College baseball polls are just as wacky as those used in the election primaries. Judging from the weekly tabulations, Texas A&M should feel equally great and miserable.

According to the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the Aggies are the eighth-best team in the nation. Not so fast, says Baseball America. That poll didn't even rank A&M in the Top 25 last week. This week, the Aggies debuted at No. 19.

None of the polls matter. Here's all Big 12 baseball fans need to know: A&M (30-7, 12-3 Big 12) has romped and stomped its way to first place heading into a three-game series against Baylor (23-14, 8-7).

"You could be ranked No. 1 all year, and if you don't finish in Omaha as the last team standing, then it doesn't matter," A&M coach Rob Childress said.

A&M swept Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma over the last three weeks. OU coach Sunny Golloway certainly came away impressed. "That's a Top-10 team, no doubt about it," he said.

If pollsters dissected the Aggies' lineup, it becomes easy to see how they're doing so well.

Dane Carter was a junior-college transfer who spent most of last season adjusting to Division I play. The senior is now smashing the ball everywhere, hitting a conference-best .432 with eight triples. Jose Duran had no problems with the jump. Childress planted the junior transfer in the cleanup spot, where Duran is hitting .382.

Veteran Blake Stouffer, A&M's best hitter last season, is also coming around after a slow start. Stouffer was hitting .188 on March 5. Now, he's batting .262.

A&M's pitching staff was expected to be strong. But two freshmen really stand out. Left-hander Brooks Raley from Uvalde, is 5-0 with six starts this season. Right-hander Barret Loux from Houston is 2-1 in eight starts.

Kyle Thebeau (1.19 ERA, 15 appearances) and Travis Starling (5-0, 17 appearances) are still a dangerous 1-2 combo late in games, just like last season.

The Aggies' toughest games are still to come. A&M has yet to face Missouri, Nebraska or Texas. If Childress' crew holds tough down the stretch, A&M should be set up perfectly for a top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The aftermath of 31-12: Watch Texas (23-13, 8-7) this weekend against Oklahoma State (24-11, 8-7) to see if there's any lingering hangover from a disastrous trip to Missouri. The Longhorns lost the opener by a whopping 31-12 and then lost the series. If that wasn't bad enough, UT-Arlington registered a 4-3 victory in Austin on Wednesday.

"The team has a high-end potential, and we're not playing to that level," UT coach Augie Garrido said. "Sometimes teams with potential have a tendency to admire themselves in the mirror rather than search their heart and soul for answers."

• Brian Davis covers the Big 12 for The Dallas Morning News. His e-mail address is brdavis@dallasnews.com.