Stanford baseball is rising through the ranks. After sweeping Duke to take home its second consecutive ACC series win, the Cardinal have found themselves in the rankings after being out of them for all of the preseason, coming in at No. 18 early last week.
In this week’s poll, the Cardinal have risen even higher, receiving the No. 14 spot in the D1Baseball rankings with a 15-3 record on the season.
The Cardinal have once again looked like one of the nation’s best teams in college baseball, rattling off some very key wins so far this season while joining a new conference, most notably taking two games out of three against then-ranked No. 4 North Carolina.
This past weekend, the Cardinal continued to dominate, taking home a series sweep against Duke, a program that has also been known for its strong baseball program.
While receiving the No. 14 spot in D1Baseball, the Cardinal were ranked No. 14 by Baseball America and No. 15 by Perfect Game, and are now firmly inside the top 20, proving game after game that they belong in the same category with the rest of the nationally relevant teams.
Coming off a down season in 2024, going 22-33 and missing the College World Series for the first time since 2019, the Cardinal made it a major point to reload this season, bringing in a bunch of young talent such as freshmen Tatum Marsh and Charlie Bates while also unveiling stars such as Japanese phenom Rintaro Sasaki, who did not play last season.
Sasaki, who hit the first three home runs of his college career this past weekend, came into this season as one of the nation’s highest rated freshmen, and has been a major addition to the lineup.
Now that the Cardinal are ranked inside the top 20, it now becomes vitally important that they continue to live up to those expectations.
While it can be easier to perform when there are less expectations put onto you, the Cardinal now have a target on their backs, and need to make sure that they win the games that they are supposed to.
Up next for the Cardinal is a big series against former Pac-12 rivals, Cal, as the two programs will meet for the first time as members of the ACC and renew their long and historic rivalry.
Hosting the three game series, the first game on Friday is slated to begin at 6:05 p.m. (PT) at Sunken Diamond with game two on Saturday set to begin at 2:05 p.m. (PT). Sunday’s game will wrap up the series and will begin at 1:05 p.m. (PT).
dark. Next. Stanford MBB’s NIT Path Begins Against CSU Northridge. Stanford MBB’s NIT Path Begins Against CSU Northridge
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