Conference play is underway in Big 12 country, with all 14 teams taking the field this past weekend. We are moving through conference play, so now is the time when teams begin to separate themselves at the top of the standings. And we’re seeing exactly that. Keep in mind, things can change quickly in the Big 12 from week to week, but here are my Big 12 baseball power rankings after the seventh weekend of action in conference play.
#1 Kansas Jayhawks (Last Week: No. 1)
Are you surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be because Kansas has been the best team in the Big 12 for weeks now. The Jayhawks completed a sweep over their in-state rival, Kansas State, in the Sunflower Showdown. And now, they hold a three-game lead in the conference standings.
#2 Arizona State Sun Devils (Last Week: No. 3)
For the first time this season, Arizona State has cracked the Top 2. The Sun Devils swept the Baylor Bears with ease as they scored more than ten runs in two of their three games. Still a long way to go but this team is clicking on all cylinders right now.
#3 TCU Horned Frogs (Last Week: No. 5)
Much like the two teams ahead of them, TCU did their job by sweeping a bad Houston team this past weekend. While the first two games were somewhat close, the Horned Frogs completely put a beatdown on the Cougars with a run rule victory to close out the weekend.
#4 Cincinnati Bearcats (Last Week: No. 6)
Outside of Kansas, nobody has had better three weeks than Cincinnati. The Bearcats just notched their third straight series win this past weekend as they took down West Virginia. While they still have a losing record in conference play, I don’t expect that to last long. This team is red hot, and I wouldn’t want to see them.
#5 West Virginia Mountaineers (Last Week: No. 2)
Sometimes you just have a rough weekend and that’s what happened to West Virginia. Cincinnati was simply the better team this weekend despite West Virginia being the more consistent team overall. This team will be fine even though they dropped a series.
#6 UCF Knights (Last Week: No. 7)
If anyone needed a bounce back weekend, it was UCF. And what a bounce back it was. The Knights cleaned house with the Utes as they swept them with ease. In fact, UCF outscored Utah 34 to 6 in their three games. That is complete domination.
#7 Oklahoma State (Last Week: No. 8)
It’s crazy how fast things can turn around for a team. A few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure if Oklahoma State was a postseason team, but they have put themselves in a good position after sweeping Texas Tech in Lubbock this past weekend.
#8 BYU Cougars (Last Week: No. 12)
Don’t count out this team just yet. I didn’t have BYU beating Arizona on my bingo card, but they managed to win back-to-back games to take the series and are back above .500 in conference play.
#9 Kansas State Wildcats (Last Week: No. 4)
When you face the best team in the Big 12, I can understand a loss. But getting swept at home? That’s unacceptable for a team as good as Kansas State. I guess we will see how they respond this week.
#10 Utah Utes (Last Week: No. 9)
For a team that relies so much on their offense scoring a ton of runs, they were nowhere to be found against UCF. The Utes scored just six runs in three games and also gave up over 30 runs. That is a recipe for disaster.
#11 Arizona Wildcats (Last Week: No. 10)
This was supposed to be the weekend when Arizona turned the corner and made a push. They blew it against Kansas State and now they blew it against BYU. Put a fork in them because they are done.
#12 Baylor Bears (Last Week: No. 11)
Not that long ago, I had Baylor as a potential postseason team. Well, that ship has sailed because they just don’t have that same juice anymore and getting swept by Arizona State doesn’t help either. But there is still just a little bit more time to turn things around.
#13 Texas Tech (Last Week: No. 13)
I have officially thrown in the towel on this Texas Tech team after getting swept by Oklahoma State. After getting run ruled on Friday night, Tech was playing catch up all weekend long. This program needs a change.
#14 Houston Cougars (Last Week: No. 14)
Did you expect anyone else to be here? Houston got swept again and are now 4-17 in Big 12 play. Ouch.
