Power Rankings for SEC Baseball, Softball Regionals: All Things CW

There's a difference between the standings and which teams are really playing their best at this point of the spring seasons.

Regionals are under way in the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament and the baseball regular season comes to a close this weekend with the SEC Tournament on tap next week. 

But the standings, rankings and seedings hardly match up in either sport. For example, LSU has a terrific baseball team, but key injuries are taking a toll and could make sustaining any kind of long run next week extremely difficult. In short, the bullpen is a mess, which is putting it kindly.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt's top two starters Carter Holton and Hunter Owen are dealing with injuries as well. Holton's season may be over, and Owen probably won't pitch in Hoover. But the Commodores suddenly aren't hitting well either.  

Arkansas is on the verge of securing the No. 1 seeding for the SEC Tournament, heading into Friday's games with a 20-8 record, but Arkansas is 7-7 away from Baum-Walker Stadium. Granted, Dave Van Horn's team finds a way to win, and has been terrific on the mound and defensively, but offensively needs to pick it up. 

And then there's Tennessee, which has been lights-out good at home, but can't win on the road, just 2-11 (1-1 at neutral sites). 

The league has won four of the last five national titles (not included 2020 when the postseason was cancelled), but for the second straight year the reigning champions are going to miss the NCAA Tournament. That's how tough the SEC is. 

Meanwhile, the two hottest teams in the league will both have the advantage of playing before home-state fans next week, Alabama and Auburn, which could help the SEC Tournament really be one to remember. Both can move up another slot or two before the selections are announced for the NCAA Tournament. 

Baseball

Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

1. Florida
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. Kentucky
5. Vanderbilt
6. Alabama
7. Auburn
8. Tennessee
9. South Carolina
10. Texas A&M
11. Missouri
12. Georgia
13. Mississippi State
14. Ole Miss 

Softball

Photo | SEC

Tennessee has to get the nod after winning the SEC Tournament, but one can only speculate what might have happened had Alabama ace Montana Fouts not suffered a hyperextended knee.

Patrick Murphy dropped a hint this week that he won't be afraid of overusing Fouts in the tournament if she can return, but that's assuming her knee holds up as well. That makes the Crimson Tide not only the biggest question mark in the league, but the whole 64-team tournament.

Otherwise, you'll notice that the power rankings look very little like the seedings for last week's SEC tournament, which were based on the final regular-season standings. 

1. Tennessee
   
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. Auburn
8. Kentucky
9. Texas A&M
10. South Carolina
11. Ole Miss
12. Missouri
13. Mississippi State