College Baseball Postseason Is Here — Why Everyone Need to Be Watching - Ep. 169

[00:00:02] Speaker A: Hey, parents and coaches, are your kids using the right glove? The most important skill for youth athletes to learn is how to play proper catch. The problem is most youth gloves are made with bad leather and are too big for small hands. They actually make it harder to play catch. That's why former Major League Baseball shortstop Kevin Smith created Cali Gloves. Cali gloves are crafted from 100% Japanese kip leather and are the perfect size for kids. All Cali gloves come with palm slits, finger loops, and elastic wrist lacing that encourage proper hand placement. The right closing patterns and give kids more confidence to go make plays. Cali gloves even allow parents to break in the glove without stretching out the fit. It's the glove Kevin wishes he had growing up and the glove all his teammates want for their kids. Visit caligloves.com to learn more and help your kids play better catch. Cali Gloves K a l I gloves.com [00:01:11] Speaker B: welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kirikidis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How are we doing, sir? [00:01:18] Speaker C: Great. [00:01:18] Speaker B: How are you? We've got Mr. Jonathan Grass again again this week. Yeah, we're excited as usual. It's regional time. We've cut a bunch of these. Now we know who's playing in it. I know you guys have some, some opening thoughts on the selection process, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna kick it over to you, Jonathan, to start us off here. What do you got here to open up before we start breaking down some of these regionals? [00:01:48] Speaker D: What's up, guys? I, I appreciate you guys having me on. This is, of all the ones we do. I, I, I think I was thinking about it today. I think this is my favorite, my favorite one this week, and I enjoy all of them. Don't get me wrong, I love them and I'll be super excited the next two weeks to when we do these, but this one, I think, is my favorite. It's kind of, you know, the culmination of, you know, 56 games, you know, three months of baseball. Really? Almost four, I guess, four full months, really. But it's just, this is an awesome, this is an awesome one. I think that I think the committee did a really good job. I have a couple of small gripes, but I think for the most part, I think when you look at this year, I don't think there was a ton of questions in the hosting. You know, there's a couple of spots. I know we hit on it last week with you Know, the national seeds, but the bubble kind of was tight. You know, I think. I think if you're two teams, you are very disappointed. I think if you're Mercer and utsa, I think you got to be really, really disappointed the way it, you know, kind of shook out for you. I don't think Kentucky deserved to get in. I think, you know, losing last Tuesday, you know, to Vandy in the fashion that they did, I thought that was the nail in their coffin. I thought that. I thought that they shouldn't have even been considered, to be honest with you. You know, I think Mercer and UTSA both deserve to be in over them. You know, that still would have probably left a team out. But, you know, I know some people have brought up the NC State thing. You know, we've seen this, you know, act by the committee in the past with a head coach, a legendary head coach retiring. And, you know, Elliot Avon's done an amazing job there and, you know, they're going to give the nod. You know, we've seen it. We saw with 11, like, we've seen it in years past. Like, it's just. It's kind of precedent with what they do that if there is a team on the bubble and the head coach announces retirement, they get in. So outside of those two, you know, I think that. I think the committee nailed it. I mean, I think they got the 16 hosts right. I don't know the order is necessarily perfect, which I know we'll hit on here in a second, but it's a big job, you know what I mean? And I know we brought this up in years past for, you know, people that are loyal listeners here, like, we brought this up like it's not an easy task to do what they're asked to do. So for them to have such, you know, minimal kind of pushback outside of, you know, those, you know, three schools or so or three, you know, decisions, I think, you know, hats off to them and kudos for doing a great job and leading us up into, you know, what I consider probably the best week of college baseball, you know, of the entire year right here. [00:04:34] Speaker B: Yeah, it's going to be a freaking doozy. Coach Glass, what do you got? What are, what are your opening thoughts here? [00:04:41] Speaker C: I think the two that Jonathan hit on are probably my two top as well. You know, it is a hard job. I don't. I don't have an issue with any of the hosts. I think that there are a handful of twos that could have been a little interchangeable with some of the Other hosts that are out there, you know, I in Arkansas with what they did in the SEC tournament, you know, but I also can see the argument where they're not hosting. You know, I don't have a problem with them. Not. I think my only other gripe I have, and I don't necessarily know, I think there are some spots where they probably could have been a two seed. But I thought Jacksonville State being a three was, was pretty ridiculous. I mean, they're 25 in the RPI. They have 46 wins. They won the conference. They won Conference USA outright and they won the tournament. They run, ruled Liberty in the championship. You know, I just kind of thought that Jacksonville State did pretty much everything that you could possibly do as a, you know, mid quote unquote, mid major conference and Conference USA to, To be considered a two seed and to be a three. I just, that was the one thing that I would say from a seating standpoint that stood out to me where I was just like, damn, wow. I thought for sure they would be a two. You know, I could have gotten behind with, you know, we've seen this in the past with, you know, like Mercer goes in and you go one and two in the conference tournament, you don't really show. You know, if you showed a little bit more, you're probably in. [00:06:12] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:12] Speaker C: You know, but they go in, they, they win it outright, they win the conference tournament. You know, they're, they have, they're above 500 in quad one, quad two, quad three and quad four wins. Your top 25 RPI team. I just kind of thought that they should be seated a little bit higher than I thought they should have been a 2 instead of a 3. But I guess if that's my lone gripe out of the 15 or 16, three seeds and, or we'll call it 32, two and three seed, two and three seeds, then, you know, to Jonathan's point, I think they did a pretty good job. [00:06:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean for me, the, I think Arkansas should have hosted instead of Mississippi State just based on what the committee said. I thought it was like a little bit backwards how they kind described it. You know, they, they kind of hung on the RPI for a Mississippi State was higher. Which kind of negates some of the other arguments is like why didn't Mercer get in? But it, I mean, to your point, like it's kind of splitting hairs, you know, like, I think Arkansas is head to head. I think their SEC record, I think how they played at the back end of the year, like they would have been a totally justifiable host. Mississippi State ended up getting it. You know, no big deal there. I mean, we covered the Mercer thing. I think it sucks. But in Jonathan and Keith, I know I both talked to you about this. The precedent has been set by the committee in the last three or four years that if you're a super high end mid major like Mercer was this year, like Northeastern was in the past, like College of Charleston was in the past, like Troy was in the past, and you don't perform in the conference tournament, you're going to get dinged for it. And that's exactly what happened. I think if, if they win two games in that conference tournament, it's crazy as it sounds. I think if they win one more game, I think you're probably looking at them being in the tournament. Not a big fan of Kentucky being in. Honestly, I think my bigger gripe comes with Texas State. I give Troy kudos. You know, coach me went out and scheduled and he did everything that the committee basically told him they needed to do. I still think you need to win more than 30, 31 regular season games to be like a legit at large. But a lot of their numbers stacked up. Yeah, Texas State for me is the one. I just don't. Didn't, didn't love that one. I didn't think the Sun Belt was five teams worthy, but I mean, if we're talking about one or two teams, I think they did a pretty darn good job. And there's some interesting regionals in here. Like, my gut reaction when I first saw it come out was like, man, there's a lot of chalk. But as you dig into it a little bit more, like there's a couple regionals here that are. That could get really interesting. I think there's a few where you look at it and you go, yeah, that number one seed should have no issues. Like, it should be a cakewalk. But there's a couple here where I think it's going to. I think you could see some, some two and three seeds walk out of this and end up in a super. So looking forward to it. [00:09:17] Speaker C: I think before we dive into it, like, I think this is kind of the same argument that we've talked about on here quite a bit where your Power 4 conferences get weighted more than what we feel they should in those spots. [00:09:31] Speaker B: Right. [00:09:32] Speaker C: Like, like UCF being a two seed out of the Big 12 at 31 and 31 and 21 with a 36 RPI and they're a two seed probably only because they play in the Big 12. They had five wins in quad one. And you have Jacksonville State sitting at 46 and 13 with eight, eight quad one wins. Like, you know what I mean? Like, that's right there is like we're, we're. I think we're waiting and it's the same thing in the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12, like the Big 10. Like, I think we're. Some of the, the argument that we have, I think sometimes is that we weight the conference. Not bottom, but middle of the pack. Teams that end up being two seeds over a team that. I mean, what more do you have to do to be a four? Like, you have 46 wins. That's a lot of wins. You know what I mean? And I just, I think it's the same, it's. We probably have this argument every year in Troy the same way. Or Texas State, to your point, the same way. I don't think the Sunbelt was a five bid league this year. But like, you know, I, I think in some regards we're like, maybe that maybe they're saying the Sunbelt is now like that half step below those Power 4 conferences in what baseball has done with Southerness and Coastal and those types of schools like that, man, the fifth place school is better than, you know, the, the fourth place school that used to get in, in this conference, whatever it might be, right. And maybe the pendulum song that way. But I just like, I think that it's kind of this, it's the, it's not the SEC outside of Kentucky that I, I think also gets weighted more the outside of the power fours. I think all of them get weighted a little bit more than the mid majors and rightfully so in some regards. But like at what point I guess is the question. This is where to Jonathan's point, your point. Like it gets difficult. Like at what point is it like, like that one to me is kind of glaring. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, they have more quad one wins. They have, they have way more wins. They have less losses. They have a better RPI by 11 points. How is, how is one of three and one of two [00:11:41] Speaker B: or. The other thing to note before we get into the brackets here is like I think there was really only one bid that was truly stolen. When it's all shaked out, Cal Poly. [00:11:54] Speaker D: Poly, right. Would be the only stolen bed. [00:11:56] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:57] Speaker C: Citadel would be one. [00:11:59] Speaker D: No. Because Mercer didn't get in. So it's just, I think Cal. [00:12:03] Speaker B: So you're looking at this and going, it was like the maximum amount of at large teams were getting in here basically. So that says a lot about how the committee valued Mercer and for whatever reason it went in a different direction there with, with some of these other schools. But yeah, that was the only one that I'm looking at. And it's like that's, you know, Santa Barbara got in out of the Big west as they should have and you know, Polly, you know, probably played really well at the back end of the year. You know, they started slow, but I think they ended up with 36, 36 wins which is, you know, it's pretty good, pretty good regular season here. So. All right, let's get into it. First regional we'll start right off the top. Ucla, number one national seed. I think it was well deserved. I mean just kind of pure and utter dominance from start to finish. Smashing some SEC teams in the middle dominated the Big Ten. They're hosting in la. Virginia Tech is a two seed which was a little shocking. I think all of us would agree that them being a two seed was interesting choice. Cal Poly and then St. Mary's you know, St. Mary's coming out of the west coast. They beat, they beat San Francisco who tried to make a, a run at it coming out of the losers bracket and certainly made it interesting taking it all the way to the final game. You know, as we mentioned, Polly won the Big west tournament and then you got Virginia Tech and ucla. So I mean, for me pretty straightforward here. I think, you know, Virginia Tech's going to run out of dude. I think they'll probably start their best guy against Poly. I think this will probably be chalk all the way to the end. I think it'll be ucla, Virginia Tech, but I think UCLA does it undefeated through. I think they go to the, I think they go to the super regional and I'm, I'm not sure if they really get tested here. I think there's a pretty significant gap between them and everybody else in this particular, in this particular regional. [00:14:07] Speaker D: Yeah, I think you're dead on. The only difference is I have Holly in the final, but I think ucla, I don't think they're gonna have any issues on. I think it'll be more of how many 9 inning games are they playing than necessarily if they have any issues get into a super. But I think they're gonna kind of roll their way right through into, into a Super here. [00:14:30] Speaker C: They were my national champion pick at the beginning of the year. So we're not going away from them now. [00:14:35] Speaker B: Not going away. Fair enough. It'll be interesting and I think we'll be able to talk about this a couple different times during this, during this podcast here. Is that like, Virginia Tech's got a legitimate dude out front. Like, the guy they run out on Fridays is a legitimate, A legitimate guy. And I'll be very curious to see how some of these two and three seeds who have like a bonafide stud number one guy. Like, how do you handle this? Like, is Virginia Tech trying to win this regional? Because their best chance is to probably try to pitch off against Polly and then run your dude out against UCLA and see if he can match up. I think we'll have this conversation a decent amount, but I, I don't think it's going to matter in this one particularly, I think, unless UCLA just decides to take a weekend off. I think this is, I think this is more than getting their reps in and this should be, you know, this would be a pretty, pretty straightforward path for them. All right, we're gonna head east to the, the sister bracket here in Morgantown. West Virginia came in as the 16th national, 16th seed. They got Wake Forest. Who still not 100% who. Sure who they are. I think they were very much in the mix going into the ACC tournament to be a regional host and did not play well in that opening game. And, you know, now they find themselves as a two seed Morgantown, the aforementioned Kentucky Wildcats, and then you got Binghamton from the American east who's coming down and they're the four seed here. What do you got on this one, Johnson? [00:16:10] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm going to take West Virginia. I love Wake Forest, though. I wouldn't shock me to see Wade come out of this thing. I thought it was interesting and I know me and you talked about this. I think this was very interesting is a good point that we talked about this weekend. You know, I kind of thought Wake Forest kind of waved the white flag a little bit in that, that conference tournament, by the way they pitched it. And seeing that they got lined up as basically number 17, you know, with going to the 16, you know, 16. 16 seed host tells me that maybe they would have reconsidered that. You know, if, you know, you get a win or two wins in the ACC tournament, but they didn't. And you know, West Virginia, you know, they lost in the championship to Kansas, but they were still 3 and 1 against Kansas over the course of the year. Very deserving to be a host. That place is going to be insane for, for anybody that wasn't super into college baseball A few Years ago in the last time they hosted. I would argue that it will be one of the best atmospheres this weekend. It will be. It's going to be awesome in Morgantown. You know, kudos to those, those fans and that coaching staff. And one thing I'll say too, is, is that, you know, be careful. Be careful when you, you jump on Twitter and you jump on, you know, blogs and you start running your mouths about, you know, head coaches. You know, Coach Sabins took a ton of heat. People calling for his job when they had to let go of their, their number one this year in the middle of the year, you know, saying he was overmatched. And what do they do? They. They ring the bell and, you know, they answer or they answer the bell. I'm sorry. And, you know, they end up hosting the Morgantown. So just be careful. Guys are really, really, really good head coach. The phenomenal coaching staff. I'm going to take West Virginia and move on to a super. For the second year in a row. [00:18:12] Speaker B: What do you got here, class? I'm gonna. [00:18:17] Speaker C: I think I'm gonna pick the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. I think Morgantown is going to be absolutely electric this weekend. I just, you know, it's. I think West Virginia is 10 and 10 in regionals. I do think it moves the needle a little bit more when they host than what they've done in the past. But I, you know, I, I just, I think that wake, you know, to your point about what they did in the ACC tournament, like, it begs the question to me, like, were they fully healthy and were they looking to kind of say, like, hey, like, we're likely in, like, let's take 10 days off and just get super healthy for a regional run and hopefully into a super. Now, to your point, with where they got seated, maybe we view that a little bit differently. Now. I don't know any of this to be true, but I wonder if that might be something that had played into this. But they have the arms to do it. That offense can get rolling. And, you know, I think that in a, you know, I don't think Kentucky should be there. I don't think. To all the Binghamton Bearcat fans out there, I don't think they're going to win this regional. I really think this is a West Virginia Wake Forest region to be had. And I, I think just the. I think the Dekes are going to be able to pull it off. [00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I had weight going to the College World Series at the beginning of the year. I was expecting a Little bit better of a season from, from Blake Morningstar, who's, Who's on the shelf right now. So recovering from an injury and Ed struggled by his standards prior to, prior to getting hurt. I just don't know if they, they have enough stuff, like if anybody's watched Wake Forest throw the baseball. I mean, it's, it's electric. Doesn't matter who they're bringing in. They got, you know, obviously they got lebonis at the front end. You know, they got a, they got a lefty, Mr. Reese Bowie, who's a upper 90s lefty, and they got plenty of stuff. I'm not sure if they have enough reliability to get through this. I, I like West Virginia here. A couple other things to know. The best player in this regional is going to be wearing a Wildcat uniform. Their shortstop, Bell, he's. He's gonna, he's gonna get paid a bunch of money. He's a. For those of you who, who are. Haven't watched, he is a fantastic ball player. And I think, I think West Virginia takes care of business here. But it could get interesting in game one, because I imagine that West Virginia will throw off, and Binghamton does have a dude at the front end of the rotation who has legitimate power stuff, and I think that could be a tight end, a tight game early before West Virginia ultimately gets into that bullpen, but just something to keep an eye on. And I think it'll be interesting for people who haven't watched some of the teams kind of from the lower end of Division 1 baseball to watch Binghamton. It's a good ball club. They've got some really talented arms. I don't think it's going to be enough for them to, to beat West Virginia in game one. But I imagine the guy they're going to run out there, he's. He's pretty talented. You'll see some 98s and 99s coming out of that kid's hand. And sure, West Virginia will be up to the task, but it might put a little bit of pressure on him early, if, if you know what I'm saying. All right, we're gonna go south, gonna go down the east coast here. We're gonna go to Atlanta, got Georgia Tech, national number two. I think the number one and the number two in this whole thing. We're probably as clear cut as it could be. I mean, Georgia Tech has been just, as the kids say these days, they've been an absolute wagon all year long. They got Oklahoma coming in from the sec. They got The Citadel, who made a really impressive run and had one of the better years in that program's history, certainly in recent memory. And then you got Illinois Chicago coming in as a 4 seed. Coach Glass, what do you got? Here [00:22:16] Speaker C: I am. I'm going to go ahead and eat crow on this one. If you listen to our preseason hot takes, I had Georgia Tech not even making it, and boy, was I wrong. They're really good. They are. They had a phenomenal year. You know, my main point was that I thought it would be a little bit difficult. I am not going to Omaha. I should say. Let's. Let's backtrack for a second. I just thought that, you know, with a new head coach, I know he'd been in the program, I thought maybe they might take a tad bit of a step backwards, and I was dead wrong. I watched a decent amount of Georgia Tech baseball this year. They are a very good baseball team, certainly deserving of the number one or the number two seed this year in the country. They throttled people in the SEC or the acc. So I think Georgia Tech is going to move on from there, hosting their regional Atlanta and host a super the following weekend. [00:23:20] Speaker B: What do you got, Jonathan? [00:23:22] Speaker D: Yeah, I did have Tech in Omaha this year. I said I thought that they. A little hiccup would be good for them, which they never had, but I think they're as good as advertised. I don't think they're going to have any issues in this pod. Nothing against those. The other three. I just. Again, I think. I actually think. I know I've said this to you guys. I actually think they had a legitimate argument. Nothing against ucla, but I think they had like a legitimate. I think you could legitimately argue that they should have been the number one overall seed. I mean, they just. The way they've handled business outside of one weekend in North Carolina, like, they never had any issues the whole year. So I'll take them to go to a super. [00:24:07] Speaker B: Yeah, this one, similar to ucla. It's regional for me. I just don't think there's anybody who's in the class to really push them. I mean, Oklahoma is an SEC team. There's plenty of talent on that field. But I think it's, you know, for lack of a better term, I think it's just an okay team right now. I mean, anything can happen. But I. At home, Georgia Tech. Yeah, for me, this one's. This one's pretty simple. I think they win three and stay on schedule and their guys get their work and they. They move on to face the winner of the Lawrence Kansas regional, which for my money this is, this, this is the toughest regional there is in my opinion. If any of you are World cup fans, we're in a World cup year like this is. This is the bracket of death. I think Kansas kind of, they kind of got the short end of the stick here being a 15. And I think Arkansas and Missouri State both being within driving distance probably hurt them too when you're talking about them getting put in there. But Kansas is the one, Arkansas is a two, Missouri State's a three, and then you've got one of the most consistently good mid major programs in the country in Northeastern as the 4 seed. Whoever wins this regional will have to earn it. I don't think anybody goes undefeated in this. I think this one could very well go down to a winner take all game. I think my gut tells me Arkansas, but Jonathan, your, your stance on Arkansas has really struggled to prevent runs when you get to games three and four and I think that might be what does it. And I'm actually going to go with Kansas here even though my gut tells me Arkansas is playing really, really good baseball right now. That if you have to win, if you have to play four games, I think Kansas has the advantage and I think that that's what it's going to take in this. I think whoever wins this is going to have to play four games and that might be the difference. But Missouri State, they beat Arkansas earlier in the year, they smash baseballs and then Northeastern, they just, they, you know, you look up and you're like ah, it's a little bit of a down year and you look up and it's 35 plus wins. They're rolling at the back end of the year. Got on a nice little winning streak again, won that tournament, came back and came out of the losers bracket in the caa which is a, is a tough task to do. So I got Kansas. The one thing I do want to add here, and I'll speak for both of you on this, is that the head coach of Kansas, if he is not on speed dial number one for South Carolina with a blind check, not really sure what the Gamecocks are doing. What he's done in Kansas is absolutely remarkable, just absolutely remarkable. And I don't think a lot of people know the history of Kansas baseball and he's taken them to heights that I'm not sure anybody thought were, were even feasible at this point. And it's a really, really good ball club and he's done it with junior college kids and toughness and really high quality baseball. Tune into this regional. I think it'll be the, it's going to have the most fireworks, in my opinion. [00:27:41] Speaker D: Yeah, I agree. I think, I think this is the, this regional. It's going to be interesting because Missouri State's so offensive and like I've said for the last few weeks, I just. Arkansas just gives me such an uneasy feeling when you get late, late, you know, in these, in this, in this latent series. And you know, obviously in a regional type of setting, it's going to be, it's just going to be really tricky for them. So I'm going to take Kansas and I'm going to piggyback with what you said, Andy, here, and I'm going to go one step further and I'm going to say South Carolina. This is to all the South Carolina fans that are out there. If you think that your program is as legitimate as you claim it to be, then there won't be a dollar figure that will stop you from hiring Coach Fitzgerald from Kansas. That's. It doesn't, it doesn't matter if you're, if you, if you claim to be this, this big time baseball program that you're. You say you are, go do it. Take care of business and get it done. Because what he did there is absolutely insane. That team was the laughingstock of the Big 12. They never had a chance. They never even, I mean, hosting a regional never even got to a bear, ever regional. And the fact that they're hosting a regional could have been a national. See, when it was all said and done, I mean, outside of that one, one West Virginia weekend, really very limited hiccups at all. Phenomenal job, South Carolina fan base, South Carolina administration. If you think you are the program that you claim that you are, then go get it done. [00:29:19] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, what he's done in Kansas is, I don't think anyone, I mean, no one saw this coming. I mean, he's a very good baseball coach, but I don't think anyone saw Kansas becoming a legitimately in the discussion to be a national seed, which we talked about two and a half weeks ago, or whatever that was. They've been phenomenal this year. I mean, you're 22 and 8 in the Big 12, 42 wins. I mean, they were the laughing stock and now they're not. They're laughing at everyone else. So, you know, kudos to them. They've done a phenomenal job to be different. I'm going to go with Arkansas. I Just think that they're, you know, they're, I think these two teams have very similar numbers. I, you know, I see the hesitation when you get into the fourth game as to whether or not they're going to be able to do it. But you know, I mean Kansas, shoot, they had 300 as a team this year, which is uber impressive. You know, Arkansas had 275, but they pitched a four and a half and Kansas is almost a run higher. You know, so I, I just think that, you know, Arkansas with their, with their track record and what they've done and have played in big games and meaningful games over the course of the last couple years, I think that is something that is, you know, could be the difference in, in this regional. But I, I think that this regional, I, I mean we were texting when the, the regionals were announced and immediately all of us were like, this is the hardest regional in this bracket. You know, bar none with Northeastern and Missouri State, Arkansas, Kansas, like this is going to be a bear. Whoever comes out of this is, it's going to be a bloodbath when you get out of it. But I'm going to take Arkansas. [00:31:10] Speaker A: If you're the parent of a high school baseball player with college aspirations, you already know the recruiting process can feel overwhelming. Endless showcases, non stop emails and big promises with very little clarity. That's why we recommend Diamond College Showcase Camps, the nation's premier academic baseball showcase. At Diamond College showcases, every college coach in attendance is there with a purpose to coach, instruct and evaluate and recruit. Every player is seen, every player is engaged and every family leaves with a clear understanding of where they truly stand. This is not a mass camp. College coaches run the drills, evaluate every athlete and provide honest professional feedback that you can trust. Diamond College Showcase Camps are built for serious student athletes who value both baseball and academics. If you're looking for transparency, clarity and a recruiting experience that respects your time and your players future, Diamond College Showcase is the place to be. To learn more, Visit Diamond Colleges showcase.com. [00:32:14] Speaker B: Tough to bet against Dave Van Horn in May. All right, we're going to head back to the east coast to Athens, Georgia. Georgia national number three. Well deserved. Kind of just, they kind of just rag doll the SEC this year which I think like flew under the radar oddly that they were. I mean they locked up the SEC with a weekend to play and I'm not sure that just doesn't happen very often in that concert, that conference due to the one, the quality of the baseball but just generally the parity Specifically at the top and just how tough it is to go and just continuously win series. They're playing at home. Really tough place to go in and beat them. I mean just the way they, they handle things offensively makes it really tough. You got bc awesome year. I think they're, I think they're kind of heading in the wrong direction right now. I don't think they're playing their base, their best baseball. You got Liberty who is playing well. Coach Lacroix got them back in the regional since, I think first time since 2022. And then you got Long island shout out to the, the Sharks. But this one, I'm not sure if this one's going to go very well for them. I mean, I'd love to say that I think BC has a chance in this one, but I think this is just another bracket where I don't think anybody's close to Geor Georgia. I think the only way that they don't come out of this is if they just, they just completely beat themselves. I just think they're a lot better than everybody else in this bracket and it, it should be a pretty straightforward path. And I'm staying with chalk. I do have some non chalk picks here coming up, but this is another one. I just having a hard time seeing a scenario where Georgia doesn't get this done in three games. [00:34:21] Speaker D: Yeah, I think, I think what Georgia did in the regular season, like you said, is, you know, absolutely incredible. And you know, one of the things that really stood out to me too is the business approach that they had in the tournament when it really, I mean, let's call what it is, they really had nowhere to go up or down. They were pretty much locked where they were going to be, right? And for them to have that approach in the conference tournament just kind of, you know, I mean they were down, they were down by a run in that rain delay in the semifinal and boom. You know, like I, I know me, I was kind of flipping back and forth to it through some games and all of a sudden it was over and they won and I'm like holy moly. Like what happened? You know, but they just, that's just the way they were all year. And you know, I know I said this at the mid season report, you know, in that building they're really tough. They're going to be really, really, really tough. Again, nothing against Boston College because you know, anyone that's listened to the show knows that, you know, I'm a huge fan and you know, Coach Internado, what he did and got that place rolling. And, you know, congrats on them for being a two seed. I think that's super impressive, and the year they had is super impressive, but I don't think Georgia is going to have any issue here. I think they're just going to kind of roll right through this thing pretty quickly. [00:35:37] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't have much to add there. I think you two hit the nail on the head, and they've been really good all year. They're built to play in that. In that stadium. That place is going to be electric this weekend. It's going to be a tough place to play, and I. I think UGA walks. [00:35:58] Speaker B: All right. I'm going to take a little trip. Trip west, west of Athens. Not too far, though. Starkville, Mississippi, to probably the best atmosphere in college baseball. I think they averaged north of 11,000 fans a game at Mississippi State. Came in as a 14. They got Cincinnati, Louisiana Lafayette, the raging Cajuns, and then they got Lipscomb. What do you got here, Coach Glass? [00:36:28] Speaker C: I think this is another sneaky, good regional with three legit teams. Nothing against the Lip Sycoms, but, you know, I. Mississippi State's obvious, had a really good year. Louisiana Lafayette has had a sneaky good year. 39 wins out of the Sunbelt. They made a run during the tournament. They scheduled pretty tough this year. So, you know, I thought that they've. They gave a very good account of themselves, and Cincinnati has been really good. 37 wins this year. You know, I love the way Cincinnati plays baseball. They play hard, they play tough. They swap baseballs all over the yard. I'm going to go ahead and take the Cincinnati Bearcats to move on to the Supers out of this regional. I think this one's going to be a slugfest. And I think that it's. I don't know, it's my gut feeling that I think Cincinnati gets over the hump this year. [00:37:32] Speaker B: Coach Grasse, what do you got here? I like that this is. [00:37:36] Speaker D: It's a tough one because, like, it kind of like, falls into the rear. It's not like one a lot of people have talked about. Like, and again, like, like Coach Glass said, like, since he's done a phenomenal job. Mississippi State's been, like, weird all year. Again, Like, I don't know if they necessarily deserve to host, like, to kind of piggyback off what you said, Andy. I know I had Arkansas as that. That other seed, other team as well, and not Mississippi State just because, again, they've just been kind of weird. They've been, you know, they look like one of the best teams in the country early. They've just been okay. I'm going to take a team that had a, you know, a pretty big hiccup in the middle of the year who was playing awesome early, finished awesome, took two or three from Coastal, piggyback that in the tournament and beats them again in the tournament. I'm gonna take ULL here. Although I, I would have loved to see, I know I made this comment last week. I would have loved to see Cincy play in Georgia because there would have been home runs just left and right. But I'm gonna take, I'm gonna take ULL here. [00:38:44] Speaker B: I kind of have to stick with chalk because Mississippi State was my preseason national champion. So I'm going to take them. But I think it, I think this goes to a winner take all game between ULL and Mississippi State. This, this Louisiana Lafayette team's good. They're fun to watch. They're good. This is in to Keith's point, this is sneaky good regional. Those top three teams are all really, really high quality ball clubs and are, are all good in their own right doing different things. I think ultimately the, the depth that Mississippi State has here allows them to kind of get through here. I think it's going to take, I think it's going to take, take them all the way to the end. But I think Mississippi State playing In front of 11,000 people, I think that what might be what puts them over the edge. All right, national number four, Auburn getting one of Jonathan's favorites, UCF out of the Big 12, NC State and Milwaukee coming in as the four seed in this bracket. What do you, what do you got here, Jonathan? [00:39:55] Speaker D: Yeah, I, I, I actually when I, when it came out, I was pumped because I love this pitching matchup because, you know, Auburn I think is, you know, I mean USC obviously and there's, there's a few others but like you're there, there's like two in the top 10. We'll just call it probably maybe even two in the top five pitching sets in the country with, with Auburn and UCF in the same bracket, which I think is really cool. And obviously the story like I hit on earlier with, you know, Coach Aven retiring, I think it's a, you know, phenomenal story. I don't think NC State has enough juice to, to get too, too far here. I think if they get to a third game, they probably are pretty thrilled here. I'm going to take Auburn. I just, they've just Been a real staple, you know, really throughout the year of just consistency. They pitched really well. They actually did stifle that Georgia Tech offense on a. On a Tuesday or a Wednesday, you know, a few months back. Again, they've just been just like Steady Eddie with Auburn this year. Like, nothing to wow you. You know, when you Deep. When you dig a little bit deeper and you look at those pitching numbers, I think you're, you know, wow. That. That's definitely wowing. But they just. They've just done. They've just stayed the course the whole way. And I think there's something to be said about that. They're at home, I think, you know, again, ucf, early in the year, there was, you know, talking them potentially hosting a regional. Their Friday guy got hurt, actually. Up, up in Morgantown. The scary, scary situation. They really haven't been the same since they left Morgantown. Again, nothing against them. They've had a phenomenal year. But I just think Auburn, with just how steady they've been all year. I'm gonna. I'm take Auburn here. [00:41:41] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm gonna second that. I think I. Off the top of my head, I don't really know the answer to this question. I'd have to do some research. But I. It's not even a question. I don't know if I've seen 35 quad one games in a season, which is what Auburn played this year, which is pretty wild if you think about it when you're playing. You know, they ended up playing 57 games. I think overall my math is correct. You know, 35 of your games in quad one and being 17 and 18 and being as good as they've been all year, I think is speaks to how good this team is. I'd have to do a little bit more research, obviously, to see what the number is since we've gone to kind of this model. But that's an insane amount of games against Quad One teams. So I think, you know, Coach Avon's done a great job at north, at NC State, I. To your boy. I don't think they have the juice to go super deep. And ucf, I like them. I think that they play good baseball. I know that I kind of made a little bit of an example of them at the beginning of this podcast, being a 2 seed, but I certainly see the argument of where they can be a two seat. I just think that Auburn is. Is a class above everyone else in this regional. [00:43:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. I think Auburn takes this one down. One of my favorite kids to watch. Is in this regional for, For Auburn. Chase Froehlich, the catcher, I just, I just think he's just an awesome player. Really fun to watch, can really catch. I think you probably end up seeing that kid in the big leagues at some point. The Auburn just pitch. And to your point, Jonathan, like, they, they kind of flew under the radar where, like, nobody's ever really had them in the conversation of, like, oh, they're one of the best teams in the country. And then you look up and it's like they earned the four seed. Like, they have earned the right for an Omaha trip to go through Auburn. And yeah, I mean, I think they. I think they get this one done. But UCF can make it interesting for sure, just because of how they throw the baseball, but I think Auburn gets it done. All right, we're heading up to Lincoln. Nebraska, who has not hosted regional in a. In a while, but for the college baseball historians, this is a very storied program. Specifically in, like, the early 2000s, there was a bunch of Omaha appearances. Mr. Dave Van Horn was the architect of most of those. But really storied program. They're back in terms of being able to host a regional. The atmosphere up there is going to be awesome. They got Ole Miss, Arizona State, and then they got South Dakota State, who made a pretty miraculous run and was able to. To get in. I think they've only got 19 wins, which I think puts Nebraska in pretty advantageous position going in to this regional. But for me, I like this Ole Miss team, and I, I just, I think Ole Miss is going to get out of this one. Nebraska has been really good all year. I think it would be easy to. To select them. And I, I, if either of you to select them, I think you, you're making a good choice. But for me, I just, I think Ole Miss has got a chance to get out of this one, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna pick the. The Rebels. [00:45:17] Speaker D: Yeah. I think another cool point, you know, to kind of piggyback what you said about Nebraska, which is. Is really cool, is, you know, Coach Childress, who, Who left Nebraska, was part of a lot of those really good teams in the early 2000s, had Will Bolt, who is now the head coach there, and Coach Childress is back in Nebraska as the associate head coach. So kind of coming full circle for those two guys. You know, Coach Bolt was a phenomenal player there. I believe he was the third or fourth assistant at one point, then went to Texas A and M with Coach Childress, went back as the Head coach grab Coach Childress after he got let go down there. So really, really, really cool. I think it's, it's an awesome story. I mean, listen, they were left for dead, right? Like, I mean, people were all over. You know, they were. They had no chance. They were done and, you know, they just stayed the course the last like three to four weeks and did a great job. The one. Here's what I'm going to say. I'm going to take Ole Miss and I'm going to use this. Teams from the SEC that have been two seeds that really never had much wavering, like Ole Miss has been a two seed for a good bit of the year now, right? They traditionally done very well in, in the regional round moving forward. Right. And getting out of those regionals. So I'm going to take Ole Miss just because of precedent. I think again, these sec teams right around 500, no hosting, you know, maybe didn't feel slighted at all. You know, coming out of, you know, the selection, you know, selection Monday, they've just done well. Those teams in the SEC have done well in the past. So I'm going to take Ole Miss. I'm going to take Nebraska as the runner up. Again, nothing against Nebraska. I just, I just think Ole Miss gets through this one. [00:47:14] Speaker C: This was a tough regional for me. I think that I'm going to ultimately pick Ole Miss and I. Hear me out for a second. This is why I struggled with this to the same point that I just made about Auburn. Ole Ms. Played 31 quad one games. They. Middle. Middle. The SEC, they're 15 and 15. They had a pretty. Don't get me wrong, they had a good year overall where I was split and I, and I'm. I'll get to my point here in a second. Ole miss is 7 and 10 on the road. Nebraska's 23 and 1 at home, which is pretty impressive. You're going to be playing in Lincoln. You're 21, you're 23 and one at home. But when you, you look into Nebraska and I think Nebraska has done a phenomenal job this year. You play the schedule you have, you do what you do, they have a great rpi. [00:48:07] Speaker B: They're not. [00:48:08] Speaker C: They're a national seed or they're a. But if you look into, if you get into their nitty gritty of like their. What they did in the Big Ten, I just don't know if it holds up to what Ole Miss played and who they played against. And I know there's some SEC bias in here, like they swept USC at home. Good on you. They run, ruled them twice. But you lost to Kansas, you lost the series at Oregon, you lost Kansas again. You beat Penn State, you beat Indiana, won the series with Michigan, Maine, Michigan State, South Dakota lost the series at Auburn. I just think that upper echelon of team that they're, that, you know, which is that borderline Ole Miss team, I don't know if they have enough to get over that. [00:49:00] Speaker B: Humphrey. [00:49:01] Speaker C: I, where I struggle is if you're 23 and one at home, you're pretty good there. Like that might be the thing that puts them over. And if Nebraska wins this regional, I'm not going to be shocked. I just thought that, you know, Ole Miss played, you know, they've played a lot of really good teams. Even though they are middle of the pack from an SEC standpoint, I think that, you know, they're who they played and what they've, what they've done this year. I think that they, they've been in these moments. They, you know, Coach Bianco has done a phenomenal job there where they're constantly in a regional. They won the national championship a couple years ago. You know, I think that there's, there's some history there where they can go ahead and kind of, you know, in these types of scenarios, in these situations that, that might be able to be the thing that breaks the camel's back that gets them to win the regional. [00:49:49] Speaker B: I like both of your logics and I like both of your picks or consensus Ole Miss. It's going to go into Lincoln. We're either all going to be right or we're all going to be wrong. Moving back to the east Coast, Chapel Hill got North Carolina with some, some blue blood programs in here. Tennessee is a 2 ECU back in the tournament again. Didn't seem like they were going to get there for a little while and it looked a little sketchy in the American, but they were able to take that down. ECU's back in as a three and then you got VCU really good job by, by Coach Thompson to get them back. You know, they. Last year was a tough year for that program and a year that they hadn't had in a really long time. But back to, I think 37 wins. Were able to come out of the A10 tournament and win that and be a St. Joseph's team. That was just humming going into that. So really impressive to come out of there. Come in as a four. For me, this North Carolina team just like they just play such clean sound Panic free quality baseball all the time. I just have a tough time seeing it. I know Tennessee's had some really good teams in ecu, the history there. I get it. I just think North Carolina is just methodical playing at home. I don't know if this will be a cakewalk for them. I think they're gonna have to earn it, but I just think North Carolina is their national championship good. So I think, I think they get out of this one. [00:51:38] Speaker D: Yeah, I love North Carolina here too. I, I think I had them in, I believe I had them in Omaha early preseason. They just very similar to Auburn, just very, very, very steady. Eddie. I mean they had the flashy, you know, two of three over Georgia Tech, but they've, I mean they've been right there the whole way, you know what I mean? And I think there's something to be said about that. They're comfortable winning a tight game. They can beat you a multiple different ways. You know, the McDuffie kid out of the bullpen, you know, they'll use him in every, every darn role they need to. I just, I love North Carolina. I love this North Carolina team. [00:52:19] Speaker C: I don't have much to add. [00:52:22] Speaker B: Take unc, North, North Carolina it is all right. [00:52:27] Speaker C: They were one of my Omaha picks. I've actually gone against one of my Omaha picks. [00:52:32] Speaker B: So we got, moving over to College Station. Got A and M is the one, Southern Cal is the two. Texas State as a three in Lamar. Who will be taking the field for the last time with, with their head coach there with him as he'll be moving on to Houston. Recently announced that. But what do you got here, Jonathan? [00:53:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I, I love usc. I love their pitching. Right. Like, I know I brought the, the Auburn, you know, staff and UCF staff up earlier. I think USC's right there. I mean, obviously Mason Edwards on Friday nights. Ridiculous. I think it'll be interesting because they have a legitimate number one, number two and number three. Now Edwards does have the punch out numbers, but I, I like USC here. I, I think, you know, Texas A and M has been, you know, they've been pretty good, you know, for the majority of the year there. They really haven't gone too far up or too far down. I mean, they kind of surged a little bit, you know, towards the middle part of the SEC season. But I don't know, I just, I think USC with that pitching, I think, I think they can win some tight games. I think, you know, you could run into weather down there, you know, where you may get log jammed with you know, having to win two games in a day, you know, maybe a resumption game, stuff like that. Like, there's just a lot that goes into those Texas regionals. I think I'm going to take USC here. I'm going to be a little bit different and, you know, not go with the number one seed. I'm going to take, I'm going to take the Trojans. [00:54:17] Speaker B: Parents, if you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to navigate U sports, there's a new resource designed just for you. Team Match. Team Match is not online platform built to streamline how families find the right youth sports teams by location, sport and skill level all in one place. It also provides a safe, organized space for kids to share their accomplishments, stats and highlights while giving coaches and teams a clear way to connect with athletes who are the right fit. Less searching, less stress, more confidence in the process. Youth sports just got simpler for, for families. This is Team Match. Check it out today@teammatch sports.com. [00:55:03] Speaker C: Sure, I, I think USC's pitching in is better and I think when you get into these types of series and games, that pitching and defense always travels. And I think that they're going to be able to pitch themselves into a position where they're going to be uber competitive. You know, I like Texas A and M. You know, I think that what, what Coach early has done this year versus what last year looked like has been a phenomenal turnaround for them. I just, I think usc, those two top teams in that regional, I think are pretty good. And I think the pitching out of USC is going to be able to get them the win in this regional. [00:55:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm on that train too. The only thing that gives me pause with this is that USC just hasn't really been good against good teams. It's the only thing that gives me pause is that like, you look at their quad one stuff and like every time they go up against somebody who on paper is as good as them, they just haven't seem to be able to win. With that being said, Mason Edwards, his numbers are an absolute joke. I'm. I'm going to read them off here real quick, just some of the baseline ones, because I just think it's, it's worth noting for folks out there like, you want to be a bro at the next level. This is what those numbers look like.143ra, 15 starts. He's 8.06shutouts, 88 innings pitched, 160 strikeouts, and he's only walked 39 guys. Guys are hitting 146 off of them. And the crazy thing is is that Gobble and Johnson behind him have been both been extremely good in their own right. 28-4352. Those two don't have the punch out numbers that Edwards does when nobody really does and they play the snot out of defense. So I'm going to go USC here as well. I'll be really interested to see what they do with their pitching. To your point, Jonathan, they've got three guys so like maybe they don't have to throw off, you know, to beat A M. Maybe they can just play it straight up. But it'll be interesting to see what they do if they decide to start Edwards on Friday or if they move him to Saturday in anticipation of giving him the ball against A and M. Lamar's A like Texas A M is gonna have to tread lightly with Lamar. It's a good ball club. They've been good for a couple years now. There's a reason, you know, that their head coach is heading to Houston. He's done a fantastic job at that program. But I'm gonna take Southern Cal and I'm gonna double down on what you said, Keith, about, about early and this time last year people were clamoring for that dude to be fired and they stuck it out a year. I would say at times last year he looked a little bit in over his head, but obviously, you know, you're, you know, you're a regional Host, you're a 12 seed. Texas a and M baseball. This is a little blip on the radar. He's got them back rolling and it's a good ball club. But I think Southern Cal gets it done staying in the state of Texas, heading to Austin, got Texas, uc, Santa Barbara, Tarleton State. Had coach of a pod. Head coach is a podcast guest and a good friend of Coach Glasser's. And then we got Holy Cross Crusaders out of the Patriot League. I think the only way that anybody gets out of this, except for Texas is if Santa Barbara pitches off and Flora stuffs it on Texas and they're able to kind of overcome, you know, that path. But I, I think Texas on paper is, is the best team here if Santa Barbara throws off. They better be careful though, because that Tarleton team's good coming out of the whack. They've, they've played some good teams. They've played in some big stadiums. They're. That team will be ready to go. And I think Santa Barbara's in a, in a precarious spot here where if you're going to win this regional, you probably have to save Florida for Texas. But I don't, I don't know if they're that much better than Tarleton where you feel comfortable doing it. So I'll be interested to see how they play this one. [00:59:34] Speaker D: Yeah, I think, I think Dear Point, I think, you know, if, if Santa Barbara is going to get out, they have to go off, right? They have to. Let's say Florida is going to be top six pick, eight pick at worst. He's arguably one of the best left handed pitchers in the entire draft, to be honest with you. And he's had a phenomenal year. I mean, I remember watching him opening weekend at Southern Miss and I was like, this dude is the real deal. So that's, that's the only chance that somebody else in this regional has is if they do that. But again, like you said, I mean, you know, you throw off and lose, then it doesn't really matter either because you're still, you're right back in the same boat. So I'd take Texas to move on. The one thing I'm going to say though is that when coaching staffs deserve credit, you know, I think we do a great job of that. And you know, the job that Holy Cross that staff has done is absolutely incredible. They have the least amount of resources in that league. They're back to back tournament champions. They won it this year as a four seed, went on the road twice, handed it to army twice and then played a really, really, really tight series with Bucknell who did a whole who staff also did a phenomenal job this year. But I don't think enough can be said about what they have done up there in Worcester because what they're dealing with and what they have compared to just the rest of their league is incredible for them to be in back to back regionals. So shout out to their staff. You know, Coach Tinkham does an amazing job. He's their associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He does a phenomenal job. Guys everywhere, Texas will move on, but kudos to, honestly to them and to Tarleton, to be honest with you, because both programs are limited in terms of what the resources are, you know, comparatively in their league. So shout out to those two staffs on this one here. [01:01:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I think what Coach Kahovic and Coach Tinkham have done in Worcester has been phenomenal the last two years. Tarleton, I believe, if memory serves, this was their first actual year of being eligible for it. NCAA tournament play. Coming off of your probationary Period of moving from Division 2 to Division 1. So what you know, I believe they won the Mac last year. The WAC last year too if memory serves. So you know what, what Coach Smith has done there has been a really good job. I do think to. I do think for anyone to. But Texas is that people are gonna have to throw off. I think Tarleton could, could be Santa Barbara if they do throw off. And Tarleton did beat Texas midweek this year. So there, there's that in there too. Like you know, if you match up with that midweek or with your weekend guy, who knows. But I do think ultimately Texas moves on in this regional. Sorry for the motorcycle in the background. [01:02:34] Speaker B: That's right. Mean streets of Rochester just showing off. All right. We're going to Eugene. Got Oregon. Well deserved host super athletic ball club. Oregon State is the 2. Washington State was able to take down the Mountain West Conference tournament and beat San Diego State, the regular season champ. Then you get the winners of the Ivy League. The Yale. Yale Bulldogs. This one's interesting just because of the Oregon. Oregon State. Right. I believe they, I believe they dub it the Civil War in, in the state of Oregon. The, the battle between these two schools. I think this is a completely different ball of wax if Dax Whitney's around. But he's not and because of that I just. Washington State doesn't fire me up. I think Yale can end up getting a win in this regional. I think they've got a couple guys at the front end staff wise. They play a really tough style of baseball. It's very hard to play against with the way they run the bases and some of the small ball stuff. And it's given teams fits specifically in the Ivy League all year long for the last couple years. And it's what you know, Coach Ham and Coach Wojcick have, have implemented there. So I could see Yale. It wouldn't surprise me to see Yale make a little bit of noise here. But I think for me I think Oregon gets out of here. I just think they're top to bottom. They're the best team in this regional by a decent margin. Especially when you, when you don't have probably the best right handed arm in the 2027 draft class thrown for you at Oregon State. So I think, I think or takes care of business. [01:04:24] Speaker D: Yeah, I don't think Oregon has any problems here. I mean like you said, Oregon State just hasn't been the same when I once that has gone down. So shout out to Yale. They've done a phenomenal job there. Year three, I believe it is for them. Really, really, really good job turning that program around and getting them going on the right train. And they're, they're doing really well and they're doing some big time things. They're gonna have some, some pretty high draft picks here in the next couple of years. So, you know, shout out to them. But I don't think, I think Oregon wins us three games. I don't think they have much of a hiccup at all here. [01:05:00] Speaker C: Samesies. [01:05:05] Speaker B: All right. To Alabama. Tuscaloosa. Crimson tide is the 1. Oklahoma State comes in as the 2. UC Upstate is the 3. Alabama State is the 4. That's. I just don't see anybody but Alabama winning this one like Oklahoma State because they're Oklahoma State. Like, sounds good, but I don't know, I just haven't been overly impressed with them. I think they've been fine. I think Alabama's been, been tested, you know, for those folks who were saying that Rob Vaughn wasn't the right guy for the job earlier this year, like, nice call on that one. He's, he's clearly one of the best young coaches in the country. And I don't think a lot of people realize that being a national seed at Alabama is not something that has traditionally been a thing. And you know, what he's done there I think is ex. In my opinion is exceeded expectations. The. They don't have as much as a lot of other schools. Right. Everybody associates Alabama with Alabama football, but, you know, this isn't some program that's been to the College World Series 25 times. You know, they've had some good ball clubs. They had a really good stretch kind of back in the mid 2000s where they lost in the, in the super regional North Carolina, back to back years. But for them to be a national seed here, I think speaks to the job that, that Coach Vaughn's done at that place. And I think they're gonna, I think they're gonna find themselves in a super. [01:06:50] Speaker D: Yeah, I think. I don't. Yeah, they've done such a good job at Alabama, but I don't know, just watching the way Oklahoma swings the bat, I think they, if they get themselves to, to Sunday, you know, it's going to be warm down there. The offense. I don't know if Alabama pitches it quite enough. I'm gonna take Oklahoma State here. I don't even know why, to be honest. I, I'm just gonna take Oklahoma State. I think one of the things to add to what you said to the job that they've done at Alabama, like the best. One of the best players in the country. And if it wasn't for a young man and out in la, he would be the number one shortstop in this draft. Hasn't even done that much for them this year. If you look at his numbers and Justin lebron, like, the fact that he had those numbers and they are a national seed is incredible because he's arguably one of the best pro prospects in the draft. He is one of. If not, you know, he's probably the second best shortstop for sure in this draft, like, and for him to put those numbers up and then be a national seed, incredible because if you were to say to anybody early in the year, hey, here's. Here's Justin's numbers. Where is Alabama? Most people would probably say they're missing the tournament. Never mind a host, never mind a national seed, so shout out to them. But I'm just going to take Oklahoma State because I think the offense is serious and I think they can win, you know, shoot out here on Sunday and, you know, maybe into Monday. So, [01:08:34] Speaker C: yeah, I'm going to take Oklahoma State, too. I don't do. I don't know why, but I, I think that they can score a lot of runs. And I think if you can get into a Sunday, Sunday situation, winner take all, and it's all hands on deck, I think that they can. You're going to be looking at a 13:11 ball game. And I think Oklahoma State hits enough to be able to do that. So for that reason. [01:09:04] Speaker B: All right, all right. Gonna head to Tallahassee. Florida State earned themselves the 10 seed. They got Coastal defending national runner up Northern Illinois and St. John's who made. Made mincemeat of the Big east tournament. Pretty impressive showing from them. Kind of, kind of dominated their way through to another NCAA tournament appearance. I think it's a second, second one in the last three years. Great job by that staff. Staff of the year in the Big East. I don't know if they're going to make any noise in this one, but that's what we got, those four. Jonathan, who you got? [01:09:51] Speaker D: Here's what I'm going to say. Be very, very, very careful. I think we're gonna get a winner take all between Coastal and Florida State. Coastal's tough, man. They've. They've got a lot of issues and I know they're not playing their best baseball right now, but I think Fluke is going to be pretty close to full strength here going into it. They're, you know, they're, excuse me, they were national runner up last year. They're tough, man. They've. They've had a lot of adversity all year. Florida State is just so tough at home, though. And for that, I'm going to take Florida State in a winner take all game. I think that's going to go the whole way, though. But I'm going to take Florida State here. [01:10:33] Speaker C: I'm going to take the Seminoles. I think Coastal, they've done a phenomenal job of what they have this year with, you know, guys being dinged up, guys being hurt, missing parts of the year and being able to put together the season that they did. It speaks to that coaching staff and what Coach Dahl can do there. You know, I think that they've wavered a little bit in the back half of this year, and I think there's, you know, as certain media outlets like to say, there could be a little bit of a hangover when we get to the postseason, you know, So I, I think that it's. I don't know that it goes winner take all, to be quite frank with you. But I, I do think that it's going to be Coastal in Florida State, and I think Florida State wins this regional. [01:11:18] Speaker B: I'm going to buck the trend in this one. Okay, here's my, here's my bold prediction. I think Coastal is going to throw off. I think Fluke is going to throw game two. And I think that kid has an edge to him. I think he's got something to prove. He has not thrown the ball particularly well since he's come back off of that injury. And I think it's primed for him to face Florida State, and I think Coastal finds a way to get it done here. We spoke about this about. Maybe, maybe it was the halfway point. I think what Coach Nell has done this year with Coastal Carolina and Keith, you're absolutely right. They're haven't played as well the last couple weeks, which is, you know, the reason that there were two. I think if you go back a month, they were looking like a national seed, but, you know, now they find themselves as a two. But I think what he's done this year, with some of the injuries that they've had, avoiding the hangover for the vast majority of the season, I, I think it's one of the better coaching jobs in the country. And I don't know, they just seem to have some fighting them and I, I think, I think you might see some of that fight this weekend. So I'm Gonna, I'm gonna go with Coastal getting out of this one. All right. We're gonna stay in the state of Florida. Gonna go to Gainesville. Florida Gators are the, the eight seed. They got the Miami Hurricanes as the two. They got Troy and they got the Mac, the last MA champion of all time in the Ryder Bronx, manned and guided by Dr. Barry Davis, who came out of retirement to take the Bronx into the tournament this year. So those are the four we got down in Gainesville. Coach Glass, what do we got? [01:13:07] Speaker C: Sure, yeah. No, I think that the, I mean, I know I've said this all year long. Florida just seems like an odd team. I just don't see a way that Florida doesn't get out of this regional. You know, they, they played, they beat Miami earlier in the year. You know, the, the Ryder Bronx and coach Barry Davis have done a phenomenal job this year in the Mac and beating up on our, our, our former, our alma mater. Troy, I just, you know, to your point earlier, like I, I see what they did and got in. I just don't see them being able to stack up with Florida or Miami. You know, in the third game with Miami, they, they waxed because of rain, but they, they beat him pretty handily. 72 and 8 4. So, you know, I think Florida gets out of this regional and gets into a super. Out of the Hattiesburg Regional. [01:14:02] Speaker B: What do you got, Jonathan? [01:14:03] Speaker D: Yeah, I think Florida. I actually, my one thing I will say though is I, I kind of with you a little bit here, Keith. I love Troy. I think Troy ends up in this regional final. I don't. Miami, I don't know. I just, I've been off them really for most of the year. I don't think Florida is going to have many issues with this thing. They, they've been playing really well like the last, like just like April 1st, really. Like they've just been a different team than they were that those first, you know, few months. I'm going to say they're going to get through pretty easily, to be honest. [01:14:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I like Florida here. I will, I will add this slight caveat though, that Florida is such an interesting team where I wouldn't be surprised if they don't make it out of this regional. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they won the national championship, if that makes sense. When they are playing, when they play well, they are a problem for. I don't care who they're playing, where they're playing, when they have a little stretch where they're playing good Baseball, like, they're a really, really tough team to beat. I think Brendan Lawson, he's going to be a, he'll be a first rounder next year. You know, one of the better bats in the country. And it's really, really been swinging the bat well recently. I think Cade Curlin's another guy is starting to come on who had some really high expectations going into this year and has been playing really well of late. And I mean, they got some, some big boy arms that they're going to run out of there, whether it's the, the Barbarian kid or they're coming out of the bullpen or Liam Peterson, who, if you get that guy feeling good about himself on a Friday, like he can no hit you. I mean, he's as good as, he's as talented as anybody in the country. So I got Florida. I just, I don't love this Miami team. Call me, I just don't like them. I think Troy will be the one who plays Florida in the final, the regional final here. So I got the Gators going on, too, and I think they're a major threat. I think they're a major threat if they play their best baseball, if they're the best versions of themselves the next three weeks, they're a major threat to win the title. All right, last regional, Hatesburg, Mississippi. Southern Miss hosting again. Got the nine seed, they got Virginia, two seed Jacksonville State as the three, and then they got Arkansas Little Rock as the four seed. Glass, what do you got? [01:16:40] Speaker C: I'm, I'm going to pick against one of my other Omaha teams. I know that I probably shouldn't, but I can't lead this off by talking about how good I think Jacksonville State is and then not have them get out of a regional. I just think, you know, I'm super impressed with what Southern Miss has done this year. I'm not going to be shocked if they end up winning this regional and getting into a super, you know, playing against the Gators. I'm not super high on uva this year. I don't think they're the, the best two seed in the country. You know, I just, I'm super high on the, I think the Jacksonville State team could be that, that team this year, that, that makes a pretty good run in the postseason. You know, just knocking down 46 wins is not an easy feat in college baseball. And winning your conference, you know, outright at the start of the, you know, at the end of the year where, you know, what's your body of work look like and being the one seed and then going on and winning the tournament as well. You know, I think just speaks to how good they are. You know, they made a really good run last year and you know, I think they won the Conference USA tournament last year as the two or three seed, maybe the four. They weren't the one, but they made the jump this year and wanted won the conference and then won the tournament again. And I think that they're just playing really good baseball. I think that they're a team that you do not want to play in the postseason. So I'm going to go ahead and take the Jacksonville State fighting Jaguars. I don't know if they're the Jaguars. [01:18:19] Speaker B: These are the Gamecocks, aren't they? I should. [01:18:21] Speaker C: I think they are the Gamecocks. Yes. [01:18:25] Speaker B: We got Jonathan. [01:18:27] Speaker D: I'm going to be super, super, super boring here. But I think the biggest problem for Southern Miss in this regional is is that they gave Jacksonville State the three seed and they have a major, major, major chip on their shoulder now. So for that reason I am going to take Jacksonville State to get out of this regional as well. [01:18:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I like Jacksonville State. I don't think that in this is nothing against Southern Miss. Like Southern Miss earned a ninth day, earned this the right to host this. I think Jacksonville State is just better than what people, what the committee thought. I'm the reasoning behind them being a three. I'd love to hear it. I think that they're way more qualified to be a 2 than Virginia is. I don't think Virginia has been the same since they lost the series to Boston College. You know, they're 14 to 16 in the ACC. They don't really have an underlying number that makes you feel like that that's a really good team. You know they're by ACC standards they're well below average defensive team. Feel the 964. They're just okay on the mound and they're just okay offensively. But the thing that's super interesting to me about them is that they got two first rounders in their, in their lineup like AJ Gracia and Eric Becker will probably both be off the board in the top 35 picks, certainly in the top 50 picks. They're going to have two guys in their lineup and but even with that it just doesn't seem like they just don't seem like a team that's really primed. I could see them, I could see them losing the first two and being the first team to go home from this regional. But I guess we're going to find out. Any closing remarks. Fellas. [01:20:32] Speaker D: Enjoy this weekend, man. I can't wait to sit down and watch and to kind of hash it all out next week. And you know, at that point I guess we pick an 8 for Omaha. So it's going to be a great weekend. You know, it's a long weekend obviously because it'll start Friday. I think that noon is the first game Friday and it'll run through Monday. Some years it's run through Tuesday depending on if you get some weather at some of these places. But I'm fired up, man. This is going to be, it's going to be really, really, really good. Tune in. You know, some of these regionals are going to be, you know, awesome, awesome, awesome. You know, the atmosphere a lot of these places. I mean, you got 16 phenomenal hosts. You know, tune in and just, you know, ESPN's done a great job of expanding coverage. Like just tune in and watch it because it's going to be fun and it's going to be a great weekend. [01:21:23] Speaker C: Yeah, aside from watching all the Division 1 baseball that's going to be on this weekend, I would be remiss to not mention the fact that we are into Division 2 and Division 3 World Series this weekend as well. So if you can go ahead and find some streaming if you're interested in being a sicko like some of us on this podcast are, there's some really good baseball being played at Division 2 and Division 3 level as well. With the, the World Series being kicked off with their, their final eight this, this upcoming weekend. You got Dennison Hopkins, Baldwin, Wallace, it's East Texas Baptist, Rowan, Salisbury, Adrian and Endicott, which is actually a pretty loaded World Series at the Division 3 level. You're going to get a bunch of really good matchups there. You know, Denison is on a 44 game win streak. I think if they win game one of the world Series they'll break the all time record for most consecutive wins which is held by Trinity in 2008, I believe. And then the Division 2 World Series, you got Westchester Central, Missouri, UT, Tyler, UIndy, Tampa, Catawba, Point Loma and Bentley which is, you know, shout out to what Bentley has done as a coaching staff in a program there. They've, you know, they've really done a good job since they've taken over. I believe it's an alum who is running that program. And I don't know this for sure. I can probably get fact checked, but I believe this is Bentley's first trip to the World Series. But they've, they've had a phenomenal, you know, last couple years and for them to be able to make it to the World Series they year is a huge testament what that, that coaching staff's been able to do in up in Massachusetts. Not necessarily known as a baseball power, but for them to get there, kudos to them. So watch the baseball. See all the stuff, the awesome stuff that's about to unfold this weekend, but it's power packed. Not just Division 1, you got Division 1, 2 and 3 kicking off all weekend with regionals and World Series. [01:23:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it's going to be glorious. I got to see if I can convince my, my wife to let me drive three and a half hours to Morgantown. Might have to call Mr. Rossinger, Mr. Cilento and see if we can get, if I get a ticket to that one, but we'll see. Might have to make you have you put in a call to Jimmy for me? [01:23:54] Speaker C: Grass, he was on the podcast. [01:23:56] Speaker B: You know, we'll get them get, see if I can get some good seats. Sit up in one of the boxes or something like that. [01:24:02] Speaker D: Yeah, I don't know. This weekend may be tough this weekend, [01:24:06] Speaker B: but no, it's gonna be awesome. Great time of year. If you, if you're not watching, shame on you. Put it that way. Get, you get yourself in front of the television, watch some of this stuff and yeah, it's gonna be fun. So. All right. Anything else? [01:24:26] Speaker C: No, sir. [01:24:27] Speaker B: Jonathan, as always, thank you, sir. We'll, we'll run it back next week, figure out what we got right, what we got wrong. We'll take it from there. All right everybody, thanks for listening. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week. [01:25:15] Speaker D: La.