LAWRENCE — Kansas baseball has maintained its momentum in recent days, and with that enjoyed a rise in the latest top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Jayhawks, ranked No. 16 this past week, are now five spots higher at No. 11. This comes after a midweek win at home against No. 16 Nebraska, and a Big 12 Conference series sweep on the road against Kansas State. This is the highest KU has been ranked all season long.

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Kansas coach Dan Fitzgerald and his team are also in first place in the Big 12 Conference standings. In the top 25, the Big 12 also features No. 20 West Virginia and No. 21 Arizona State. In May, the Jayhawks do have a three-game series at home against West Virginia.

Looking ahead, KU faces Wichita State on Tuesday on the road. Then, the Jayhawks are back at home for a three-game weekend series against Arizona in Big 12 play. Considering the extent to which Arizona has struggled this season, it’s an opportunity for Kansas to hold on to its lead in the Big 12 standings.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: See where Kansas baseball ranks in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll