The committee has spoken

by mlcotcher on May 30, 2011 1:50 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns and Other Baseball

The NCAA Baseball Selection Committee released their announcement of the postseason field of 64 teams on Monday. ESPN dedicated an entire 30 minute television show. I watched the French Open.

It's not quite the hoopla of March Madness...okay, so it's not even in the same multi-verse. However, this is an extremely level field of teams and I'm expecting a month of competitive baseball.

On to what matters, Austin was named a Regional host and the Longhorns were tabbed as the No. 7 national seed. Joining Texas in the Austin Regional are: Texas State, Kent State and Princeton. If you're looking for a a remake of the Punic Wars, find another Regional.

I opined earlier that Regional play could be trickier for this Texas squad than a traditional three-game series (like the Horns should see in a Super Regional). That was before this troika was gift-wrapped and sent to Austin.

It's not that Texas State and Kent State are bad. It's that they are precisely the types of teams that Texas needed in their bracket. Two small schools without a deep enough roster to pose a major threat.

Texas State won the regular season Southland Conference title and their tournament. Kent State won the MAC tournament for the third straight year. But, beyond Carson Smith (Texas State) and Andrew Chafin (Kent State), neither team poses a serious threat to sweep through three or four games against this level of competition. MLB scouts will be watching when Smith faces Chafin on Friday, but both teams need to burn their superstar arm to advance into the winner's bracket.

Six Big 12 teams made the tournament (Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas), which is only one shy of the 7 the ACC and SEC are sending (highest number for any conference). In addition to the Longhorns, the Aggies are the only other Big 12 team to host a Regional (Arizona, Seton Hall & Wright State).

Notably, Rice and TCU are also hosting Regionals. Lots of quality hardball being played across the state next weekend.

As the national No. 7 seed, Texas is guaranteed to host a Super Regional if they don't choke away the opportunity. The Longhorns would face the winner of the Tempe Regional which consists of Arizona State, Arkansas, Charlotte and New Mexico.

Gametime for Texas vs Princeton has been set for Friday evening at 6:30 PM. I'll have a more detailed look at the Austin Regional later in the week.

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Whew. Looks like we dodged a bullet there. What are the odds we see Smith and SWT on Saturday? I rather don’t like the sound of that.

by 2xhorn on May 30, 2011 2:25 PM CDT reply actions

This would be a good time to start lowering expectations for this team. College baseball, especially NCAA tourney games, is a hitters’ sport. The Horns can’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag

by ransomstoddard on May 30, 2011 2:33 PM CDT reply actions

This is a great draw.

by bat on May 30, 2011 2:51 PM CDT reply actions

Smith isn’t nearly as good as Jungmann, who we’ll almost certainly be using in game 2.

Ransom, the hitting thing shoudn’t be a problem in this round. Next round is where it will probably bite us, especially if we lose the opener.

by Frank the Plank on May 30, 2011 3:38 PM CDT reply actions

I’ll give you a dollar to write up the French Open.

It’d be worth it just to get Scipio to say “Sell tennis, buy MMA” again.

by parlin on May 30, 2011 3:59 PM CDT reply actions

Sounds like a nice gift after getting TCU in the super last season.

Hitting, schmitting…shouldn’t matter in getting to the regional, and all we need is one more arm to get hot at the right time to complement Jungmann.

Remember, with the new bats, no one is lighting up the long balls, which means Texas should be in every game we play.

by uthookem on May 30, 2011 5:04 PM CDT reply actions

Smith may not be nearly as good as Jungmann — no one is — but it doesn’t take Taylor Jungmann to shout down the ‘11 Horns. Plus, it will be a frigging Saturday; not sure we’ve shaken that curse.

by 2xhorn on May 30, 2011 6:44 PM CDT reply actions