The University of Kentucky baseball team, fresh off taking two of three games at Southeastern Conference rival Georgia over the weekend, was ranked No. 1 in the nation Monday by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

The No. 1 ranking is the first ever for the Kentucky baseball program in any national poll.

The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-30 weekly poll is the oldest in the nation, dating to 1957.

"It is an honor to be ranked No. 1, but no one gives out regional bids for where you are ranked on April 2," UK Coach Gary Henderson said. "We are just three weekends into the toughest 10-week grind in college baseball, and our guys have really enjoyed competing. We have a lot of things to improve on and can't wait to get out to Cliff Hagan on Wednesday for a five-game homestand."

Kentucky, 27-2 overall and 19-0 at home this season, will host Dayton at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Cats then host Mississippi for games Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The homestand concludes April 10 with a visit from Louisville.

Kentucky, which stands atop the SEC Eastern Division with a 7-2 record, also is ranked in the top 10 in two other polls.

The USA Today/ESPN coaches poll has the Cats at No. 4, behind only No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 South Carolina.

Kentucky has to wait a bit for a shot at the Gators, who are scheduled to play three games in Lexington May 3 through 5.

Baseball America ranked Kentucky at an all-time high No. 8 in its new poll, released Monday.

Kentucky is off to the best start to a season in the more than 100-year history of the program, leading the NCAA in wins. UK has won all three of its league series, including a sweep of two-time defending NCAA champion South Carolina. The Cats also won series at Georgia and Tennessee.

UK won a series in Athens, Ga., for the first time since the 2000 season.

The Wildcats belted six homers in the series and now lead the SEC in batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.421), runs (228), hits (323), RBI (208), doubles (60) and hit batters (57).

Also Monday, center fielder Austin Cousino was named SEC freshman of the week after hitting .375 (6-for-16) during a four-game week, with three homers and nine RBI. Cousino has homered in four of his last five games, reaching base safely in 27 of his 28 career games.