LEXINGTON ? The hottest baseball team in the country, Kentucky continued its meteoric rise in the rankings by moving up to No. 4 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll, released Monday.

Entering the year, Kentucky had not been ranked since the 2000 season, but has rocketed up to the top of the polls after being ranked No. 21 just four short weeks ago.

Over the weekend, the Wildcats swept No. 19 Mississippi State to run their winning streak to eight games and 15 of their last 16. Each of the eight victories has come over a ranked opponent and in Southeastern Conference play. The eight straight league wins ties a school record set twice previously, but not accomplished since 1960.

With the sweep, UK clinched a share of its first SEC Eastern Division championship since 1976 and just the school?s second ever. Kentucky, the lone conference team to never win an overall SEC championship, needs just one win this week at Georgia to clinch this year?s title.

It would be the first time in the 73-year history of the conference a team has gone from worst-to-first as the Wildcats were 7-22 in the league last season.