College baseball check-in: Top storylines, sleeper teams, conference tourney picks
The college baseball season is in full swing, and the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska will take place in less than a month.
The 64-team NCAA baseball tournament roster, consisting of 31 conference champions and a large number of 33 participants, will be announced on ESPN2 and the ESPN app at noon on May 30th. The top 16 teams will hold a regional on June 36th, with 4 teams competing in a Double Elimination format at each location. The 16 regional winners will advance to Super Regional, the best three series hosted by the remaining top eight teams, and will be held in June 1013. There, the teams will face each other directly in two 4-team double elimination brackets, and the winners will gather in the three finals starting June 25th to determine the national champion. All CWS games will be broadcast on the ESPN Family network.
Tennessee spends most of the season as the clear number one in the country, followed by Oregon. From there, there’s a lot of competition for the Top 16 and Top 8 slots to host NCAA tournament play.
The conference tournament will be held before all this. To get an idea of what’s going on, ESPN’s college baseball experts Mike Rooney, Chris Burke, Ryan McGee, and Kyle Peterson are astonished by which teams are most happy about which stories they see best. I asked if it was a sleeper team. Omaha, and their picks at top conference tournaments.
Which story do you follow most faithfully?
Looney: Since 1999, when Miami won, can the number one overall winner win the College World Series for the first time? If possible, it’s a Tennessee volunteer.
Burke: I agree. One of the weirdest stats in college baseball this century is that there wasn’t a single CWS overall winner, and there are many examples of teams that didn’t reach Omaha. Perhaps the top seed, Tennessee, can eventually become a team that breaks the winning streak?
McGee: Can a program that should always be good at baseball on paper and ultimately look good at baseball remain good at baseball at the most important time? Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Texas State University, Auburn State University, North Carolina State University, West Virginia … Have all the right ingredients for a very long time. This year, one of them will have a great regular season and turn it into success at Omaha, eventually taking it to the next level. This is a stepping stone to making them a permanent competitor. It’s possible (especially see Virginia and Vanderbilt), but it’s not easy.
Peterson: Tennessee’s run during the season is still a comprehensive story, but other than that, it feels like we’re heading for a very unpredictable postseason. It feels like some new names are ripe for making CWS.
Which team was the most joyful surprise this season?
Looney: Connecticut. Huskys lost his first-round pick due to an injury, and Reggie Crawford needed surgery from Tommy John and still crushed her.
Burke: Texas A & M. Jim Schlossnagle left the TCU incredibly 20 years later and embraced the challenge of resuming the Aggies program, which had been stalled in recent years. A & M won only nine SEC games in 2021 and should not be a tournament team this year. However, Schloss and his senior staff went to the transfer portal, landed some real guys (including Dylan Rock, Jack Moss, and Troy Crunch), and changed their roster. The Aggies started slowly but now find themselves at the top of the SEC West and seem poised to be a top16 seed and a regional host.
McGee: Texas State. Every game this Bobcats team wins rewrites another page of the program’s record book. They have clinched at least a share of the Sun Belt title, reached 41 wins for the first time, are ranked in the top 15, and are all but guaranteed to earn their first NCAA tourney bid in more than a decade.
Peterson: Texas A & M. The aggressive turnaround of Aggie’s in the first year of the Schlossnagle era is very impressive and is in a great position to host in the postseason. I haven’t experienced it since February. Virginia Tech and Maryland are on my list next to Aggie’s.
Who will vote for the National Player of the Year?
Rooney: Ivan Melendez, Texas. The slugging first baseman is challenging for the national Triple Crown while playing his home games in a notoriously pitcher-friendly park.
Burke: Entering the weekend, Melendez has 26 home runs and 80 RBIs while hitting .421 and has been the driving force behind a Texas team that has had an up and down run through the Big 12. Without the consistent dominance of Melendez, there is no telling where Texas would be right now, but I’m certain they would not still be in the mix to be a regional host. He’s having one of the best seasons of the BBCOR bat era.
McGee: Paul Skenes, Air Force. This dude is the showtime of college baseball. As of May 18, he was hitting .306/10/32 as a DH, on the mound, he’s 82 with a sub3 ERA, he’s ranked as high as the second-best MLB prospect and he chose the Air Force Academy over other schools because he wanted to serve his country. If this baseball thing doesn’t work out, maybe he can join the Avengers.
Which sleeper team do you think can make a fuss in Omaha?
Looney: Gonzaga. Zags, along with Gabe Hughes, William Kempner, and Trystan Vrieling, is one of the best rotations in the country.
Burke: Virginia Tech. They may not qualify as sleeping cars because they have had a great season, but the program hasn’t been on the national stage for quite some time. The John Cheats club is ready to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013, ensuring a solid finish. Headed by one of the most talented position teams in the country, this team can score in the mountains (86 Homer, 12th in NCAA) and play a world-class fielding percentage (.981 fielding percentage, 11th in NCAA). .. If the hawkie can pitch well, don’t be surprised to see it in Omaha.
McGee: Virginia. It feels very strange to call OK, OK, UVA a sleeper car, but just a month ago, these guys were in the middle of 17 train accidents and many checked them out. think. Be careful if they take on the business in a huge series in Louisville this weekend and keep the May momentum in the ACC tournament. Perhaps at the supermarket to play against rival Virginia Tech to host a regional league … If Hus, who was once debilitated in the rest of the field, can return to Omaha, they may regret it. Maybe.
Peterson: Gonzaga. With a pitching staff comparable to everyone, Zags can host a regional league. Once they reach the Super Region, their arms will work with everyone they meet, even if they have to travel.
Look at conference tournaments …
