Eye On The College World Series

›Congratulations to the newly crowned regular season champions. Any recap of those who secured titles should probably begin with a tip of the cap to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs parlayed their eleventh hour claiming of the SEC title into the top spot in two major national polls. Miami clinched the number one overall seed in the ACC with a solid weekend against rival Florida State. Minnesota will lead the field into Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park this week after claiming the Big 10 crown. Texas Tech locked up the Big 12 relatively early in conference action, leaving only the Pac 12 to be settled among the Power 5 conferences.

›The traditional pennant race in the Pac 12 will be settled by a showdown this weekend. Keep in mind that the Pac 12 awards its automatic berth into the NCAA tournament to the regular season champion, so the stakes are even higher out west. A wild and wacky finish to the season which saw as many as ten teams alive across the last couple of weeks has been reduced to a winner-take-all series between Utah and Washington. The Utes own home field advantage and a one game lead entering the series. High noon starts (MT) for each game Friday thru Sunday seem only fitting.

›Conference tournament week has arrived. Teams on the bubble, teams hoping to host a regionals, teams looking to secure national seeds; they will all have one final chance to make their case and impress the selection committee at this week’s conference tourneys. That doesn’t even address the automatic berths that will be handed out left and right to each conference champion. Nor does it factor in the excitement of the elimination contests which will fill each day around the country. The best part of it all? It’s merely a warmup for the NCAA Tournament action which is now just over a week away.

›Reservations are now beginning to be made en masse for the “Road To Omaha.” Princeton, Bethune-Cookman, Alabama State and the Naval Academy are among those who have already etched their names onto the official tournament bracket. By the end of the week all 31 automatic bids will have been secured allowing the 2016 tournament field to take shape. Keep up with all the action on the “Road To Omaha” page throughout the busy week full of extended invitations.

›Mark your calendar, “Selection Monday” is almost here. Speaking of the national tournament, in less than one week the bracket will be revealed. Make plans to step away from your time of reflection and patriotic celebrations on Memorial Day long enough to take a glance at the official pairings which will set the 2016 regional participants in stone. Remember, the sixteen regional site locations will be served up as an appetizer of sorts on Sunday night. The full selection show airs on ESPNU at Noon ET May 30.

“First Glances” provides a weekly snapshot of the story lines impacting the hunt for the National Championship with quick-hit headlines from around the country.

This edition of the spotlight shines on the “Omaha 8” from last season

Across the past two college baseball seasons, the last pair standing has been identical. The Virginia Cavaliers out of the ACC and Vanderbilt Commodores of SEC fame swapped roles and results in the most recent championship series. As expected, both clubs remain in the hunt for return trips to Omaha and still possess the tools to end the season in a dog pile celebration at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park.

It begs the question, how have each of last year’s College World Series participants fared during the 2016 season? Following naturally, how well are they positioned to return?

Included below are the records and current positioning of each club in their respective conferences heading into tournament season. Let’s begin with a look at the defending National Champions…

Virginia Cavaliers

(36-18, 19-11, 2nd in ACC Coastal)

The Champs have been locked into a late season battle for positioning in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. After bringing glory to the ACC for the first time in over 50 years, they’ve been greeted with much improved Miami, FSU and Louisville squads each with an eye toward stealing away the Hoos most prized possession. North Carolina, NC State, Clemson and Georgia Tech are also appearing regularly in national rankings down the stretch, proof that some of Virginia’s biggest challenges this season are those closest to home. The unique round robin format of the ACC tournament awaits as a final tune-up for the Cavaliers title defense.

Vanderbilt Commodores

(41-15, 18-12, 3rd in SEC East)

Continuing to hover around the top 10 in all five major national ranking systems, the Commodores remain in the conversation for a national seed. Having been somewhat overshadowed by some of the power located in their own conference (and division for that matter), they’ve quietly collected forty wins again this season. Vandy sits as high as 6th in the major polls and boasts a top 10 RPI. Beyond that, the boys from the Music City are riding the momentum of a series sweep of Auburn to close out the regular season. A solid showing in Hoover could separate the ‘Dores from the pack while providing the necessary spark that lands this experienced group squarely on the road to Omaha yet again.

Arkansas Razorbacks

(26-29, 7-23, 7th in SEC West)

Despite their fast start, a difficult conference slate and a 3-14 record away from the friendly confines of Baum Stadium all but doomed the Hogs. Swept at home by eventual SEC Champion Mississippi State over the weekend, Arkansas failed to qualify for the conference tournament and watched the dream of a return trip to Omaha die in the process. Thirteen consecutive losses to close the 2016 season relegated the Razorbacks to a finish in the cellar of the SEC West.

Cal State Fullerton Titans

(33-19, 15-6, 1st in Big West)

Despite dropping a series to Hawaii for the first time ever this past weekend, the Titans still appear en route to yet another Big West title. With a 13-4 month of April, the club broke back into the national polls at the beginning of May for the first time since early in the season. They have since worked their way into the top-20 in four of the five major polls. With the respect garnered there, alongside a top 60 RPI, they should be solidly in the NCAA tournament field with or without the Big West title. While Fullerton will have a hill to climb, likely on the road somewhere, it’s hard to sleep on a team with their history of success. As the years have proven, when thinking in terms of teams capable of being Omaha bound, you always have to remember the Titans.

Florida Gators

(44-11, 19-10, 2nd in SEC East)

Easily college baseball’s most consistent club in 2016, the Gators regular season closing act was less than dominant. While the team has already set a new school record for wins in a single season with 44, they lost out on the Eastern Division title in the highly competitive SEC on the season’s final day. South Carolina used a sweep of Alabama to jump the Gators and claim the division crown. Florida entered last week in the top slot in every major college baseball poll, yet they woke up following the tough trip to LSU to find themselves remaining atop just one. What may be most impressive, they’ve accomplished all of this without seeming to ever really hit on all cylinders. Consider this, thus far they’ve secured only a handful of wins from pitching ace A.J. Puk, who many believe will be taken first in the upcoming MLB draft. Don’t let the regular season ending cloud reality, this team still has all the pieces in place spend a full week in Hoover and re-establish themselves as the team to beat when it counts.

LSU Tigers

(39-17, 19-11, 3rd in SEC West)

No one is hotter right now than the Bayou Bengals. In the process, they’ve climbed the ladder quickly in the SEC Western Division standings. Always a dangerous team heading into Hoover, they could be carrying the most momentum into SEC Championship Week. LSU deprived Florida of the SEC East crown by taking two of three down on the bayou. While the Tiger’s winning streak was snapped by the Gators in the series finale, the overall result knocked Florida out of the top spot in most collegiate polls for the first time in weeks. The weekend success for LSU served simply as the exclamation point on their solid finish. Just a single victory at the SEC Tournament in Hoover secures another 40 win campaign for one of college baseball’s most successful clubs.

Miami Hurricanes

(43-10, 21-7, ACC Coastal Division Champions)

Miami is ranked as high as 2nd nationally and no lower than 4th in any of the major polls. The 40 plus win Hurricanes finished the regular season as the only team ahead of the defending National Champs (Virginia Cavaliers) in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Miami boasts an RPI currently slated at 3rd best overall (though second among Atlantic Coast Conference clubs, trailing the nation’s top RPI team in Louisville). Though it is hard to predict what will happen once they arrive in Durham for the ACC Tournament, the ‘Canes already seem destined for their normal follow up- a trip back home for a Coral Gables regional and a the awarding of a Top-8 national seed.

TCU Horned Frogs

(38-14, 15-9, 3rd in the Big 12)

Coming off a surprising series loss at the hands of Baylor just over a week ago, TCU may not have looked like a team poised to make a third straight appearance in Omaha. However, the Frogs bounced back with four straight wins including a sweep of Kansas State to close the season strong. This group has already proven they know how to win when it counts. TCU claimed the #3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament with a Baylor rematch on tap as their opening round game. While Texas Tech has been the class of the field throughout the conference season, TCU is battle tested and will rely on that experience to put themselves in a solid position come NCAA Tournament time.

“The Eye” will regularly shine a spotlight on specific players, coaches or teams worthy of attention for their efforts in the past week across the landscape of college baseball. Our spotlight is the place to keep up with the key performers and performances on the journey toward the World Series.

›National seeds shaping up as difficult call with many deserving teams on the fence. Strong SEC and ACC showings top to bottom have a number of deserving teams in both conferences left wondering whether they will even have the chance to host a regional, much less claim a top 8 national seed. Think on this, from those two conferences alone reside all ten of the Top 10 and fourteen of the top 15 in the latest RPI rankings. Factor in that at least nine of the top 10 clubs in all 5 major polls are from those two conferences (in some cases even a different combination of teams), and it becomes even more difficult to find clarity. With so much parity and so many battle tested top tier teams, this is not a year to envy the members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

›4 of the Power 5 conference regular season titles still up for grabs. Texas Tech alone has claimed a major conference crown to this point. It seems the Pac 12 title will not be decided ahead of the final regular season showdowns next weekend out west (see below), while the SEC, ACC and Big 10 are all still in play just ahead of their respective tourneys.

›Two clubs on fire, both set to be tested: Tigers, Mountaineers look to run nations top active winning streak into double figures. In so many ways LSU And West Virginia could not be more different, yet they both possess nine game winning streaks and enter the week in position to impact their respective conference races in a major way. West Virginia will test its streak against a Texas Tech club which has already claimed the Big 12 regular season crown, while the Tigers square off against the nation’s top ranked team, facing the Gators down on the Bayou.

›A wild Pac 12 remains wide open. Ten teams are within four games of one another with six conference games remaining. Six of those teams are stacked up within three games of the conference’s top spot. The schedule sets this weekend up to be somewhat of an elimination weekend with key contests worth watching up and down the pacific coast. Only in a league whose bid is secured by a traditional pennant race can you have this type high drama with so much on the line in every contest.

›Princeton becomes first team into 2016 NCAA Tournament. As so many have come to expect, the Ivy League is generally ahead of the game. In the case of college baseball, the conference provides the first ticket to the NCAA tournament with the earliest scheduled championship format which consists of a best of three head to head series for the league’s automatic berth. Princeton secured this year’s title with a walk-off win over Yale in the decisive third game of the series which was held at Princeton’s Clarke Field. The Tigers won back to back contests after dropping game one of the series. The result completed quite the turnaround for a club that went 7-32 in 2015.

“First Glances” provides a weekly snapshot of the story lines impacting the hunt for the National Championship with quick-hit headlines from around the country.

›Southeastern dominance seems undeniable heading into the season’s final month. As the days grow longer and warmer, the teams down south are positioning themselves well for the stretch run. Not a single team north of the Blue Grass State cracked the top ten in any major college baseball poll this week. In fact, seven of the top ten teams in more than one poll call the SEC home. Factor in Louisville alongside the traditional ACC powers from the Sunshine State and there is very little room remaining anywhere near the top.

›Red Raiders win Lone Star Showdown to claim control of Big 12. Texas Tech takes 2 of 3 from TCU in Fort Worth. While the Horned Frogs still have their sights set on a third straight trip to Omaha, their more immediate goal took a pretty big hit at home.

›South Carolina and Florida split two games in Columbia, weather preventing the rubber match from being completed on Sunday. As a result, the Gamecocks remain a full game in front of the nation’s top ranked club atop the SEC standings.

›Indiana is on a roll. The Hoosiers have made waves across the northland, winning four consecutive conference series to set up a showdown with the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. If the visitors make it five straight series victories in the Big Ten this weekend, they’ll be in the driver’s seat to win the regular season crown.

›Vanderbilt will have to bounce back quickly at Blue Bell Park in College Station if they hope to remain in the SEC regular season title hunt. The Commodores struggled on the mound against Tennessee, mostly due to handing out freebies regularly in their series loss to the rival Vols. Vandy has played in numerous big games in the recent past, including each to the past two National Championship Series. Their biggest challenges of 2016 are now front and center. With the teams ranked 1-2 in nearly all college baseball polls waiting in the wings on back to back weekends, it’s now or never for the Music City crew.

“First Glances” provides a weekly snapshot of the story lines impacting the hunt for the National Championship with quick-hit headlines from around the country.

There’s a new way to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of college baseball. Eye On The College World Series began its inaugural season April 20, 2016.

Intended as a hub for all things NCAA baseball, “The Eye” blends traditional and new media elements, making use of radio and television style updates, blogs, podcasts and human interest stories to provide fans with an additional avenue through which to stay informed on the race for Omaha.

“While many of our friends around the country are already covering the sport very well, interest continues to build and the demand for information is growing at a rapid pace. It is our hope to provide a fresh, positive look at the game of college baseball,” said Jason Patterson, President of Patterson Communications, the organization which will power the site and the coverage. “Our approach will be to encapsulate the big picture in the pursuit of those two magical weeks in June, as well as, shine a spotlight on the unique individuals and memorable moments which make this game so special.”

“The Eye’s” coverage begins each May, builds to a crescendo with daily updates from TD Ameritrade Park during the College World Series, and finishes each campaign with a full season wrap which  includes annual awards announced on Independence Day.

Each new release looks back at the previous seven days of baseball activity from around the country and highlights the key matchups impacting the race for the National Championship. In addition, “The Eye” features exclusive insights from Division I teams, coaches and players to provide baseball fans a unique window into the sport.

“Where today’s coverage of college athletics is so often marked by opinion, speculation and conjecture, we seek to keep our reporting focused on the facts of what has actually been happening between the base lines,” Patterson stated. “Our aspiration is to allow the key figures in the world of college baseball to speak for themselves.” He continued,“we tried to listen to college baseball’s fans regarding the coverage they seek. One consistent theme was a desire for profile style spotlights on the clubs competing in the College World Series. This is an important element of our approach.”

“In the end, we hope what comes across is just how much we genuinely enjoy college baseball and perhaps fans will find a new outlet to express their passion for the sport. Everyone involved in our organization has devoted a great deal of their lives to this game in one way or another. As professional broadcasters and lifelong fans, we continue to be amazed year after year by the pride and pageantry built into the college game. It really doesn’t really exist anywhere else in the sports world in quite the same way,” said Patterson. “It all culminates in two weeks of celebration each June. We exist to simply provide a fresh voice and a new resource to help bring those two weeks to life for the great fans of this game like never before.”

Photo Courtesy: Images of TD Ameritrade Park property of hdrinc.com