SEC Baseball: 5 Thoughts Ahead of the Last Leg of the Regular Season

Eleven weekends ago, more than 300 Division I teams hit the diamond bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to make history. Fresh spikes, blister-less hands, hopeful thoughts.

In less than a month, just 64 teams will remain. Most will be in physical or mental tatters, doing whatever they can to try to win a baseball game. They’ll be swiftly whittled down to a champion, which will be crowned in late June.

While watching games over the weekend, you could really feel the tension for the first time all season. Rowdy environments, clutch moments, defensive miscues. Players — and fanbases — are wound up. Everything carries a little more weight from here on out.

The calendar will flip to May on Friday. If it didn’t feel real before, it damn sure does now.

The SEC is trying to defend its CWS title for the sixth year in a row. There’s no shortage of contenders at or near the top of the ladder, but the league has certainly felt more dominant in recent years.

Storylines are abundant. Here are five SEC thoughts from yours truly as we start the final lap of the 2026 regular season.

Alabama’s April Showers

After scoring 12 runs to win game one at Tennessee, Alabama was dominated in a Friday doubleheader at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, scoring just four runs across 17 innings en route to a series loss.

That dropped the Crimson Tide to 29-16 overall and 10-11 in SEC play. Rob Vaughn’s club still has everything to play for, but this season is starting to shape up like the previous two.

Alabama played 12 SEC games this month and went 4-8. In three years under Vaughn, the Tide is now 15-21 in league play during the month of April.

Not an egregious record by any stretch, but it’s under .500 at a point in the season when true contenders really begin to push down on the gas. That hasn’t been the case in Tuscaloosa. It went 6-6 last April, but three of those wins came against Missouri, which finished 16-39 (3-27 SEC).

A lack of offense has been the culprit. In those 21 April defeats, Alabama has averaged 3.3 runs per game. It averaged 2.9 runs per game in its eight losses this month.

Superstar shortstop Justin Lebron is now hitting .226 in SEC play. Center fielder Bryce Fowler (.365), catcher/outfielder Brady Neal (.351), and a consistent rotation have done their best to keep the Tide in games.

Looking ahead, Bama went 4-5 in May SEC games in each of the last two seasons. Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Ole Miss remain on the schedule this year. The RPI currently sits at 7, but a weak finish won’t be conducive to hosting.

Bama has crashed out of a road regional both years under Vaughn. Does that same fate await it this June?

Hello, Tennessee

Is it too late to buy back that Tennessee stock I sold off a few weeks ago?

It truly seemed like Josh Elander’s first go-round in charge of the Vols was destined for failure after watching his team find ways to capitulate early on in SEC play. But the more I watch this team…maybe it’s not!

Tennessee’s brutal defeats have been well-documented, but in case you forgot: It lost a home series to Kent State; dropped a rubber game at Georgia — now a top-five team — via home run robbery; got walked off three days in a row at Vanderbilt; blew two leads in a home series loss to LSU and also lost a home series to Ole Miss.

That’s like asking Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and the rest of the top middleweight boxers from the 1980s to take turns throwing hooks into your solar plexus over and over. Not fun.

To Tennessee’s credit, it’s continued to get off the mat and now has an iron gut for its troubles. That’ll come in handy as it maneuvers through high-pressure situations late in the season.

Between the Vols’ series defeats to LSU and Ole Miss, it went to Starkville and became the second team in as many weeks to sweep Mississippi State, providing a much-needed jolt of energy. It got another over the weekend by taking its final two games against Alabama, improving to 29-15 (10-11 SEC).

Utility men Garrett Wright and Blake Grimmer have carried the load after missing the first portion of the year. Henry Ford continues to blast baseballs while Manny Marin exceeds his offensive expectations. The starting trio of Landon Mack, Tegan Kuhns and Evan Blanco can go toe-to-toe with anyone.

The final three weekends — at Kentucky, vs. Texas and at Oklahoma — will offer the Vols a chance to insert themselves among the second tier of potential contenders in the conference. Momentum looks to be on Tennessee’s side right now.

Kentucky Skids to the Bubble

When Kentucky swept Alabama on the opening weekend of SEC play, it felt like Nick Mingione had another tough-and-rugged bunch on his hands that was going to fight like hell to find ways to win baseball games.

The Bat Cats were 18-2 after that sweep. They are now 27-15 (9-12 SEC) after dropping two of three at South Carolina, their sixth series loss in a row.

Here’s what I wrote last week dissecting UK’s skid before the trip to the Palmetto State:

“Kentucky could ease some tensions with a winning weekend in Columbia. If it drops a sixth-straight series, though, then we’re looking at a team in dire straits with fading postseason hopes.”

We are looking at a team in dire straits with fading postseason hopes.

All due respect to Monte Lee — more on him in a moment — and the Gamecocks, but this past weekend firmly places Kentucky in the danger zone. The Cats won the Sunday finale 9-5 to avoid getting swept for the first time this season, but the baseball wasn’t pretty all weekend.

The issues discussed last week remain prevalent with pitching top of mind. UK has leaned on ace Jaxon Jelkin heavily down the stretch, and he was roughed up for seven earned over five innings as the Gamecocks took game one 10-9. Usual righty starter Nate Harris was out for the second weekend in a row due to a shoulder injury.

South Carolina now has a team batting average of .211 in SEC play after this weekend, still the worst mark in the conference. It scored 24 runs in its three games against the Cats.

Kentucky’s RPI was 19 two weeks ago. It’s now down to 39. Getting to 13 SEC wins now feels like a much taller task with Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas still on the docket.

The Cats just snuck into the Field of 64 last season. They’ll need a strong finish to avoid another anxious selection Monday next month.

Monte Lee’s Audition for the South Carolina Job

Monte Lee knows South Carolina baseball.

He was an assistant under Ray Tanner for six seasons in the 2000s. He was brought back to Columbia after the 2022 season and joined Mark Kingston’s staff. He was kept on board as the program transitioned from Kingston to Paul Mainieri ahead of the 2025 campaign.

The Mainieri experiment failed miserably, and the 68-year-old was relieved of his duties on March 21. Lee was named interim head coach and is now guiding the Gamecocks to the end of what’s been another disappointing season.

South Carolina remains a coveted program rich with tradition and a fanbase that cares. The head coach is not the end-all be-all for fixing all of its issues, but this next hire for Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati will be crucial as it looks to return to the upper echelon of the SEC.

The job will be attractive. Hot boards are out there, and it’s no secret that Coastal Carolina’s Kevin Schnall is the consensus top name among the opinionated public. But what about Lee?

While hiring from within the program may not sit well with those aching for a fresh start, Lee is far from an outlandish option. He lives and breathes the Palmetto State. He became the head coach of College of Charleston from 2009-15, then took the Clemson job and led the Tigers for seven seasons from 2016-22, going 242-136 with four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Lee was asked about becoming the next head coach at South Carolina by FOX 57’s Justin Parker over the weekend. He made his interest clear while acknowledging that his task at hand is finishing the 2026 season:

“Yes, there’s no question I’d love to be the head baseball coach here at South Carolina for a long, long time. It would be a dream come true to be able to have this position, there’s no doubt about that. Obviously, I’m working as hard as I can to see if that could be a potential opportunity. There’s no denying that. But that being said, my main focus is, again, trying to get the most out of this team and really only focusing on what I can control.”

South Carolina has looked awfully scrappy and revitalized since Lee became interim head coach on March 21. The players clearly haven’t quit, as there’s been far more energy coming out of the dugout the last month. The Gamecocks have already won seven SEC games under Lee after taking two of three against Kentucky over the weekend. They won just six under Mainieri.

Lee’s audition for the head coaching gig has gone well. South Carolina, now 22-23 (7-14 SEC), somehow sits above LSU in the conference standings. It heads to Baton Rouge this weekend.

Texas A&M Is Primed for an Omaha Run

Remember last season, Texas A&M fans? You know, the first for Michael Earley as head coach? The one where you had the Preseason Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and No. 1 ranking but still missed the tournament?

Me neither!

The disaster that was the 2025 season in Aggieland couldn’t feel further in the past. Earley and Co. have completely flipped the script this spring.

A&M was picked to finish 13th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. After taking two of three on the road at Florida over the weekend, the Aggies are 14-6 in SEC play, just a 0.5-game behind Georgia for the top spot in the league and check in at No. 5 on Just Baseball’s updated Top 25 this week.

They dropped their first two conference series but have now won five in a row, three of which came on the road and one of which was a pair of wins at home over Texas. This is a team that’s leaned on its deep lineup but also continues to get big outings from a small group of arms.

Eight pitchers have thrown 88 percent of A&M’s innings this season. Aiden Sims (3.44 ERA in 55 IP) has emerged as the ace, while Gavin Lyons (4.53 ERA in 45.2 IP) and Clayton Freshcorn (2.00 ERA in 27 IP) have proven reliable in relief. Teams will shorten their staffs in the postseason, but it’ll be business as usual for the Aggies.

The three-headed monster of first baseman Gavin Grahovac, center fielder Caden Sorrell and second baseman Chris Hacopian sits menacingly atop the order. Three of the best bats in the SEC, point blank. But they are really just the tip of the iceberg.

The left side of the infield comprises standout freshmen. Third baseman Nico Partida has emerged as an SEC Freshman of the Year candidate, while shortstop Boston Kellner also looks the part at a premium position.

Outfielder Jorian Wilson is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound freshman that physically looks ready to put on an MLB uniform right now. He turned heads over the weekend with a pair of home runs and is now up to 11 on the year in just 26 games.

A&M is now batting .283 as a team in SEC play, the second-best mark in the conference. All seven regular starters are hitting above .260 with an on-base percentage above .430.

Yes, this is a roster flooded with talent, but so was last year’s team. Earley was placed firmly on the hot seat after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2025. His praises should be sung for getting things back on track this spring. It feels like postseason baseball will return to Blue Bell Park this season.