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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: May 2
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Justin
12:02
Is it too late for Texas A&M to earn a Top 8 seed or could they play their way into the conversation?
Kendall Rogers
12:02
Justin -- Not at all. Let's say A&M wins its final three SEC series (which is not a bad bet to make), that would put it at 18-12 going into the SEC tournament. Play decent in Hoover and you could absolutely see A&M as a top eight given its elite record vs. Top 25/50 teams. Crazy to think when you consider where Schloss's bunch was just a mere month ago.  Insane.
Matt
12:03
Is Vandy in any serious risk of missing the NCAA Tournament if we were to finish 13-17 in the SEC, or would the high RPI and lack of bad /midweek losses get us in?
Kendall Rogers
12:03
Matt -- I think Vanderbilt at least gets to 14 wins. With that said, if they are 13-17 with a Top 15-ish RPI, they'd probably still get in. If you have a bad league record, you need something to offset it -- a Top 15-20 RPI would accomplish that goal. But 13-17 is the absolute bare minimum IMO.
Observation
12:04
How does Texas get out of the pitching slump?
Kendall Rogers
12:04
Observation -- Great question. The problem right now is that they're being forced, at times, to go to the bullpen earlier than they want to in the middle games of series because Tristan Stevens hasn't pitched all that great the last month of the season. That puts more stress on an already fragile UT bullpen. I think if Tristan can dial things back in, that will allow the bullpen to take a deep breath. Still may not be great, but certainly can't be worse than it is right now.
Rusvegas
12:07
What does Louisiana Tech need to do over the next 11 games and the conference tournament to squeak into the field?
Kendall Rogers
12:07
Rus -- Good question. La Tech is up to 41 after that big series win over ODU and the remaining schedule is very manageable. Suddenly, UTSA and LT both are in decent shape on the bubble with RPIs of 41 and 44. I'd say Tech is in a much better spot right now than it was a week ago.
Tim Taylor
12:07
Does Arizona have a path to hosting if they take series from Oregon and Oregon State or do they need more (PAC-12 tourney run)>
Aaron Fitt
12:07
I could see it -- they're in pretty good shape in the standings at 13-8, and if they win those two series I think that RPI will make a nice job (currently No. 36). Arizona feels like an interesting dark horse in the hosting race if they can win those weekends.
Hoid
12:08
Who are some of the top names that should be considered for high profile head coaching vacancies this offseason?
Kendall Rogers
12:08
Hoid -- if you're talking ultra high profile, a team needs to take a hard hard look at Link Jarrett at Notre Dame. That is a place ripe with obstacles, yet, Jarrett has had THREE straight outstanding seasons with the Fighting Irish. That isn't easy to accomplish. Hell of a baseball coach, and I think he'd kill it at a major SEC/ACC school.
Aaron Fitt
12:11
I know Kendall is the coaching carousel man, but I'll throw in a couple other names here as well: Scott Jackson at Liberty and Justin Haire of Campbell would be way up there at the top of my list if I were looking to hire an SEC or ACC head coach.
NOT 6ix9ine
12:09
Ben Joyce, WOW!! 105.5mph.  Fast in College baseball history and 2nd fastest ever!

**Adjusted official numbers.***
Sunday #Vols’ Ben Joyce threw…
- 3 pitches at 105 mph or better
- 15 pitches at 104 mph or better
- 28 pitches at 103 mph or better
Of his 33 fastballs, 28 were 103-plus
Kendall Rogers
12:09
Let's talk about the big story of the weekend real quick. Joyce was incredible over the weekend. The thing I liked about him was the fact that he actually threw strikes with that ridiculous velocity, and the slider, too, looked really good. If he's going to throw that hard, and command it, he's such an insane weapon in the postseason. I know some people will claim the TrackMan was juiced, etc etc etc -- but I'm telling you, it looked that hard on television. So impressive.
Big East Baseball HQ
12:09
Can we get a little love for the Georgetown Hoyas? They are 1 win away from their first winning season since the 80s. Jake Hyde and Ubaldo Lopez have 16 home runs each. Plus they play in a different home venue every weekend.
Aaron Fitt
12:09
Yeah, really an incredible turnaround under coach Edwin Thompson -- remember, those guys were 6-25 last year. Now they're cruising toward a winning season, 26-18 overall. Just remarkable. You mentioned Hyde and Lopez having huge years, and so is Nolan McCarthy on the bump, pretty loud.
SDSouthpaw
12:11
The Toreros RPI has been slipping the past couple of weeks.  Are they in danger of needing to win the final series vs the Zags to make it into the tournament?
Kendall Rogers
12:11
SD -- As long as USD keeps winning series, I feel pretty good about its chances of making the tournament. The thing USD has on its resume is A) a good league record and B) a marquee non-conference series win. It's a mid-level conference team without a NC marquee series win that often gives me pause with the committee.
Hollis
12:12
Is there any chance of ole miss making a regional? If so, what would have to happen?
Kendall Rogers
12:12
I have Ole Miss finishing the regular season at 11-19, and 12-18 as a best-case scenario. If that happens, Ole Miss will need to make the SEC tourney, win the elimination day game, and probably need to get to Saturday or Sunday to even have a chance to make the field. Once again, if you have a crap league record, you need something to offset it. Right now, Ole Miss has neither.
FittsMagic
12:15
TCU has now been shellacked by a middle of the pack ACC team and bottom of the barrel SEC club & Ok State was swept at home by Gonzaga. How bad is that for the Big12 and should the committee consider the fact that the conference is far more mid major than power 5 this year?
Kendall Rogers
12:15
Fitts -- I actually like the top of the Big 12 right now. I saw Oklahoma State on the heels of seeing Arkansas in college station, and frankly, I came away more impressed with the Pokes TBH. I really like that lineup, the middle infield is strong, especially with Riggio back, and Campbell/Osmond/Phansalker/Martin are all big-time weapons. I also think TCU is pretty good, albeit it is very inconsistent at times. I was disappointed by Krob's iffy appearance over the weekend.
Matt
12:15
What is the continued love affair with Texas Tech? They are 4-8 in their last 12 games yet, but remain in the top 10? They haven’t had a winning week in over three weeks.
Aaron Fitt
12:15
The Red Raiders do feel too high at No. 9, particularly since they're down to No. 51 in the RPI and really are not in the hosting conversation at this point. They have been propped up by winning all but one of their weekend series this year, but their midweek struggles have really caught up with them, torpedoing their overall resumé. We jumped some teams over them this week and did not move them up despite winning a road series in conference, but we still don't usually move teams down when they win their weekends. Perhaps this is an example where our methodology results in a team being propped up too high in the top 25 just because they win their weekends. Or maybe our process reflects the fact that Tech is good at winning weekends -- and that ultimately is what matters most, as we see in the postseason every year.
Kevin
12:17
Any thoughts on a mid-major from a lesser conference not ranked in the top 25 that could do some damage come tourney time?  SEMO, Bryant, etc?
Kendall Rogers
12:17
I'll give you a mid-major to watch in a regional -- Liberty. Liberty is finally much healthier than it was earlier this season, and the Flames have been red-hot (no pun intended) on the weekend since that point. They are battle tested after that Knoxville Regional last year, and they've got veterans in some key positions. Keep an eye on them ...
Guest
12:18
If Southern Miss goes 8-3 winning all remaining series. Do they get a national seed?
Aaron Fitt
12:18
With series left against ODU, UTSA and at Middle Tennessee -- all teams with solid RPIs -- I think that finish would probably be enough for the Golden Eagles to sneak into the top eight. The RPI is the key; we've seen the committee lean very very heavily on RPI in recent years when it comes to seeding. So if Southern Miss finishes at say 13, where it is right now, it will be very interesting. Could go either way in that case, but recent examples from this committee suggest that might not be enough.
Jake
12:20
I feel like the past few weeks we have seen their name pop up on the chat, but how close is GCU from being ranked? 30-15 is no joke considering their difficulty of schedule this season.
Aaron Fitt
12:20
Pretty close, I'd say.  Big week coming up: win that midweek at Arizona and the series against Sac State, and I'd imagine the Lopes will be ranked next week.
Saluki
12:20
Any chance SIU could get an at large bid? Crazy that the MVC is rated the 6th best conference and could be a one bid league.
Kendall Rogers
12:20
SIU would need to finish the season very strong. the RPI is sitting at 89 and that's not going to cut it. Evansville is sitting at 70, and even that isn't going to cut it. The problem for SIU right now? It played three bottom-feeder teams on the weekend in non-conference. That's a killer.
Guest
12:21
Who is the hottest team right now outside of Tennessee?
Kendall Rogers
12:21
Columbia. Take a look at what those guys have done in Ivy League play. Pretty damn impressive. Honestly, that league has two very very solid clubs in the Lions and Penn. Keep an eye on those two clubs as the postseason nears.
Don sanders
12:23
How about them roadrunners from San Antonio? Taking two from MTSU on the road?
Aaron Fitt
12:23
What a year for Patrick Hallmark's Roadrunners -- it really feels like that road series win at MTSU puts UTSA in position for an at-large. 14-7 in the league with a No. 44 RPI, good series wins vs. Charlotte, at ODU, at Middle Tenn. I think right now they're in. Don't think many of us outside the program saw this season coming.
UCLABrian
12:25
So my Bruins crush ASU in a weekend sweep, outscoring the Sun Devils 42-12, move up 5 spots in your rankings to #8 but can't muster mention as one of the teams that aced Week 11? Dang, that's rough. Hopefully we're at least back to being one of the projected 16 hosts/1 seeds next time you project the NCAA field. Coach Savage did it with smoke and mirrors last weekend (and a completely dominant Max Rajcic Friday night) after regular starting pitchers Gage Jump and Jake Brooks were out with injuries. Pretty incredible what the team has done - currently alone in 2nd place and just a game back of Oregon State in the Pac-12 standings, with the pitching staff resembling a MASH unit.
Kendall Rogers
12:25
UCLA -- Yeah, the Bruins should've certainly been on the list. Blame yours truly. I was just telling Coach Rooney and Fitt last night that I think John Savage has done an incredible job with this team given all of its setbacks. Arizona State is flat out terrible, but scoring that many runs against anyone is pretty dang impressive. Kudos to Savage and Co.
SECbaseball
12:25
The last 4 teams from the CWS a year ago are currently all unranked. 6 of the preseason top 10 are currently unranked. Do you remember a year where the top just fell off like this?
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