Big 12 Baseball Power Rankings: West Virginia Holds, Arizona Schools Climb After Another Wild Weekend

It’s May in the Big 12, and things are getting serious on the diamond. With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the pressure is ramping up—and so is the chaos.

Teams are jockeying for postseason position, title hopes are tightening, and this weekend brought another round of shakeups across the standings. From statement sweeps to brutal setbacks, the conference picture again looks different.

Here’s how the Big 12 stacks up heading into the home stretch.

 

1. West Virginia

The Mountaineers remain at the top after a quick two-day series win over Texas Tech in Morgantown. The Red Raiders took the first game on Saturday, but West Virginia bounced back to take the final two games and the series. It’s going to take a lot for this team to be knocked out of first place.

2. Arizona State

I told everyone the Sun Devils would be back in the top two, and after a series win against Baylor, they are right back in the mix for the Big 12 title race. Sure, they’re still a few games back, but there’s time left for them to make a run at a conference championship.

3. Arizona

Much like their in-state rival, the Wildcats are near the top of the Big 12 power rankings. They’ve been a consistent team all season and just took down a red-hot TCU team over the weekend. Don’t count this team out just yet in the Big 12 title race.

4. Kansas State

I feel like nobody is talking about Kansas State nationally—and that’s a shame. The Wildcats have a winning record in Big 12 play and won another series this past weekend against BYU. This is a team I would not want to play right now.

 

5. Oklahoma State

Some may argue the Cowboys don’t deserve to be ranked this high due to their record in conference play, but they just completed a sweep of UCF this past weekend. I know their postseason hopes looked like a long shot earlier in the year, but this team is trending in the right direction.

6. Cincinnati

Don’t look now, but the Bearcats have found some late-season magic. Coming into the weekend, Kansas was one of the hottest teams in the Big 12, and Cincinnati managed to sweep them in a three-game series.

7. Kansas

The Jayhawks fell flat on their face this past weekend against Cincinnati. After weeks in the top five, Kansas finally took one on the chin. Still, they’re a lock to make a regional as things stand.

8. Houston

There’s still plenty of work to do in Houston, but they desperately needed a sweep over Utah to stay in the postseason hunt—and they got it done. While I have my doubts about this team making a regional, they’re not quite out of the mix just yet.

 

9. TCU

The good news: TCU is still in solid shape to make a regional. The bad news: they just dropped a series on the road to Arizona. Still, I think this team will be fine when June rolls around.

10. Texas Tech

Tech gave West Virginia an early scare but couldn’t complete the series win in Morgantown. After taking Game 1 on Saturday, they dropped the next two and the series.

11. Baylor

Once again, Baylor falls outside the top ten after a series loss to Arizona State. The Bears have yet to find any consistency in Big 12 play, and they’ll need to turn things around quickly to stay in the postseason picture.

12. UCF

Every time it seems like this team is turning a corner, they fall flat the next weekend. The Knights just got swept by Oklahoma State and now sit at 6–18 in Big 12 play. UCF can kiss the postseason goodbye.

13. BYU

BYU didn’t win their series against Kansas State, but at least they didn’t get swept like their in-state rival. The Cougars have struggled all season in Big 12 play, and I don’t see them climbing out of the bottom anytime soon.

14. Utah

The Utes drop to the bottom of the list after getting swept by Houston. Utah has been a Big 12 cellar dweller all season, and this weekend confirmed it—they’re in dead last for now.