LEXINGTON, Ky. — The hottest baseball club in the nation, Kentucky has continued its dazzling rise in the national rankings, soaring to No. 2 in latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll, released on Monday morning.

Kentucky (18-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) sits just one win shy of tying the school record for the best start to a season and the longest winning streak in school history, set a year ago after a 19-0 start. Last week, UK ranked as the No. 4 team in the Collegiate Baseball poll, the highest ranking since a No. 4 ranking in 2006.

During the weekend, UK swept the Alabama Crimson Tide by a combined 27-8 score, claiming UK?s first SEC opening sweep since the 1996 season. The sweep was the first sweep by UK of Alabama since the 1992 season and marked UK?s first SEC sweep since the 2006 season.

UK also moves up to No. 11 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, moving up from No. 17 last week. The Wildcats also moved up one spot from No. 17 in Baseball America?s top-25 to No. 16. The third nationally-recognized poll, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top-25, will be announced later in the afternoon on Monday.

UK returns to action on Tuesday, facing the Morehead State Eagles, with a 4 p.m. ET first pitch at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The game can be seen live on the Big Blue Sports Network (TV) with Dick Gabriel and Doug Flynn calling the action.