Tennessee baseball takes over No. 1 ranking in USA TODAY Coaches Poll

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Tennessee baseball is the No. 1 team in the nation.

The Vols took over the top spot in the USA TODAY Coaches poll Monday after winning a series at Florida. Former No. 1 Texas A&M lost a series to lowly LSU and No. 2 Arkansas lost a series at SEC-leading Kentucky. UT also is ranked No. 1 by Perfect Game and D1 Baseball.

Tennessee (39-9, 17-7 SEC) has a series at Vanderbilt (32-15, 11-12) starting Friday (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). The Vols have won seven straight series in SEC play.

Tennessee baseball is back as the No. 1 team in the nation

The Vols spent two months as the No. 1 team in the nation in 2022. UT took over the top spot in early April and held it through the end of May, winning the SEC regular-season title and SEC Tournament title along the way.

UT went into the postseason with a 53-7 record and won the Knoxville Regional before falling in the Knoxville Super Regional to Notre Dame in three games.

Tennessee has been one of the best programs in the nation since the start of the 2020 season. UT reached the College World Series in 2021 and 2023. It had one of the best regular seasons in the history of the sport in 2022. It also was off to a roaring start in 2020 before the season ended in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where Tennessee baseball has been ranked this season

Tennessee was No. 8 in the USA TODAY coaches preseason poll. The Vols hovered there until mid-March when they rose as high as No. 5.

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UT spent two weeks at No. 4 before jumping to No. 3 for the past three weeks.

Tennessee has been in the top-10 the entire season.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.