesn't have a series win this season against teams currently ranked in the top 20 (Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M). 

Injuries have been a problem for the Commodores this season. Head coach Tim Corbin said Tuesday on his weekly radio show (h/t Aria Gerson of the Nashville Tennessean) that Calvin Hewett has a thumb injury that will keep him out for Wednesday against Indiana State. They are hoping to have the star outfielder back this weekend. 

Corbin also said first baseman Gavin Casas recently had minor knee surgery to repair an issue that has kept him out since early April, but they hope he can return before the end of the season. 

Despite those recent struggles and roster issues, the Commodores are projected to be the No. 3 seed in the Eugene Regional by D1Baseball.com. Oregon, UC Santa Barbara and UNLV are also projected to be in that region. 

Arkansas (16-8) is leading the SEC East by two games over LSU and Texas A&M (both 14-10).

The Razorbacks, barring a collapse over their final six games, won't have to play their first game of the conference tournament until May 25. They won the SEC tournament title last year for the second time in program history, but their season came to an end in the super regionals. 

When this season started, Vanderbilt and Arkansas were expected to be fighting for the top spot in the SEC. Both programs were considered consensus top-10 teams in February. 

If you look at the RPI rankings compared to the current top 25 poll, these two teams are almost inverses of each other. Vanderbilt is the fourth-best team in the nation by RPI; Arkansas is down at No. 20. 

Tennessee's ascent to the top of the rankings has caught many by surprise, though the traditional SEC powers will have a chance to make a statement when the conference tournament begins. 

Before we get to that point, though, a weekend showdown between Vanderbilt and Arkansas will go a long way toward showing where both teams stand heading into postseason play.