Gamecocks finally reach the Top 25 ranks in latest baseball polls

With the regular season winding to a close, the South Carolina Gamecocks have finally cracked the Top 25, checking in at 25th in D1Baseball’s poll and 23rd in Baseball America’s after winning their fourth consecutive SEC series with a victory against Missouri this past weekend.

D1Baseball also released its updated NCAA Tournament projections, slotting South Carolina as a 2-seed in the Durham Regional with host Duke. The last time the Gamecocks played Duke in the postseason, they defeated the Blue Devils in the 2016 Columbia Regional.

D1’s latest projection diverged from their previous set, which had the Gamecocks making the trip to Clemson instead (also as a 2-seed). College Sports Madness has held firm with that prediction, while Patrick Magee of The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader places South Carolina as the 2-seed in Florida State’s regional. Baseball America hasn’t yet updated their projections, but last week also had the Gamecocks going to Clemson.

With the Gamecocks’ midweek contest against USC Upstate canceled due to weather concerns, South Carolina will enter this weekend’s regular-season finale against Texas A&M fresh and rested. Sitting at fifth in the league standings, the Gamecocks (30-21, 15-12 SEC) will have a chance to improve their standing and possibly snag a first-round bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament.