• The Southeastern Conference would have a record number of bids – 11 – if the season ended today, and you could make a strong case for Auburn, which has an RPI of 52, 7-7 record vs. RPI Top 50 teams, and has solid series wins over Tennessee and Texas A&M, the UT series win on the road.
• After the SEC, the Atlantic Coast Conference is next in line in terms of overall bids with eight. Most of the inclusions should come as no surprise, but North Carolina and Maryland's additions might surprise some. The Terrapins have struggled to win marquee series in the ACC thus far, but played a good non-conference schedule, have an RPI of 21 and are 10-6 vs. RPI Top 50 and have accumulated 13 wins vs. RPI Top 100 clubs. UNC is the more tricky situation at this point. The Tar Heels have an RPI of 82, but their resume bests some of the other contenders for the final at-large spot in the postseason. UNC's RPI will take care of itself down the stretch, and the Tar Heels still have a respectable 9-8 mark vs. RPI Top 100 clubs.
• Beyond the SEC and ACC, the Pac-12 is next in line for overall bids with five, as UCLA got the nod for the final bid from the league. Meanwhile, the Big 12, which is improved at the top this spring, is tabbed with four bids in this week's projections, with the potential for at least two or three more depending on what West Virginia, Kansas and Oklahoma do the rest of the season. The big surprise here is Texas Tech's overall resume. Though the Red Raiders haven't tallied a marquee series win just yet, their resume is solid. Tech has an RPI of 9 with a 5-4 mark vs. RPI Top 25 clubs, 10-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50, and 18-10 mark vs. RPI Top 100.
• Another potential surprise in this week's projections is the Big West having four postseason bids. As a matter of fact, this postseason has a chance to be very special for the West Coast, which has an impressive crop of potential bids. The teams include Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. Cal Poly and UCSB would be considered locks, at this point at least, while Irvine would get the nod if the season ended today. UCI has a series sweep over Hawaii and single win over Arizona State to its credit, but will need to finish the season strong to make the postseason.
• Looking at the national seeds, we did a hard reevaluation of South Carolina, as the Gamecocks have been struggling in Southeastern Conference play the past few weeks. However, the overall picture for South Carolina still is very impressive. For instance, the Gamecocks have an RPI of 4, along with a 7-5 mark vs. RPI Top 25, 10-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50 and 12-7 record vs. RPI Top 100. Those are quality metrics at this point … Meanwhile, how about top national seed Texas? It's hard to find a flaw in the Longhorns' resume right now. Texas has a strength of schedule of 12 along with a 5-2 record vs. RPI Top 25, 11-4 mark vs. RPI Top 50 and an outstanding 26-8 mark vs. RPI Top 100 … There's also Florida, which has the top RPI in the land, a respectable 9-6 record in the brutally difficult SEC, a 12-6 mark vs. RPI Top 25 and 21-11 mark vs. RPI Top 100.
• Putting together this week's NCAA postseason host sites wasn't the easy process it sometimes can be. Houston, Miami and Rice were the final three teams to earn a host site in this week's projections. The Hurricanes have a resume that just continues to improve each week. The 'Canes have a fantastic 14-4 ACC record, and their resume isn't bad. Miami is 8-7 vs. RPI Top 50 and 12-8 vs. RPI Top 100, along with a good strength of schedule. Teams that narrowly missed the hosting mix this week include UNLV, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Louisville. UL is the most intriguing of these teams. Ranked high in the latest PG College Top 25, the Cards likely have some work to do from an RPI standpoint to host. UL currently has an RPI of 32, and that number must continue to improve to firmly earn an NCAA host site. Louisville is 4-4 vs. RPI Top 50, 16-7 against RPI Top 100 clubs, and is 20-7 in non-conference play.
• We'll have a complete breakdown of the national seeds, host sites, and much more in an analysis piece a little later today.
-- The projected national seeds are listed on the left, seed denoted in parenthesis. Regional on the right matches up to be projected NCAA Super Regional.
* Denotes automatic bid
| College Baseball Field of 64 (April 16) |
AUSTIN, TEXAS
1. Texas* (1)
4. Western Illinois*
2. Oregon
3. New Mexico
|
HOUSTON (University of Houston)
1. Houston
4. SE Missouri*
2. Texas Christian
3. Sam Houston St.*
|
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
1. Florida State* (2)
4. Bucknell*
2. Mississippi State
3. Mercer
|
TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
1. Alabama*
4. Lipscomb*
2. Georgia Tech
3. Indiana State*
|
COLUMBIA, S.C.
1. South Carolina (3)
4. Davidson*
2. Texas Tech
3. Wake Forest
|
MIAMI
1. Miami
4. Coll. of Charleston*
2. Vanderbilt
3. Nebraska
|
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.
1. Virginia (4)
4. Delaware State*
2. Liberty*
3. Tennessee
|
OXFORD, MISS.
1. Mississippi
4. Wright State*
2. Louisville*
3. North Carolina
|
GAINESVILLE, FLA.
1. Florida (5)
4. Stony Brook*
2. Clemson
3. Va. Commonwealth*
|
BLOOMINGTON, IND.
1. Indiana*
4. Kent State*
2. Kentucky
3. Maryland
|
LAFAYETTE, LA.
1. Louisiana-Lafayette* (6)
4. Canisius*
2. UC Santa Barbara
3. Arkansas
|
HOUSTON (Rice University)
1. Rice*
4. Xavier*
2. Arizona State
3. Dallas Baptist
|
SEATTLE
1. Washington* (7)
4. Columbia*
2. Cal State Fullerton
3. Georgia
|
BATON ROUGE, LA.
1. Louisiana State
4. Alabama State*
2. UNLV*
3. Oklahoma State
|
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.
1. Cal Poly* (8)
4. Sacramento State*
2. Pepperdine*
3. UCLA
|
CORVALLIS, ORE.
1. Oregon State
4. Bryant*
2. San Diego
3. UC Irvine |
CONFERENCE AUTOMATIC BIDS
Atlantic 10: Va. Commonwealth
American Athletic: Louisville
Atlantic Coast: Florida State
America East: Stony Brook
Atlantic Sun: Lipscomb
Big Ten: Indiana
Big 12: Texas
Big East: Xavier
Big South: Liberty
Big West: Cal Poly
Colonial Athletic: College of Charleston
Conference USA: Rice
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy League: Columbia
Metro Atlantic: Canisius
Mid-American: Kent State
Mid-Eastern Athletic: Delaware State
Missouri Valley: Indiana State
Mountain West: UNLV
Northeast: Bryant
Ohio Valley: Southeast Missouri
Pac-12: Oregon State
Patriot: Bucknell
Southeastern: Alabama
Southern: Davidson
Southland: Sam Houston State
Southwestern Athletic: Alabama State
Summit: Western Illinois
Sun Belt: Louisiana-Lafayette
West Coast: Pepperdine
Western Athletic: Sacramento State |