8 takeaways from the 2023 SEC baseball schedule release

Editor's note: This article originally appeared on d1baseball.com

The Southeastern Conference released its 2023 league schedule, and as you might expect, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.

For starters, the conference originally didn’t have Arkansas and Tennessee facing off for a second-straight season. However, the league recalled the schedule because — by rule — the Vols and Razorbacks can’t go two-straight seasons without facing off. In addition to Arkansas, the Vols will head to Baton Rouge this season for an epic showdown with also likely top-five LSU.

What caught my attention about the conference schedule and some of the full schedule releases?

RELATED: 2023 SEC baseball regular-season conference schedules announced

Find out:

1. For the second-straight season, the SEC had appeared not to stack up Arkansas-Tennessee, which had a very intense series back in 2021 in Knoxville. However, the league recalled the schedule this week and the Hogs and Volunteers will indeed play in 2023 in Fayetteville. In return, the Hogs will no longer play Missouri — Missouri will now play Auburn instead, and AU will not play Tennessee. This promises to not only be a top-10 showdown, but one of the more exciting series of the season in our sport.

2. Just call the weekend of March 31-April 2 the Transfer Bowl between Tennessee and LSU. Both teams, particularly the Tigers, cleaned up in the Transfer Portal, with the Volunteers getting Griffin Merritt from Cincinnati and Maui Ahuna from Kansas. Meanwhile, LSU landed NC State’s Tommy White, UCLA’s Thatcher Hurd, Air Force’s Paul Skenes and Vandy’s Christian Little, among others. That series in Baton Rouge should be a dandy as both teams are clear-cut top-five preseason clubs. 

3. Opening weekend of conference play will be March 17-19, and it’s not a stacked schedule that weekend. There are some intriguing series, however. Auburn heads to Florida and the marquee series will be Vanderbilt going to Mississippi State. This will be a big season for the Bulldogs after missing the 2022 NCAA tournament. Keep an eye on South Carolina-Arkansas as well. We will have more on the Gamecocks as the fall progresses, but that’s a series that could be mighty interesting. South Carolina should be sneaky good. 

USA TODAY Sports Ole Miss wins 2022 MCWS

4. The defending champion Ole Miss Rebels released its entire schedule this week. The Rebs will open the season at home against first-year coach Greg Mamula and Delaware before hosting Maryland, who hosted a home Regional last season.  Interestingly, the Rebs will face Maryland again the following weekend at the Cambria Classic in Minneapolis. They’ll also face Nebraska and Minnesota that weekend. Purdue heads to Oxford for a weekend series as well, while Louisiana Tech will head to Oxford for a two-game midweek set. Ironically, Tech will not face LSU for a two-game midweek series during the upcoming season. There’s a definite Big Ten flavor to this schedule. 

5. Coaches often ask me how they should be scheduling in non-conference. The key? Play teams that typically have strong winning percentages. That’s exactly what Arkansas did with its non-conference slate in 2023. The Hogs will play weekend series against Wright State and Louisiana Tech (both good most years), while also having midweek sets against Army and UNLV — both teams that were good last season. Combine that with the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington against TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas, and you’ve got a strong non-conference schedule. 

6. Auburn got a rough start to the SEC slate in 2023. The Tigers will open league play on the road against Florida, at home against Mississippi State, on the road against Arkansas and at home against Texas A&M. If you’re keep tracking at home, that’s two teams that finished top five last season and another team that finished No. 21 in Florida. And if you thought the back end of the schedule was more manageable, AU finishes the spring with Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee in three of its final four weekends. That’s brutal. 

7. Speaking of tough finishes to the SEC regular season, how about Texas A&M’s schedule? The Aggies will play LSU (home), Tennessee (road), Ole Miss (home), Arkansas (road) and Florida (home) the final five weeks of the regular season. It’s hard to get tougher than that. The other tough stretch for me is Tennessee facing off with Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt in that order in late March and early April.

8. Here are the conference series I’m most looking forward to:

1. Tennessee-LSU
2. Tennessee-Arkansas
3. Texas A&M-Tennessee
4. Arkansas-LSU
5. Vanderbilt-Tennessee
6. LSU-Ole Miss
7. Florida-Tennessee
8. LSU-Texas A&M
9. Vanderbilt-Florida
10. Ole Miss-Mississippi State

2023 SEC Baseball Schedule

March 17-19
Alabama at LSU
South Carolina at Arkansas
Auburn at Florida
Tennessee at Georgia
Texas A&M at Kentucky
Ole Miss at Missouri
Vanderbilt at Mississippi State

March 24-26
Kentucky at Alabama
Arkansas at Ole Miss
Mississippi State at Auburn
Florida at Tennessee
Georgia at Vanderbilt
LSU at South Carolina
Missouri at Texas A&M

March 31-April 2
Alabama at Florida
Auburn at Arkansas
Georgia at Missouri
South Carolina at Kentucky
Tennessee at LSU
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
Texas A&M at Mississippi State

April 6-8 (Thursday-Saturday)
Mississippi State at Alabama
Missouri at Arkansas
Texas A&M at Auburn
Florida at South Carolina
LSU at Ole Miss
April 7-9 (Friday-Sunday)
Kentucky at Georgia
Vanderbilt at Tennessee

April 14-16
Alabama at Texas A&M
Arkansas at LSU
Georgia at Auburn
Missouri at Florida
Kentucky at Tennessee
Ole Miss at Mississippi State
South Carolina at Vanderbilt

April 21-23
Auburn at Alabama
Arkansas at Georgia
Florida at Ole Miss
Mississippi State at Kentucky
LSU at Texas A&M
Vanderbilt at Missouri
Tennessee at South Carolina

April 28-30
Alabama at Arkansas
Auburn at Ole Miss
Georgia at Florida
Kentucky at Vanderbilt
Mississippi State at LSU
Missouri at South Carolina
Texas A&M at Tennessee

May 5-7
Vanderbilt at Alabama
Arkansas at Mississippi State
LSU at Auburn
Florida at Kentucky
South Carolina at Georgia
Ole Miss at Texas A&M
Tennessee at Missouri

May 12-14
Alabama at Missouri
Texas A&M at Arkansas
Auburn at South Carolina
Vanderbilt at Florida
Georgia at Ole Miss
Kentucky at LSU
Mississippi State at Tennessee

May 18-20 (Thursday-Saturday)
Ole Miss at Alabama
Arkansas at Vanderbilt
Tennessee at Auburn
Florida at Texas A&M
LSU at Georgia
Missouri at Kentucky
South Carolina at Mississippi State

May 23-28 (SEC Tournament)

(Hoover, Ala.)