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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 15
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Bobbruinbear
1:42
Should California win this weekend’s upcoming series with UCLA, would they have any chance of cracking into the Top 25?
Aaron Fitt
1:42
Certainly! The Bears are definitely on my radar -- they're hot right now, with three straight series wins, and a nice road series win this weekend at Arizona. I saw Cal early and again last week, and I do think their talent is very intriguing, especially the physicality in that lineup. Think they're capable of making some noise down the stretch. A series win against UCLA, given the Bruins' incredible body of work to this point, would very likely land the Bears in the Top 25 -- and put them in great at-large position.
Sean
1:44
How many bids could the WCC get? We haven't had more than 1 big for the last 5-6 years but with 3 teams in the top 40 of RPI I like chances of more than 1.
Kendall Rogers
1:44
Sean -- I like the league to be a two-bid league at the moment. I think LMU would be in as of today, and I think BYU/Gonzaga/Pepperdine would take one spot. I'd probably lean BYU at this point.
Tate
1:46
Do you think that Texas A&M's offense has enough punch to keep them in the top 10 in the country throughout SEC play? I know the pitching is stellar and can prop them up.. but I just didn't predict the Ags to be in the position they are currently at in mid-April.
Kendall Rogers
1:46
Tate,
A&M actually reminds me a lot of Oregon State right now. The Aggies probably have a bit more punch offensively than OSU, but are loaded on the mound (with a better starting rotation) and a similar bullpen. Neither team has a potent offense, while both teams have a stud in the middle of the lineup in Rutschman and Shewmake, respectively. The Aggies have little margin for error on the mound, but it's worked so far. No reason to think it can't continue to work.
Jeff
1:47
How secure is Florida in the NCAA Tournament field?
Aaron Fitt
1:47
Right now I'd have Florida in the "bubble-in" category. Just 6-9 in the SEC and 3-9 vs. the top 25, those are legit benefits. No. 27 in the RPI is fine, and 3-0 against teams 26-50, so those are good things. So is that 3-0 record vs. FSU in midweek, even though FSU is only in the 60s in the RPI. Ultimately, I think Florida will get to 14-plus SEC wins and be just fine for an at-large. But like any SEC team, Gators would be in trouble if they finish below 14 SEC wins.
Jay
1:51
Just hoping with nothing at this point, does South Carolina have to finish 11-4 in conference in there final 15 and get to 15-15 overall to make the postseason? Is that the number?
Kendall Rogers
1:51
Jay -- South Carolina would need to get at least a couple of spots below .500 to get to the postseason. If the Gamecocks did that -- they'd probably have enough RPI love to get in. But I'm not sure that'd remotely expected at this point. They're in quite a hole.
Clint
1:51
With one game separating 1st place and 7th place in the SEC and ten teams in the RPI top 25. Do you think think could be the strongest SEC year in a while and how many teams do you think makes regionals?
Aaron Fitt
1:51
I think you can make a case that this is an even stronger year for the SEC than normal... although it's weird to make that case in a year with South Carolina and Florida both down. But Missouri and Tennessee are up, which helps make up for it. I dunno, I suppose the more I think about it, the more it feels like "just another year in the SEC" -- this kind of depth is pretty much par for the course now. Anyway, we'll break it down in the nerdcast tonight, but I think 10 SEC teams in regionals feels like a strong bet, and I wouldn't rule out 11.
Colton
1:52
DBU is 25-10 and not ranked. They’ve beaten 4 top 25 teams, how close are they to being ranked?
Kendall Rogers
1:52
Colton -- I actually looked at DBU when I was putting together my teams to consider, but that series loss to Evansville two weekends ago kept them from getting in. Had the Patriots won that series, I think they'd be sitting in a pretty good spot. Really solid club, but not really deserving to be ranked at this very second, IMO.
Guest
1:57
Believe this took too long to show Miami the respect they have earned this year. Playing Florida each year in the second week is held against them ifnthewhile others can lose series to inferior teams and have no effect. After taking the series from GA Tech they should have been in the top 25 and now in the teens.  Trying to hold on to early rankings and justify them is an issue. Just look at how long it took Conn to fall out.
Aaron Fitt
1:57
Yeah, you're not making any sense here, Chumley. We had UConn ranked for one week, and they fell out immediately after losing a series. Miami went 1-5 in back-to-back weekends against UNC and NC State, in addition to that early Florida series win. It's not unreasonable to wait for a little more consistency before ranking a team that missed regionals each of the last two years.
Eric Simmons
1:57
Can California make the NCAA Tournament?
Kendall Rogers
1:57
Absolutely. The Golden Bears have played well as of late and have such a huge opportunity this weekend at UCLA. Cal is at 60 in the RPI with a winning league record and decent overall record. I think I'd have Cal in as of today -- but there's a long way to go until Selection Monday and my fellow nerds might disagree with me on that later tonight!
Joe
1:57
Is it time for Auburn to move on from Butch Thompson
Kendall Rogers
1:57
Uh .... what? Auburn is without two weekend starters (Davis Daniel and Jack Owen). I get that the Tigers are struggling right now, but that's nonsense.
Aaron Fitt
1:57
Haha. That's gotta be a troll job. Well done, Joe!
1:58
OK guys, that's it for me today, see you next week! Happy Patriots' Day.
Guest
1:58
With the expectations coming into the season and the season he has had has Rutschman solidified his status at 1-1 in the draft or are there others who have crept into the conversation?
Kendall Rogers
1:58
I see no change with Rutschman as my 1-1 at the moment. And I also don't see anyone taking that from him. But you never know.
HTownKat
2:02
Did ya'll notice what cowser did this past weekend?  6-12 w 3 HR's.  Will Sam have to win the Southland to make the 64?
Kendall Rogers
2:02
Town -- I think as of right now, Sam would be in no matter what, but man, it's really close with an RPI of 47. As for Cowser, that doesn't surprise me too much. I really, really liked him in the fall and he's only met those expectations.
SJ
2:05
regarding the 3rd paid assistant discussion, Am I understanding correctly that the Volunteer position is eliminated?
Kendall Rogers
2:05
SJ -- It depends. If a school chooses to make the volunteer role a paid coach, yes, no more volunteer. If a school chooses not to pay, volunteer position stays.
Kendall Rogers
2:10
All right guys -- that's all the time we have today. Be sure to Subscribe to D1Baseball.com at http://www.d1baseball.com/subscribe
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