After four weeks of SEC play, we’re finally starting to get some real clarity.
You can see which teams are separating themselves—and more importantly, how they’re doing it on the mound.
Each week, as we gather more information, it becomes more and more interesting to watch how different coaches utilize their personnel. Some teams are built around traditional weekend starters. Others are mixing and matching, using swing guys, leveraging bullpens, and adjusting based on matchups, schedule, and game flow.
And as the stakes continue to rise, those high-leverage moments become everything.
You’re starting to see coaches deploy their best weapons earlier, in bigger spots, and with more intention—and that’s where games and series are being won.
So this week, we’re narrowing it down again to the Top 25 starting pitchers in the SEC, followed by a notes section and honorable mentions, where we’ll break down:
Arms just outside the rankings
Friday night guys who have fallen off
Swing men and hybrid arms impacting winning teams
The Georgia situation and how they’re piecing together innings
And a few high-upside arms still trying to find consistency
Top 25 SEC Starting Pitcher Power Rankings
1. Tomas Valincius — Mississippi State (↑ from No. 2)
Season: 1.15 ERA, 0.83 WHIP — 6-1, 66K / 11BB (47 IP)
Past week: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 10 K
Valincinus takes over the top spot after another dominant outing, even in a weekend where Mississippi State got swept.
Against one of the best offenses in the league in Georgia, he went 7.1 innings, didn’t walk a hitter, and punched out 10. The line speaks for itself, but more importantly, he set the tone in a tough environment and gave his team every chance to win that game.
When you pair that outing with his overall body of work—sub-1.20 ERA, elite WHIP, and a 66-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio—it’s hard to argue against him at number one right now.
2. Jake Marciano — Auburn (↑ from No. 5)
Season: 1.29 ERA, 0.68 WHIP — 3-1, 64K / 7BB (48.1 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Marciano just continues to live in this range every single week.
Another great outing against a really good Arkansas team—seven innings, one run, and complete control of the game. That’s just what he does.
At this point, he’s probably the most steady and reliable starter in the SEC. He doesn’t beat himself, he commands the zone, and his numbers continue to sit at the top of the conference.
3. Andreas Alvarez — Auburn (↑ from No. 14 )
Season: 0.96 ERA, 1.05 WHIP — 5-1, 55K / 12BB (37.2 IP)
Past week: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 10 K
Alvarez makes one of the biggest jumps of the year after his first SEC start—and he didn’t skip a beat.
He set the tone in the Thursday opener against Arkansas, looked electric, and punched out 10. Auburn’s offense gave him run support, but more importantly, he controlled the game from the start.
With mid-90s velocity and a real breaking ball, he adds another legit piece to an already loaded Auburn rotation.
4. Aidan King — Florida (↑ from No. 12)
Season: 1.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP — 4-2, 41K / 9BB (38.1 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
King makes a big jump after a dominant outing in a tough weekend for Florida.
Seven shutout innings, no walks, and complete control. He continues to be that steady number two piece behind Liam Peterson.
With Peterson’s volatility at times, King’s consistency is extremely valuable for Florida, and he’s been one of the more reliable starters in the SEC all year.
5. Jaxon Jelkin — Kentucky (↓ from No. 4)
Season: 2.96 ERA, 0.99 WHIP — 6-0, 54K / 10BB (48.1 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 10 K
Jelkin continues to be one of the steadiest arms in the league.
Even in a weekend where Kentucky dropped two out of three, he gave them length and punched out 10. The stuff, the body, and the ability to pitch all pass the eye test.
For me, he still profiles like a first-rounder—similar to a Rick Porcello type with how he goes about it.
6. Ruger Riojas — Texas (↓ from No. 1)
Season: 2.74 ERA, 1.05 WHIP — (Record TBD), 68K / 9BB (42.1 IP)
Past week: 3.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Riojas falls a bit after his first rough outing of the year.
South Carolina came out aggressive, attacked pitches in the zone, and got to him early. He only went three innings, which is uncharacteristic.
That said, the overall body of work still says he’s one of the most dominant arms in the SEC. He’ll have a big test next weekend against Texas A&M to bounce back.
7. Cade Townsend — Ole Miss (↑ from No. 22)
Season: 1.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP — 2-1, 46K / 7BB (29.1 IP)
Past week: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Townsend jumps back up after returning from injury and showing exactly why he belongs here.
Six strong innings, no walks, and complete control. The stuff is really, really good, and now that he’s back in the rotation, he’s going to be a big piece for Ole Miss moving forward.
8. Aiden Sims — Texas A&M (↑ from outside Top 25)
Season: 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP — 6-0, 48K / 13BB (43 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Sims makes a big jump after a complete game to close out the series against Vanderbilt.
He’s been solid all year, and this weekend he put an exclamation point on it. With that offense behind him, his ability to throw strikes and keep them in games on Sunday is extremely valuable.
9. Landon Mack — Tennessee (↑ from No. 27)
Season: 3.48 ERA, 1.39 WHIP — 3-2, 58K / 17BB (44 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K
Mack makes a huge jump after an electric outing against LSU.
At one point, he retired 14 straight hitters and looked completely in control. There were reports he was taken out for health-related reasons, but he could have kept going.
That’s the version of Mack that puts him near the top of this list.
10. Hunter Dietz — Arkansas (↑ from No. 19)
Season: 3.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP — 2-2, 69K / 14BB (40.1 IP)
Past week: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 11 K
Dietz jumps into the top 10 after a dominant outing against Auburn.
Seven innings, no walks, and 11 strikeouts—and now he leads the SEC in strikeouts.
With Gaeckle struggling a bit, you have to at least start asking the question if Dietz could slide into that Friday role, but either way, he’s been a huge piece for Arkansas.
11. William Schmidt — LSU (↓ from No. 6)
Season: 2.63 ERA, 1.12 WHIP — 4-2, 56K / 14BB (41 IP)
Past week: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 7 K
Schmidt falls a bit after taking the loss at Tennessee, but overall didn’t pitch bad and continues to trend toward being an elite prospect.
The walks are really the separator right now. If he can limit those, he’ll cut down base runners and continue to climb. Still looks like a high-level number two starter for LSU with big upside.
12. Dylan Volantis — Texas (↓ from No. 8)
Season: 2.01 ERA, 1.07 WHIP — 4-0, 57K / 15BB (44.1 IP)
Past week: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Volantis just continues to be very steady in that Sunday role.
In a weekend where Texas didn’t expect to need a deciding game, he stepped up and delivered. He’s been a consistent presence and a leader in that rotation.
13. Tyler Fay — Alabama (↓ from No. 3)
Season: 4.07 ERA, 0.90 WHIP — 6-2, 59K / 12BB (48.1 IP)
Past week: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Fay falls a little after giving up some runs, but still did a solid job keeping Alabama in the game.
He continues to lead in multiple statistical categories and remains a strong Friday night presence for a surging Alabama team.
14. Luke Harrison — Texas (↓ from No. 7)
Season: 2.72 ERA, 1.12 WHIP — 4-0, 42K / 16BB (43 IP)
Past week: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Harrison had another solid outing and continues to be a reliable number two starter for Texas.
In a weekend where they needed a stopper, he stepped in and gave them exactly what they needed.
15. Alex Petrovic — Auburn (unchanged)
Season: 3.12 ERA, 0.97 WHIP — 5-1, 45K / 9BB (40 IP)
Past week: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Petrovic continues to give Auburn a solid number three option.
He and Jackson Sanders handled the entire game on Sunday in a pivotal rubber match, which says a lot about how much Auburn trusts him in that role.
16. Joey Volchko — Georgia (↓ from No. 15)
Season: 3.89 ERA, 1.48 WHIP — 6-0, 42K / 19BB (39 IP)
Past week: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Volchko had a solid outing against a good Mississippi State offense.
He still gives up a few too many base runners, but with Georgia’s offense, his job is to keep them in games—and he continues to do that.
17. Zane Adams — Alabama (↓ from No. 9)
Season: 4.07 ERA, 1.24 WHIP — 3-2, 48K / 11BB (42 IP)
Past week: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 7 K
Adams falls slightly after taking the loss against Oklahoma.
The walks were a little uncharacteristic, but overall, he and Fay still form a strong 1–2 punch for Alabama.
18. Duke Stone — Mississippi State (↓ from No. 17)
Season: 3.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP — 5-0, 55K / 15BB (36 IP)
Past week: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 10 K
Stone continues to deal with what I call the “Sunday starter dilemma.”
Still, 10 strikeouts in four innings shows the stuff is real. With McPherson out, he could easily slide into a bigger role moving forward.
19. Casan Evans — LSU (↓ from No. 18)
Season: 4.97 ERA, 1.27 WHIP — 2-1, 59K / 21BB (41.1 IP)
Past week: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Evans had a solid outing but didn’t get much run support early.
He’s still very capable, but like we’ve talked about, command and consistency will dictate how high he climbs.
20. Hunter Elliott — Ole Miss (↓ from No. 11)
Season: 3.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP — 3-1, 60K / 26BB (40 IP)
Past week: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 9 K
Elliott continues to deal with command issues.
The strikeouts are there, but the walks continue to limit him and keep him from going deeper into games.
21. Cam Johnson — Oklahoma (↑ from No. 24)
Season: 2.97 ERA, 1.43 WHIP — 4-1, 52K / 24BB (36 IP)
Past week: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Johnson looks like he’s starting to right the ship.
Still some walks, but overall a much more controlled outing and a step in the right direction.
22. Liam Peterson — Florida (↓ from No. 13)
Season: 4.03 ERA, 1.40 WHIP — 1-2, 62K / 25BB (38 IP)
Past week: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 7 K
Peterson continues to be one of the highest upside arms in the SEC.
But the command issues and base runners continue to hold him back. When it clicks, he’s elite—but it hasn’t been consistent enough yet.
23. LJ Mercurius — Oklahoma (↓ from No. 10)
Season: 5.11 ERA, 1.30 WHIP — 5-3, 49K / 14BB (37 IP)
Past week: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Mercurius probably has the biggest fall this week.
It was hard to keep him out of the top 10 even after last weekend, but he followed that up with another rough outing where he couldn’t get out of the second inning. The stuff just doesn’t look as sharp as it did early in the year, and that’s showing up in the results.
If he can get back to what he was early in the season, Oklahoma can regain that elite one-two punch, but right now, he’s searching a bit.
24. Josh McDevitt — Missouri (Previous: Unranked)
Season: 3.66 ERA, 1.27 WHIP — 3-2, 52K / 26BB (39.1 IP)
Past week: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 (ER), 3 BB, 7 K
McDevitt jumps into the rankings after helping Missouri take two out of three against Kentucky.
He put them in a really strong position in his start, and with how much Missouri has improved, he’s earned a spot in the top 25 this week.
25. Gabe Gaeckle — Arkansas (↓ from No. 17)
Season: 4.17 ERA, 1.64 WHIP — 3-3, 41K / 19BB (36.1 IP)
Past week: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K
Gaeckle stays in the top 25 because of the upside and the role.
The results haven’t been consistent, but the stuff is still first-round caliber, and he continues to take the ball on Friday nights for Arkansas. There’s still a lot there, but he’s got to find a way to put it all together.
Notes Breakdown
As we move deeper into SEC play, this is where the conversation expands beyond just starting pitchers.
Russell Sandefer
Florida’s Sunday starter has had back-to-back strong outings and had a really nice outing against Ole Miss this weekend. That’s an important development for them moving forward as Walls moves to the pen.
South Carolina Arms
Amp Phillips continues to develop and shows real upside from a draft and professional perspective, while Josh Gunther has shown plenty of good to give them another good arm to compete on weekends.
Reliable Rotation Pieces
Evan Blanco continues to be a solid arm for Tennessee, and had another solid outing against LSU this weekend.
Wyatt Nadeau is putting together a really solid freshman campaign for Vanderbilt.
Cord Rager continues to give Oklahoma a strong true freshman presence in game three.
Friday Night Volatility
Shane Sdao (Texas A&M) and Connor Fennell (Vanderbilt) both have had ups and downs.
They throw strikes and get strikeouts, but they also give up a lot of hits, making them really interesting cases on Friday’s.
Swing / Hybrid Arms
Tegan Kuhns (Tennessee), Dylan Vigue (Georgia), Jackson Sanders (Auburn), Sam Cozart (Texas), and Taylor Rabe (Ole Miss) are all guys that can start, relieve, and impact games in multiple ways — they also have some of the best stuff so on any given night, these guys can be shut down arms.
For example, after being the Saturday starter all year, this weekend Jackson Sanders came in after Alex Petrovic and recorded a save, firing 4 scoreless innings, punching out eight and only allowing one hit.
Last weekend Dylan Vigue started Saturday, didn’t get out of the first inning, and came back out of the bullpen on Sunday. This weekend he started game two and pitched 5.1 innings.
These are some of the most important arms in the league right now.
Georgia Pitching Model
Speaking of Georgia — Caden Aoki, Justin Byrd, and Matt Scott continue to give the Bulldogs flexibility.
They pitch in multiple roles and give Wes Johnson a ton of options depending on how games unfold.
Upside / Development Arms
Myles Upchurch (Alabama) continues to have massive upside but is still developing consistency.
Bounce-Back Candidates
Colin Fisher (Arkansas) and Nate Taylor (Vanderbilt) have had strong outing and tough outings this year but still have opportunity to contribute to their teams on Sunday’s, imo.
Closing Thoughts
This is where the season really starts to take shape.
Not just who has the best arms—but who knows how to use them.
Different programs are showing different identities:
Traditional rotations
Hybrid usage
Bullpen-heavy strategies
Matchup-based deployment
And as we move into the middle of SEC play, that’s what’s going to separate teams.
Because in this league, it’s not just about having good pitchers.
It’s about knowing when to use them.