We’re officially into the second half of SEC play, and at this point, the picture is starting to sharpen.
Before we get into this week’s rankings, I want to address something quickly.
Last week, I mentioned that I was going to roll out full SEC pitching staff rankings—and that’s still coming. I started diving into it, and honestly, I went a little deeper than I expected. Once you really start breaking down how different programs deploy their arms, how bullpens are being used, and how roles are evolving weekend to weekend, it opens up a completely different layer of analysis.
It’s something I want to do right, not rushed.
So that piece is still in the works. No set timetable, but it’s coming.
In the meantime, the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings continue—and they matter even more now.
Because this is where roles start to solidify.
This is where separation happens.
And this is where you begin to see who can truly carry a staff into the back half of the season.
With six weeks in the books, we’ve got enough information to evaluate performance, adjust expectations, and start projecting forward.
And after another wild weekend across the league, there’s movement all over this list.
SEC Starting Pitcher Power Rankings — Week 6
1. Aidan King — Florida (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 6-2, 52.2 IP, 36 H, 18 R, 10 ER, 13 BB, 55 K, 1.71 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Aidan King continues his dominance of the SEC, and although Florida lost the weekend, he did his job again with another incredible quality start. He continues to miss bats and dominate as Florida’s Game 1 starter.
2. Cade Townsend — Ole Miss (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 4-1, 41.2 IP, 28 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 10 BB, 61 K, 1.73 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
To me, Cade Townsend is one of the most exciting arms in the SEC. Every time I watch him pitch, I don’t understand how we’re not talking about him as a top-15, top-20 pick in this year’s draft.
His stuff is so electric, and with Hunter Elliott being the Friday night guy and a true bulldog, this Saturday arm is a scary combo for Ole Miss. He dominated again this weekend, allowing only one hit and no runs in six innings.
3. Jake Marciano — Auburn (↑ from No. 4)
Season: 3-2, 56.2 IP, 38 H, 17 R, 12 ER, 7 BB, 77 K, 1.91 ERA
Past week: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Jake Marciano continues to dominate the SEC, and this weekend he was used almost as an opener, with Jackson Sanders coming in and finishing it out. That little duo with Jake Marciano and Jackson Sanders is pretty scary.
That Auburn rotation continues to be the best in the league, in my opinion, and Jake Marciano has been at the front of it all season.
4. Tomas Valincius — Mississippi State (Previous: No. 5)
Season: 7-1, 59.2 IP, 42 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 13 BB, 83 K, 1.81 ERA
Past week: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Tomas Valincius continues to dominate as well, and his overall body of work is so impressive. I think he’s only second in the SEC to Hunter Dietz in strikeouts, and he pitched solid again this weekend, having another double-digit strikeout performance for Mississippi State.
5. Dylan Volantis — Texas (Previous: No. 19)
Season: 5-0, 50.2 IP, 37 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 69 K, 2.13 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Dylan Volantis jumps up this week because of his dominant performance in that Friday night role for Texas. He continues his dominant run, striking out 12 against Alabama and setting the tone for them this weekend in a big series win.
6. Hunter Dietz — Arkansas (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 4-2, 52.2 IP, 42 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 18 BB, 84 K, 3.59 ERA
Past week: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Hunter Dietz continues to dominate for Arkansas since moving to Friday night, and he’s the leader in the SEC in strikeouts, which alone is a statement piece. It continues to be a really nice development for Arkansas.
And let’s mention that he faced the Georgia offense, which gives him even more credit.
7. Jaxon Jelkin — Kentucky (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 6-2, 58.2 IP, 51 H, 28 R, 21 ER, 14 BB, 66 K, 3.22 ERA
Past week: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Jaxson Jelkin dominated this weekend and has been a staple in our top 10 all year. He continues to look like a true big leaguer out there and took care of business for Kentucky on the road this weekend.
He faced a really good Vanderbilt offense, so he gets a lot of credit for that too, and he continues to miss bats and look like a first-rounder for me.
8. Alex Petrovic — Auburn (↑ from No. 11)
Season: 6-1, 54.1 IP, 38 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 11 BB, 58 K, 2.82 ERA
Past week: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Alex Petrovic faced a good Florida team at Florida and continues to be probably the best Sunday starter in the country with a sub-3 ERA.
It was another rubber-match game and another really important start for him and Auburn.
9. Ruger Riojas — Texas (↑ from No. 13)
Season: 5-1, 52.2 IP, 44 H, 19 R, 19 ER, 12 BB, 83 K, 3.25 ERA
Past week: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Ruger Riojas jumps back into the top 10 after an 11-strikeout performance in five innings. His pitch count was kind of high, but he still limited damage against Alabama in that middle game and was a deciding factor in the series win for Texas.
10. Andreas Alvarez — Auburn (↓ from No. 2)
Season: 6-2, 46.0 IP, 36 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 17 BB, 63 K, 1.96 ERA
Past week: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Andreas Alvarez drops a bit after one of his first bad outings of the year. Still, the overall body of work is very, very impressive, and he belongs in the top 10 because he’s near the top of most of the statistical categories in the SEC.
11. Tegan Kuhns — Tennessee (↑ from No. 21)
Season: 2-3, 51.0 IP, 47 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 10 BB, 64 K, 3.35 ERA
Past week: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Tegan Kuhns makes a nice jump this weekend after a 10-strikeout performance against Ole Miss, a very good Ole Miss team, and didn’t allow any runs in 5 and 2/3 innings.
I think Tegan Kuhns is going to be pitching in the major leagues for a very long time and continues to show why he’s up here.
12. Dylan Vigue — Georgia (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 3-1, 43.0 IP, 24 H, 53 K, 25 BB, 2.51 ERA
Past week: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
There were some reports of Dylan Vigue having cramps and leaving the game early, although it worked out okay for Georgia because Caden Aoki came in and dominated for five innings.
It seemed like Dylan Vigue almost worked as an opener, which Georgia has done before, so there’s still some reporting there. But Vigue leads the SEC in opponent batting average, which I think is really impressive for a kid transferring from Michigan, so he stays here this week.
13. Aiden Sims — Texas A&M (↑ from No. 16)
Season: 7-0, 55.0 IP, 39 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 17 BB, 57 K, 3.44 ERA
Past week: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Aiden Sims jumps up as his body of work continues to round out in a great breakout sophomore year. We heard earlier in the year about him making a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2, and his season is really impressive.
He went into LSU and pitched seven innings and only gave up two runs while punching out six.
14. Liam Peterson — Florida (↑ from No. 15)
Season: 1-3, 50.0 IP, 43 H, 23 R, 19 ER, 27 BB, 71 K, 3.42 ERA
Past week: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Liam Peterson, one of the best arms in the SEC, had another nice outing this week. Anytime he limits base runners via the walk, I’m happy with that.
He only had two walks in five innings. He did give up seven hits, but anytime your stuff is that electric, you can get a strikeout and get out of it at any time. Even though he’s 1-3 on the year, his body of work is still pretty impressive, and he’s a great number two starter for Florida.
15. Zane Adams — Alabama (Previous: No. 23)
Season: 4-2, 54.0 IP, 51 H, 24 R, 22 ER, 15 BB, 59 K, 3.67 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Zane Adams jumps up this week after putting together a couple nice starts in a row and a really impressive start at Texas this week where he didn’t give up any runs in six innings and only allowed five hits.
16. Duke Stone — Mississippi State (Previous: Unranked)
Season: 6-1, 47.1 IP, 46 H, 23 R, 19 ER, 18 BB, 70 K, 3.59 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
Duke Stone had probably one of the most impressive performances of the weekend at South Carolina, where he struck out 12 in six innings and didn’t allow a run.
He continues to be a nice number two for a good Mississippi State team and will be an important piece for them if they want to make a legit postseason run.
17. Myles Upchurch — Alabama (Previous: Unranked)
Season: 5-2, 41.0 IP, 26 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 28 BB, 50 K, 3.05 ERA
Past week: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Miles Upchurch jumps up into the top 25 after struggling in the SEC to start. The true freshman has made two really nice starts back to back, and he got the Sunday win against a top-five Texas team that has a ton of big leaguers in the lineup.
He went five and a third, allowing only one hit and no runs. The walks have been a little bit of a plague for him this year, but when he misses bats so much, it allows him to limit damage, and that’s why his ERA sits at 3.05 as a true freshman.
18. LJ Mercurius — Oklahoma (↑ from No. 25)
Season: 6-4, 49.1 IP, 45 H, 30 R, 27 ER, 15 BB, 71 K, 4.93 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
LJ Mercurius bounces back again this weekend. He’s putting together a couple nice starts and slowly lowering his ERA.
His body of work is still pretty impressive this year with 71 strikeouts in under 50 innings. He went six innings this weekend, didn’t walk anybody, and struck out nine in a get-right weekend for Oklahoma against Missouri.
19. Hunter Elliott — Ole Miss (↓ from No. 18)
Season: 4-1, 52.1 IP, 43 H, 23 R, 22 ER, 28 BB, 73 K, 3.78 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Hunter Elliott stays around where he is because he’s just such a bulldog in that Friday night spot for Ole Miss. He had a quality start, allowing three earned runs in six innings and striking out five against Tennessee, setting the tone for them in that first game.
20. Amp Phillips — South Carolina (↓ from No. 9)
Season: 3-5, 53.2 IP, 39 H, 20 R, 15 ER, 23 BB, 59 K, 2.52 ERA
Past week: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Amp Phillips drops a little bit this weekend after giving up some runs, but his body of work still speaks for itself, and his stuff has been pretty impressive. I really like his development this year.
21. Taylor Rabe — Ole Miss (↓ from No. 10)
Season: 3-2, 34.1 IP, 30 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 5 BB, 41 K, 4.19 ERA
Past week: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Taylor Rabe falls a little bit after having his worst start of the year, but again, his body of work and his strikeout-to-walk ratio are still pretty silly, and that number three starting spot for Ole Miss is critically important.
22. Joey Volchko — Georgia (↓ from No. 8)
Season: 6-2, 50.1 IP, 46 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 25 BB, 57 K, 3.75 ERA
Past week: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
Joey Volchko drops down again for me just because he keeps allowing so many base runners. The stuff is all there, and the swing and miss is there, and the strikeouts are there, but he just continues to allow too many base runners.
His WHIP is among the highest of SEC starters, and on Friday night you’ve got to really go deep into games. That’s one of my concerns for Joey, but he’s still a top-25 arm and a solid Friday night starter for a top-five team in the country.
23. Tyler Fay — Alabama (↓ from No. 14)
Season: 6-3, 60.0 IP, 48 H, 31 R, 30 ER, 14 BB, 65 K, 4.50 ERA
Past week: 5.1 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Tyler Fay has had a couple of rough starts in a row, but his body of work still speaks for itself in the league, so we’re looking for him to get back on track next weekend.
24. Evan Blanco — Tennessee (Previous: Unranked)
Season: 4-2, 55.0 IP, 47 H, 23 R, 23 ER, 19 BB, 66 K, 3.76 ERA
Past week: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Evan Blanco had a nice rubber-match appearance against Ole Miss and saved the sweep for Tennessee. He had a quality start in six innings and struck out eight against a very good Ole Miss team.
25. Connor Fennell — Vanderbilt (Ranking unchanged)
Season: 3-1, 57.0 IP, 51 H, 32 R, 30 ER, 14 BB, 70 K, 4.74 ERA
Past week: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Connor Fennell rounds out the top 25. In three of his last four starts, he’s gone six-plus innings and gotten deep into ballgames while limiting hits and runs.
With a Vanderbilt team that’s struggled all year, I give him a lot of credit for sticking it out, being the Friday night starter, and being a solid arm for them all season.
Storylines / Notes
LSU
There are no LSU arms in this. After Casan Evans and William Schmidt had kind of been in the top 25 all year, they were there a lot because of stuff, and then William Schmidt had been pitching well, but the last couple weeks they’ve both been struggling.
I was really looking for them to take charge this past weekend against Texas A&M, a potent offense, and try to get LSU back on track, and they’re just not doing that right now. William has walked a lot more guys in SEC play than he did in non-conference, and Casan just has continued to struggle.
Landon Mack
Landon Mack just missed the top 25, but continues to be a nice number one arm for Tennessee, and his stuff is among the best in the league and probably a first-round arm next year.
Cam Johnson
Cam Johnson had another really nice start for Oklahoma and was close to getting back into the top 25. I want to see him string together another one, but if he does, he can get back toward the top of the list because he has such electric stuff and upside.
Arkansas
And Arkansas continues to be a curveball for me because I fall in and out of love with their arms so many times. Gabe Gaeckle is probably going to be a top 50 pick and at times he absolutely dominates, and then other times gets hit around and walks guys. Same for Cole Gibler and Colin Fisher. They have all the pieces, I just think they need to figure out where they all go.
Final Thoughts
At this point in the season, it’s no longer about flashes—it’s about consistency.
The arms that are still standing here in Week 6 are the ones that have shown they can handle the grind of SEC play. They’ve taken the ball in big spots, faced elite lineups, and found ways—whether it’s stuff, sequencing, or just pure competitiveness—to keep their teams in games.
And now, with the second half officially underway, everything tightens.
Every inning matters more. Every decision matters more. And the margin for error on the mound gets even smaller.
Next up, we zoom out.
We stop looking at individuals and start evaluating the full picture—SEC pitching staffs, 1 through 16, how they’re being deployed, and which ones are built to carry teams into postseason play.
Because from here on out, it’s not just about who has the best arm.
It’s about who has enough of them.