Arkansas

How far Alabama dropped in new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Published

1 week ago

April 13, 2026

How far Alabama dropped in new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Pitching for Alabama baseball had been fine for much of this season. Then the Crimson Tide ran into an Arkansas Razorbacks team that got hot at the plate over the weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Arkansas scored 25 runs in a three-game sweep of the Tide, snapping a string of three straight SEC series victories for Alabama. In all three games, the Razorbacks’ bats came alive late. Arkansas used a six-run eighth inning on Friday for a 7-5 win, then plated 11 runs over the final three innings Saturday in a 15-6 rout.

Alabama had a 2-0 lead in after five innings in Sunday’s series finale, but the Razorbacks scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to complete the sweep. The Crimson Tide had won 11 of their last 12 games entering the weekend, including SEC series victories over top 25 teams Florida, Auburn and Oklahoma.

After a 1-3 week in Week 9 of the 2026 NCAA baseball season, here’s where Alabama ranks in Monday’s new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Alabama sees modest drop in Baseball Coaches Poll after Arkansas sweep

In Monday’s new Coaches Poll, Alabama (26-11 overall, 8-7 conference) fell four spots to No. 13. The Crimson Tide are ranked one spot above the West Virginia Mountaineers and one spot below Oklahoma.

Alabama is one of five teams to drop at least four spots in this week’s top 25 rankings. Florida State had a four-spot fall to No. 10, and Mississippi State tied Nebraska for the biggest slide. The Bulldogs fell eight spots to No. 16; the Cornhuskers eight spots to No. 25.

SEC slides, ACC rises in top 5 of NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll

Both Georgia Tech and North Carolina rose in the top five of the Coaches Poll after impressive weekend series against Florida State and Clemson, respectively. Texas and Georgia dropped in the top five after series losses to Texas A&M and Florida, respectively.

Here’s a look at the full top 25 rankings in the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll for April 13.

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	1st	Prev	Chg	Hi/Lo
1	UCLA	33-2	750	30	1	–	1/2
2	Georgia Tech	30-5	719	0	3	1	2/5
3	North Carolina	30-6	680	0	5	2	3/14
4	Texas	27-7	621	0	2	2	2/4
5	Georgia	29-8	618	0	4	1	4/13
6	Oregon State	28-7	611	0	7	1	6/18
7	Texas A&M	27-7	516	0	15	8	7/NR
8	Coastal Carolina	26-9	511	0	11	3	7/25
9	USC	30-7	506	0	10	1	8/NR
10	Florida State	24-11	437	0	6	4	6/17
11	Auburn	24-11	402	0	12	1	4/12
12	Virginia	26-11	383	0	14	2	11/NR
13	Alabama	26-11	325	0	9	4	9/NR
14	Oklahoma	24-11	319	0	18	4	8/NR
15	West Virginia	24-8	306	0	19	4	12/NR
16	Mississippi State	26-10	305	0	8	8	3/16
17	Arkansas	24-13	272	0	22	5	5/22
18	Florida	27-10	233	0	24	6	8/25
19	Oregon	26-10	216	0	20	1	10/NR
20	Southern Miss	25-11	176	0	13	7	7/20
21	Kansas	26-10	153	0	NR	12	21/NR
22	Arizona State	26-11	138	0	21	1	21/NR
23	Ole Miss	26-11	125	0	NR	3	18/NR
24	Boston College	26-12	111	0	25	1	24/25
25	Nebraska	27-9	93	0	17	8	17/NR

Schools Dropped Out

No. 16 UCF; No. 23 North Carolina State

Others Receiving Votes

North Carolina State 74; UCF 49; Jacksonville State 33; Miami (FL) 15; Tennessee 14; California Baptist 13; Missouri State 6; Wake Forest 5; Kentucky 4; UC Santa Barbara 3; Vanderbilt 2; UTSA 2; LSU 2; Liberty 1; Dallas Baptist 1

Alabama baseball 2026 schedule: When do Crimson Tide play next?

Alabama will face the UAB Blazers (23-13) at Regions Field in Birmingham on Tuesday in midweek play. First pitch for Alabama-UAB is 6 p.m. CT.

The Crimson Tide visit Austin for their next series in SEC play beginning Friday. They take on the Texas Longhorns (27-7, 9-5) at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday.

Here’s a look at Alabama’s 2026 baseball schedule. All start times Central.

Feb. 13-15: vs. Washington State (L, 8-4; W, 8-1; W, 11-1)
Feb. 17: at Samford (W, 3-2)
Feb. 18: vs. Alabama State (W, 2-1)
Feb. 20-22: vs. Rhode Island (W, 19-4; W, 8-5; W, 11-1)
Feb. 24: at Southern Miss (L, 14-4)
Feb. 27: vs. Iowa at Frisco College Baseball Classic (W, 12-2)
Feb. 28: vs. Oregon State at Frisco College Baseball Classic (W, 8-7)
March 1: vs. Houston at Frisco College Baseball Classic (L, 8-2)
March 3: vs. Jacksonville State (W, 6-5)
March 4: at Alabama State (W, 13-4)
March 6-8: vs. North Florida (W, 7-2; W, 9-3; W, 12-2)
March 10: vs. Troy (W, 7-3)
March 13-15: at Kentucky (L, 7-4; L, 8-7; L, 6-4)
March 17: at South Alabama (L, 6-3)
March 20-22: vs. Florida (W, 6-0; W, 8-4; W, 14-7)
March 24: vs. Austin Peay (W, 6-2)
March 27-29: vs. Auburn (W, 11-1; W, 3-2; W, 3-1)
March 31: at Jacksonville State (W, 4-3)
April 2-5: at Oklahoma (W, 10-7; L, 4-2; W, 3-2)
April 7: vs. Samford (W, 16-2)
April 10-12: vs. Arkansas (L, 7-5, L, 15-6, L, 3-2)
April 14: at UAB, 6 p.m.
April 17-19: at Texas (6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
April 21: vs. UAB, 6 p.m.
April 23-25: at Tennessee (6 p.m. Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday)
April 30-May 2: vs. Vanderbilt (6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
May 5: at Troy, 6 p.m.
May 8-10: at South Carolina (4:30 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday, 12:30 p.m. Sunday)
May 14-16: vs. Ole Miss (6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday)
May 19-24: SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama

Record: 26-11 overall, 8-7 SEC.

Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.

Source link

Click to comment

Arkansas

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

Published

3 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 24 Arkansas (27-15) used an eight-run eighth inning, punctuated by home runs from Ryder Helfrick and TJ Pompey, to race past Missouri State (26-12) in a 12-4 win Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With their win in the rematch against the Bears, the Razorbacks improved to 9-2 in midweek games, including a 7-1 mark in midweek matchups at home, this season. Arkansas will conclude its midweek slate next week with a double midweek series against Northwestern State from April 28-29 inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

Entering the bottom of the eighth tied at four, the Hogs exploded for eight runs on seven hits, including four extra-base hits, to blow the game open. Carter Rutenbar’s go-ahead two-run single through the right side put Arkansas up 6-4 and set the table for Camden Kozeal’s RBI double, Helfrick’s three-run blast and Pompey’s two-run shot later in the frame.

When the bottom of the eighth was all said and done, the Razorbacks had opened a commanding 12-4 lead after they were shut out through the game’s first five innings. Kozeal finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI to lead Arkansas offensively and raise his season slash line to .305/.394/.604 with 11 homers and a team-high 48 RBI.

Helfrick, meanwhile, swatted his team-leading 14th home run in Tuesday night’s win against the Bears. The Razorbacks’ superstar catcher is now slashing .293/.430/.626 with 14 homers and 40 RBI through his 41 games played this season.

In addition to Kozeal, Nolan Souza (3-for-5), Reese Robinett (2-for-5, 2B) and Kuhio Aloy (2-for-4, RB) logged multi-hit games. Along with Helfrick and Kozeal, Rutenbar (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Pompey (1-for-1, HR, RBI) tallied multiple RBI.

On the mound, Tate McGuire made his third start of the season for Arkansas and worked 3.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. In relief, Colin Fisher (3.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 SO), Steele Eaves (0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO), Parker Coil (0.2 IP) and Cooper Dossett (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for 5.1 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with eight strikeouts to seal the win.

Up next, the Hogs will hit the road for an SEC weekend series from April 23-25 in Columbia, Mo. First pitch in the series opener between Arkansas and Missouri (20-21) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on SEC Network.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

Source link

Arkansas

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

Published

16 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

A legislative panel rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have eliminated former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri’s job as an adviser to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A top lawmaker also suggested that Profiri may return to his job overseeing the state prison system, two years after he was fired by the state Board of Corrections as part of a dispute with Sanders.

The proposal rejected by the Joint Budget Committee’s personnel subcommittee would have written into the appropriation for Sanders’ office language eliminating Profiri’s position from the Republican governor’s staff. Subcommittee members voted 9-6 against the amendment, with Rep. Lane Jean not casting a vote.

Republican Sen. Terry Rice introduced the proposal last week, a little over six months after Profiri didn’t appear at a hearing on the now-stalled Franklin County prison project before a committee that Rice co-chairs.

Rice called this a “major trust-breaker.”

“The Board of Corrections members asked Mr. Profiri to share his intended plans as secretary, and they would work with him. He ignored multiple attempts,” Rice said. “I was told during that meeting, he was in the Capitol, had been seen in the hall at the same time. He didn’t even reply and chose to snub legislators’ questions.”

Profiri was fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections as the leader of the state’s prison agency in 2024, following months of increasing tensions between the constitutionally-independent board and Sanders over opening new beds when the Department of Corrections already struggled to find sufficient staffing. Those tensions eventually resulted in lawsuits, which are still unresolved, and Profiri’s firing.

After he was fired, the Republican governor hired Profiri as a senior advisor, making him the highest paid staffer in her office. Profiri is paid $183,699.98 a year, according to the Arkansas transparency portal.

Jean, a Republican from Magnolia who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee, asked Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson and Board of Corrections member Lee Watson “what the timeline was” for Sanders to rehire Profiri as corrections secretary, pointing to the new makeup of the board.

“I don’t think there’s any objection to the board, or certainly a majority of the board, to hire him (again). What are we waiting on?” Jean asked.

“What I can say is Secretary (Lindsay) Wallace, she is the secretary, and she will continue as secretary until the governor decides she’s not secretary,” Hudson said. “In the interim, (Profiri) continues to do his job as an adviser to the governor.”

The ongoing lawsuit between the Board of Corrections and Sanders centers on who has the authority to fire the corrections secretary. A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the board does. Sanders appealed the ruling.

The board’s new Sanders-appointed majority voted to accept a settlement agreement accepting her position that she is the one with firing authority earlier this month, though the lower court order remains in force until the Arkansas Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Sam Dubke, Sanders’ spokesperson, referred the Advocate to Hudson’s remarks when asked for comment on whether Profiri would be rehired as corrections secretary.

Source link

Arkansas

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla –The Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, on April 19, 2026 at ONEOK Field and The Sporting Tribune’s Robert Sloter was there to capture the following TST Images.

Luke Fox #15 of the Tulsa Drillers throws a pitch during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.