One of the best parts of college baseball is so-called “Midweek Madness.” After three-game weekend series in which teams line up their best arms, midweek matchups — usually against local opponents — are ripe for upsets or high-scoring affairs. Almost every midweek date — Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s — will see one if not multiple ranked teams fall. While these may not mean much in the long run for the best of the best, it is always a thrilling moment for smaller programs.
In an effort to log these dramatic wins in one place, we’re listing each and every ranked upset in a midweek matchup, grouped by date. Note: We’re excluding games between two ranked teams for our purposes.
Tuesday, Feb. 20
UNC Greensboro 4, No. 1 Wake Forest 3 | Recap
Dayton 8, No. 6 Vanderbilt 5 | Recap
Campbell 7, No. 11 East Carolina 6 | Recap
Arizona State 9, No. 24 Kansas State 6 | Recap
The first set of midweek games to start the 2024 season didn’t disappoint: No. 1 Wake Forest was toppled on the road at UNC Greensboro, a team that had lost twice to the Demon Deacons in 2023 by an aggregate 34-6 scoreline. Another top-10 team, No. 6 Vanderbilt, had trouble at home: Dayton used a seven-run eighth inning to hand them an 8-5 setback. Campbell beat No. 11 East Carolina, 7-6 — with catcher Grant Knipp hitting a 3-run home run and logging a save — on its way to a national ranking. Finally, Arizona State took down No. 24 Kansas State in what was a back-and-forth matchup.
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Stetson 7, No. 4 Florida 4 | Recap
Old Dominion 6, No. 11 East Carolina 5 | Recap
Purdue Fort Wayne 9, No. 20 Indiana 6 | Recap
Pepperdine 10, No. 24 UC Santa Barbara 9 | Recap
A sellout — and record — crowd of 2,986 watched Stetson knock off No. 4 Florida at Melching Field. The Hatters controlled from start to finish, putting up five runs in the first inning. Old Dominion walked it off against No. 11 East Carolina as Steven Meier hit his second home run of the game to claim the upset win. Purdue Fort Wayne logged its first win over a ranked opponent in program history, taking down No. 20 Indiana as they built an insurmountable 8-0 lead heading into the late innings. Finally, Pepperdine snapped a six-game losing streak with a dramatic win over No. 24 UC Santa Barbara — the Waves trailed, 9-4, entering the ninth only to score six unanswered and walk it off on a bases-loaded walk.
Wednesday, Mar. 6
UCF 9, No. 4 Florida 6 | Recap
Just the one upset this Wednesday: UCF continued its recent dominance of No. 4 Florida, winning its fifth straight meeting with the Gators. The Black Knights put up four runs in the first inning and never looked back to continue an impressive start to the season.
Tuesday, March 12
Rider 6, No. 6 Duke 2 | Recap
Florida State 12, No. 8 Florida 8 | Recap
UNC Greensboro 18, No. 13 NC State 3 | Recap
Southern Miss 9, No. 14 Alabama 7 | Recap
It was quite the night of college baseball, headlined by Rider — who entered just 1-9 on the year — knocking off No. 6 Duke, 6-2, on the road. The Broncs got a fantastic start from Clayton Poliey as he went eight shutout innings in the win. Florida State stayed unbeaten, moving to 15-0 with a road win over rival No. 8 Florida with eight of nine starters logging a hit. UNC Greensboro logged another ranked win against an ACC opponent, pummeling No. 13 NC State by 15 runs behind a big game from Caleb Cozart. Finally, Southern Miss fought off a ninth-inning rally from No. 14 Alabama for a 9-7 win at Pete Taylor Park.
Wednesday, March 13
UConn 5, No. 22 UC Irvine 0 | Recap
Just the one upset on March 13th: UConn blanked No. 22 UC Irvine, 5-0, behind freshman Ben Schild. The first-ever start for Schild couldn’t of gone better: six scoreless frames with nine strikeouts. It was the Huskies second Top-25 victory of the year as they moved to 5-9 and handed the Anteaters just their second loss.
Tuesday, March 19th
Jacksonville 7, No. 6 Florida 6 | Recap
NC State 9, No. 13 Coastal Carolina 8 | Recap
No. 6 Florida’s midweek struggles continued against Jacksonville as the Dolphins clubbed 13 hits in a 7-6 win. Shortstop Cade Hentz went 4-for-4 while Aidan Masters went 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Recently unranked NC State made a statement with a comeback win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina, rallying from deficits of 4-0 and 5-4 and snapping a four-game losing streak in the process.
Tuesday, April 2nd
UNC Wilmington 6, No. 20 Coastal Carolina 4 | Recap
Central Arkansas 7, No. 23 Mississippi State 6 | Recap
Creighton 5, No. 24 Nebraska 3 | Recap
A trio of teams in the 20s of the national rankings fell on Tuesday. UNCW took down No. 20 Coastal Carolina behind two triples and two RBIs from Jac Croom as well as a lights out relief effort from Luke Craig. Central Arkansas fought off a furious late rally from No. 23 Mississippi State and moved to 5-3 at Dudy Noble since 2012. The Bears took down No. 10 Vanderbilt last season, too. Finally, Creighton moved to 21-4 — the program’s best start since 1986 — with a 5-3 win over No. 24 Nebraska at Charles Schwab Field. The Bluejays didn’t trail after Hogan Helligo’s two-run shot in the second.
Wednesday, April 3rd
Georgia Southern 8, No. 22 South Carolina 0 | Recap
Georgia Southern’s pitching staff piled up 12 strikeouts in a shutout of the No. 22 Gamecocks and the lineup was powered by Sam Blancato, who went deep twice.
Tuesday, April 9th
USC Upstate 9, No. 2 Clemson 5 | Recap
William & Mary 4, No. 7 Duke 2 | Recap
Samford 9, No. 8 Kentucky 7 | Recap
Southern California 12, No. 12 UC Irvine 5 | Recap
South Carolina 2, No. 13 North Carolina 1 | Recap
Sacramento State 15, No. 18 Oregon 8 | Recap
Kansas 13, No. 23 Nebraska 11 | Recap
South Alabama 5, No. 25 Alabama 4 | Recap
Pure madness. Eight ranked teams went down on Tuesday night, headlined by USC Upstate taking down No. 2 Clemson behind two homers from Noah Sullivan and a massive go-ahead grand slam from Koby Kropf. William & Mary snapped No. 7 Duke‘s five-game winning streak as the Tribe built an early 4-1 lead through three that held up. Samford took down No. 8 Kentucky on the strength of a five-run first inning, while USC powered past No. 12 UC Irvine on its way to the Top 25. South Carolina won a pitcher’s duel with No. 13 North Carolina at Truist Field, while Sacramento State nearly doubled up No. 18 Oregon. Kansas outslugged No. 23. Nebraska and South Alabama edged No. 25 Alabama.
Wednesday, April 10th
Stetson 5, No. 17 UCF 3 | Recap
Louisiana Tech 7, No. 19 Louisiana 2 | Recap
Stetson moved to 10-1 in its last 11 games and nabbed a second ranked win with a 5-3 victory over No. 17 UCF. No. 19 Louisiana saw its 16-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Louisiana Tech.
Tuesday, April 16th
Mercer 13, No. 8 Florida State 6 | Recap
Old Dominion 7, No. 10 Virginia 4 | Recap
UNC Wilmington 8, No. 12 Wake Forest 5 | Recap
UAB 5, No. 18 Alabama 2 | Recap
Grand Canyon 5, No. 21 Arizona 4 | Recap
A seven-run fourth inning powered Mercer past No. 8 Florida State on the road. Old Dominion won the “Commonwealth Classic” against No. 10 Virginia, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead and fending off a late push from the Cavaliers. UNC Wilmington logged a second ranked win on the year, moving to 24-13 with an upset of No. 12 Wake Forest. UAB went on the road and took care of business against No. 18 Alabama, scoring three unanswered runs from the fifth on to pull off the upset. Grand Canyon, finally, worked out of a late jam in the ninth to fend off No. 21 Arizona and snap the Wildcats’ 11-game win streak.
Wednesday, April 17th
Nevada 11, No. 5 Oregon State 10 | Recap
Southern California 12, No. 17 UC Irvine 4 | Recap
No. 5 Oregon State appeared to be in control against Nevada, leading 10-4 heading in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Wolfpack stormed back. A four-run eighth inning ultimately tied it up before JR Freethy hit a walk-off solo home run to lead off the ninth inning. Then, for the second week in a row, Southern California knocked off No. 17 UC Irvine behind a potent offensive output. The Trojans netted a season-high in hits (16) and logged their fifth win against a ranked opponent.
Tuesday, April 23rd
Campbell 18, No. 6 Duke 4 | Recap
Elon 3, No. 8 Wake Forest 0 | Recap
Creighton 7, No. 13 Coastal Carolina 3 | Recap
Campbell, ranked at one point this season, pummeled No. 6 Duke by a hefty 18-4 margin. Three of the club’s five home runs came from Lawson Harrill, who drove in seven runs in seven innings. Elon pitching dazzled against No. 8 Wake Forest, blanking the Demon Deacons. Four Phoenix pitchers combined to hold Wake Forest scoreless on nine hits, with Carson Wehner and Sam Nomura doing the bulk of the pitching. Creighton hosted No. 13 Coastal Carolina in the first of a two-game midweek series and plated seven unanswered runs for the upset, scoring four in their final two turns to the plate.
Wednesday, April 24th
Creighton 5, No. 13 Coastal Carolina 4 | Recap
Houston Christian 10, No. 17 Louisiana 9 | Recap
Creighton logged the midweek series sweep with an absolute thriller of a win against No. 13 Coastal Carolina. The Blue Jays’ Kyle Hess tied the game with a triple in the eighth, then came up with a walk-off single in the 10th inning. Meanwhile, Houston Christian went to Lafayette and knocked off No. 17 Louisiana in a high-scoring affair. They built a 9-1 lead and fended off a late comeback.