FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas remained No. 1 in the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll on Monday.
This time it was unanimous.
The Razorbacks (17-2, 3-0 SEC) received all 31 first-place votes in the poll. Arkansas received 18 first-place votes last week when it ascended to the top spot in the poll.
It marks the 14th time the Razorbacks have earned a No. 1 ranking in the poll. Arkansas was ranked first in the preseason poll in 2013 and spent 11 weeks at the top in 2021.
The Razorbacks went 4-0 since last week’s poll with victories of 4-2 over Oral Roberts and 8-0, 6-0 and 9-1 over Missouri. They have won 13 consecutive games by a combined score of 114-26.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was asked Sunday about how his team has handled the top ranking.
“We’re No. 1? I haven't talked to the team one time, have I?” Van Horn said as he looked at players sitting in the back of the interview room. “We haven’t talked about it. We don’t talk about it. We just play.
“I guess to answer your question, we won all three games [against Missouri], so it went good. I guess it’s an honor for somebody to rank you No. 1 because they think you’re that good, but somebody’s got to be there right now.”
Arkansas also was ranked atop polls released Monday by D1Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Razorbacks were ranked second in the NCBWA poll last week.
“I think the best way to put it is: play like you’re unranked,” Arkansas pitcher Mason Molina said Sunday. “It doesn’t matter where you’re at or where [voters] put you. I think if you can play with that chip on your shoulder, no matter where they put you, it’s going to be hard to beat us.”
Oregon State is ranked second in this week’s coaches poll. The Beavers won their series against Utah over the weekend, but had a 12-game win streak snapped that dated to a 5-4 loss to Arkansas on Feb. 23 in Arlington, Texas.
The Razorbacks lead nine SEC teams ranked this week. Following Arkansas is Vanderbilt (3), LSU (4), Texas A&M (6), Tennessee (7), Florida (8), Alabama (10), Auburn (24) and Kentucky (25).
Arkansas is scheduled to play Auburn beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Razorbacks have been ranked in the coaches poll for 98 consecutive weeks dating to 2017. Arkansas has been ranked in the top 10 of the poll for 50 of the past 52 weeks.
USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll, March 18
1. Arkansas (17-2)
2. Oregon State (17-2)
3. Vanderbilt (18-3)
4. LSU (17-4)
5. Clemson (17-2)
6. Texas A&M (18-2)
7. Tennessee (18-3)
8. Florida (12-7)
9. Duke (15-5)
10. Alabama (17-3)
11. Virginia (16-4)
12. Florida State (18-0)
13. East Carolina (14-4)
14. Wake Forest (13-6)
15. Coastal Carolina (17-3)
16. Dallas Baptist (16-3)
17. North Carolina (17-4)
18. TCU (15-5)
19. Campbell (15-4)
20. Oklahoma (13-6)
21. UC Irvine (15-3)
22. UC Santa Barbara (12-5)
23. Virginia Tech (14-4)
24. Auburn (13-6)
25. Kentucky (17-3)
Dropped Out: North Carolina State (14), South Carolina (20), Texas (24), Texas Tech (25)