DEEP SOUTH (Alabama / Mississippi)
By Allan Simpson

Auburn and Mississippi should have two of the most talented college baseball teams in the country this season, but perhaps their biggest challenge will be overcoming their own burden of expectation.

For Ole Miss, the burden is overcoming a 38-year drought since it last made an appearance in the College World Series. Despite several teams in the last decade that were worthy of contending for a national title, the Rebels have had a series of excruciating near-misses and are still seeking that elusive return trip to Omaha.

Auburn’s bar is set slightly lower. The Tigers, who last made an appearance at the College World Series in 1997 on the strength of a school-record 50-win season, are merely looking for a winning record in Southeastern Conference play (and an accompanying NCAA tournament bid) for the first time since 2003. In the six years since, they are a combined 66-114, worst in the 12-team league.

If talent means anything, both Auburn and Mississippi should go a long way this season towards reversing some of the futility that has burdened both programs.

At 20-10 a year ago, Ole Miss tied eventual national champion Louisiana State for the best record in the SEC. It returns the best lefthanded pitching prospect in the country in 6-foot-5 Drew Pomeranz, who is expected to be an early first-round pick in the 2010 draft. The Rebels also return eight other prospects that PG Crosschecker projects will have a solid shot at being selected in the first 10 rounds (our 2010 state-by-state follow lists will be unveiled next week).

Auburn went only 11-19 in conference games a year ago, despite a roster that included slugger Hunter Morris and an array of young talent that should make a profound impact on the early rounds of the 2010 draft. Morris, one of the top power threats in the country, is expected to be the first player from Alabama (college or high school) drafted in June, and he should have plenty of company since as many as 5-6 other Tigers could factor into the top 10 rounds.

The focus of our 2010 state-by-state college preview today is on players from the Deep South (Alabama and Mississippi). While it’s evident that the talent in the two-state area is plentiful, it’s most readily apparent at Auburn and Ole Miss and in sufficient supply for both those schools to get the monkey off their back and reverse recent trends.

With that as a backdrop, here’s an overview of how we see the talent stacking up in the college ranks in the Deep South in 2010.

DEEP SOUTH (Alabama/Mississippi): IN A NUTSHELL