College Baseball Weekend Roundup (March 20 - 22)

There will also be a new number one team this week after TCU suffered a series loss at home.

Here's the weekend highlights from across the land...

(ACC Highlights)

Stock Up: No. 16 Louisville - The Cardinals improved to an ACC best 8-1 in conference play with a statement sweep of Notre Dame.

Pitcher Spotlight: Top draft prospect Kyle Funkhouser brought his A game on Friday (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) in a 2-0 Louisville win.

Stock Down: Another tough week for No. 9 Virginia as they took a series loss at home to a talented No. 12 Florida State squad. LHP Nathan Kirby won and struck out 11 on Friday but the pitching staff proceeded to allow a concerning 25 runs to score in the next games, both losses.

Hitter Spotlight: Reigning ACC hitter of the year and Top 50 draft prospect D.J. Stewart terrorized UVA's pitching staff on Sunday batting a 3-for-4 with two bombs and 6 RBI. The junior outfielder leads the nation with 9 HR now.

Nice Rebound: Clemson hit the road for upstart Virginia Tech and rebounded from last week's series loss at home with a big road series win.

Prospect Note: Perfect Game did a nice writeup on Clemson ace Matthew Crownover, a junior lefty who tossed a gem on Friday (7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K).

(Big Ten Highlights)

Sweeper of the Week: No. 25 Maryland entered their debut Big Ten series with a bang, sweeping Minnesota. Third baseman Jose Cuas dropped two tanks in Saturday's game.

Stock Up: Add Nebraska to the mix of what should be a compelling Big Ten race as the Huskers improved to 17-6 over the weekend with a sweep of Michigan and could enter the polls soon.

Your National ERA Leader: Tyler Jay, stud No. 27 Illinois closer, continues to frequent this column and that's because he continues to put up 0's with his 1st round-caliber arm. The lefty may pitch mostly out of the 'pen but has amassed enough innings to qualify to lead the nation with his perfect 0.00 ERA.

(Big 12 Highlights)

Down Goes Frazier: No. 23 Oklahoma State traveled into Fort Worth and left with a crucial series win over No. 1 TCU which means another team will take over the throne this week. Here's a writeup (subscription required) on Mitchell Traver (TCU) and Jon Perrin (OSU), who pitched Friday night.

Oklahoma picked up a big series win over No. 10 Texas Tech and the pitcher below played a big role.

Star In The Making: Alec Hanson - RHP - The Oklahoma sophomore has scouts salivating over the stuff he tossed in his gem (9 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) over the weekend. His fastball reportedly sat 95 - 97 MPH.

Sweeper of the Week: No. 14 Texas swept Kansas State over the weekend to take an early 5-1 conference lead.

(Big West Highlights)

Stock Up: Cal State Northridge - The Matadors have won six straight and completed a 4-game sweep of Dartmouth to improve to a conference best 19-5 record. Their team ERA of 1.89 ranks 4th in the nation.

He's Human: No. 26 UC Santa Barbara righty Dillon Tate struggled for the first time this week against UT-Arlington. Keith Law was on hand to scout the potential top ten pick and noted that he didn't hold his velocity as deep into this outing as previous outings and that his command was below average.

Sweeper of the Week: UC Irvine swept a solid Cal State Bakersfield squad to improve their win streak to 5.

(Mid-Major Highlights)

Offensive Juggernaut: No. 15 UCF improved to 20-5 over the weekend with a series win over Presbyterian and the Knights continue to put on a laser show with a healthy team AVG of .333 that ranks 1st in the nation.

Hitter Spotlight: Tommy Williams, the Knights third baseman, leads the team with his .411/.468/.611 slash line. He's broken out in a big way his senior year and looks like he could be an intriguing senior sign in the 2015 draft.

RPI Leaders: No. 24 Dallas Baptist improved to 18-2 over the weekend with a sweep of Evansville and carry the best RPI in the country.

Stock Up: Old Dominion made a huge statement to the C-USA this weekend, picking up a series win over No. 8 Rice.

Mid-Major Ace of the Week: Zach Plesac - RHP - Ball State - Recognize that last name? His uncle is Dan Plesac, MLB Network analyst and former pro pitcher. He tossed a bute on Friday (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and is considered one of the top prospects in the MAC for next year's draft.

Prospect Note: Josh Staumont - RHP - Azusa Pacific - He possesses one of the best fastball's in this year's draft according to perfect game. He sat 93 - 97 MPH throughout his latest outing while fanning 11.

(Pac-12 Highlights)

Stock Up: No. 19 Arizona State took down Oregon on the road for a big series win.

Sweeper of the Week: No. 29 California continues to surprise, improving to 5-1 in conference play with their sweep of Washington.

Best In The West: No. 7 UCLA shall remain the top ranked team in the West following their weekend domination of Utah. Top prospect James Kaprielian wiffed 7 batters on Friday over 6.1 scoreless IP and improved to 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA with 46 K's in 38.1 IP.

Best Infield In The Country: Keith Law breaks down Arizona shortstop Kevin Newman and second baseman Scott Kingery, two fast rising prospects, as potential Day 1 picks in this year's draft. Kingery has been giving the baseball scorched earth treatment and his .450 batting average ranks 5th best in the entire nation.

(SEC Highlights)

The establishment came crumbling down in the SEC this weekend with several teams pulling off upsets over the weekend.

Making A Statement: Missouri - The Tigers picked up their first series win over ranked opponent since 2008 at the expense of No. 6 South Carolina. Don't look now, but they could show up in the polls soon.

Stock Down: No. 3 Florida was given a rude awakening in Oxford and the Gators had to win on Sunday to avoid getting swept by Ole Miss. Expect them to drop from the Top 5.

An End of Perfection: No. 5 Texas A&M finally saw their undefeated streak of 24 wins end on Saturday versus Alabama. The Aggies still salvaged the series.

Stock Down: Tennessee - The Vols were swept by Georgia this weekend, falling to 1-5 in SEC play. Highly touted sophomore Kyle Serrano hasn't lived up to the hype, struggling mightily with issuing walks (15 BB's in 21 IP).

Will They Be Number 1? - No. 2 LSU picked up a series win at Arkansas and will likely take over the throne as the top team in the country.

Prospect Note: SS Alex Bregman is doing it all this year to solidify himself as a top ten draft pick. His power game has stepped up in a big way as he has already matched last year's total of 6 HR's before the midpoint of this season.

(Photo By: Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Hitter Of The Week: David Thompson - 3B - Miami

Fresh off winning national hitter of the week, Thompson had another eventful weekend at the plate. In the Hurricanes weekend sweep of Wake Forest, Thompson went 5-for-13 (.385 AVG) with 2 HR, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 8 RBI. He has now blasted 7 home runs in his last ten games and is tied for the ACC lead with 8 HR. On the season, he's slashing .361/.454/.732 in 97 at bats with an impressive 16 walks to just 9 strikeouts. That slash line's a major breakthrough following a 2014 season in which he missed 32 games due to Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which required surgery and batted just .278/.368/.352 with 0 home runs.

Despite his down 2014 campaign, Thompson entered the season rated as the top hitting prospect on Miami and the No. 13 draft prospect in the SEC for 2015. Healthy and motivated to perform this year, it's easy to see why. He stands in at 6'2", 220 pounds and bats from the right side with plus power. He's a solid defender at third too with a Grade 60 arm according to MLB Draft Countdown. With the power surge and excellent feel for hitting he's demonstrated thus far, Thompson ought be a name that starts generating some serious draft buzz if he continues to hit at a high level, especially in a draft considered weak on college bats.

(Photo By: Scobel Wiggins)

Pitcher Of The Week: Drew Rasmussen - RHP - Oregon State

History took place in college baseball this weekend as Rasmussen tossed a perfect game against a hopeless and helpless Washington State lineup. He retired all 27 hitters he faced, notching 10 strikeouts in the process to record just the third perfecto in the last 12 years of D1 baseball. Here's video highlights from his special game.

Rasmussen stands at 6'1", 210 pounds and made it to campus after the Diamondbacks selected him in 39th round. An ironic reason (in hindsight) that Rasmussen made it to campus was that scouts pegged him as a low-ceiling guy due to a physically mature body that didn't offer much projection on his fastball velocity. Well, 4 starts into his college career he's tossing 94-97 MPH bullets and has shown a strong feel for his offspeed. Remember this name for the 2017 draft as Rasmussen looks like a star in the making, as his spectacular outing indicates.

The latest rankings via College Baseball Writers

The latest RPI's of the season courtesy of Boyd's World.

That's it for this week. Stay classy, not crassy, everyone.