# SEC Morning Report: D1Baseball Crowns LSU the Nation's No. 1 Program as a Loaded Football Saturday Looms **Published:** 2026-10-16 — **By:** Stacy Stanfield **Category:** daily-roundup — **Type:** daily-roundup **Source:** https://secscouts.com/news/sec-morning-report-d1baseball-crowns-lsu-the-nation-s-no-1-program-as-a-loaded-football-saturday **Teams:** [Alabama](https://secscouts.com/alabama/), [Arkansas](https://secscouts.com/arkansas/), [Auburn](https://secscouts.com/auburn/), [Kentucky](https://secscouts.com/kentucky/), [LSU](https://secscouts.com/lsu/), [Miss State](https://secscouts.com/mississippi-state/), [Ole Miss](https://secscouts.com/ole-miss/) --- ## LEAD STORY: LSU Baseball Sits on Top — and the Fall Scrimmages Are Showing Why D1Baseball has named LSU the No. 1 program in the nation, a distinction that landed the same week the Tigers opened their second round of fall scrimmages in Baton Rouge. The timing could hardly be better for a roster that looks deep on both sides of the ball. Thursday's intrasquad action backed up the billing. Freshman right-hander Cooper Sides delivered his second dominant outing of the fall — 3.0 innings, one hit, four strikeouts, and 25 of 35 pitches for strikes — running his fastball up to 96 mph with a mid-80s slider and mid-70s curveball. William Schmidt matched him with two hitless innings, striking out four with no walks while touching 97 and unveiling an 89-90 mph cutter/slider that could push him into the Friday-night conversation. At the plate, Lucas Nawrocki took player-of-the-night honors, going 2-for-2 with a two-run homer blasted nearly 400 feet into the Diamond Deck — the only true barrel anyone has managed off Sides in two weeks. John Pearson added a three-run shot that just missed the scoreboard, finishing with four RBIs. LSU continues fall ball with scrimmages Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m., with free entry and parking at Alex Box Stadium. ## QUICK HITS - **Alabama 92, Ole Miss 84 (exhibition):** The Crimson Tide men's basketball team picked up its second preseason win Thursday night, downing the Rebels in the annual Ballin' in Boutwell exhibition, per Alabama's athletics site. - **LSU draft stock shifts:** Per the latest LSU draft board, EDGE Princewill Umanmielen climbed from a third-round projection to the second round on the strength of his production, while quarterback Sam Leavitt slid from the fourth round to the fifth after a rough showing at Kentucky — with a return to LSU in 2027 described as increasingly possible. - **Soccer split in the SEC:** Texas rolled LSU 4-1, its most goals in a league match since 2023, while Missouri blanked Ole Miss 3-0 on the road behind Emily Derucki's 28th-minute opener off a Lana Adams through ball. - **Georgia tennis advances:** Sophomore Cooper Johnson recorded the highest-ranked singles win of his career to headline the Bulldogs moving into the round of 32 at the ITA Southeast Regional at Georgia Tech. - **Playoff expansion talk:** ESPN's Heather Dinich broke down how a proposed 24-team College Football Playoff could reshape postseason access across the sport. ## PORTAL WATCH No transfer portal activity to report over the last 12 hours. A quiet window across the conference — we'll flag new entries and commitments as they surface. ## RECRUITING BUZZ No new commitments in the past 12 hours. With a marquee football weekend ahead and official visitors expected on multiple SEC campuses, that could change quickly. ## GAMES TO WATCH A loaded SEC football slate is on deck (kickoff times and TV designations TBD): - **Missouri at Ole Miss** — The headliner. The No. 9 Rebels are 4-1 following a 52-17 road win at Vanderbilt, with Trinidad Chambliss providing elite quarterback play — but their rush defense is a vulnerability, per Rock M Nation. Missouri, sitting at No. 16 in the latest CFP projection and nursing a lengthy injury report after six straight weeks of games, has massive playoff implications riding on this one. - **Alabama at Tennessee** — The Third Saturday in October rivalry always delivers. - **Florida at Texas** — The Longhorns, favored by 10.5 per Rock M Nation's betting preview, look for a get-right game after a collapse against Oklahoma; the Gators are reeling after losses to Missouri and South Carolina. - **Auburn at Georgia** — The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. - **Mississippi State at LSU** — The Tigers look to rebound after an uneven showing at Kentucky. - **Kentucky at Oklahoma** and **Arkansas at Vanderbilt** round out the conference slate. On the volleyball court, Alabama (9-6, 1-5 SEC) visits No. 24 Vanderbilt (13-2, 3-2 SEC) Friday at 7 p.m. CT — its third ranked opponent this season — before heading to Missouri (10-8, 3-3 SEC) on Sunday. And top-ranked Arkansas men's golf closes its fall schedule this weekend at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational in Saucier, Mississippi. --- *Original article: [SEC Morning Report: D1Baseball Crowns LSU the Nation's No. 1 Program as a Loaded Football Saturday Looms](https://secscouts.com/news/sec-morning-report-d1baseball-crowns-lsu-the-nation-s-no-1-program-as-a-loaded-football-saturday) — SEC Scouts*