2008 College Station Regional

1. Texas A&M Aggies

College Station, Texas

At-large bid from Big 12

2008 Record: 19-8, 43-16 (first in Big 12)

Head coach: Rob Childress (Northwood, 1990)

Record at school: 116-65-1, 3 years

Overall record: 116-65-1, 3 years

Assistant coaches: Matt Deggs, Jeremy Talbot, Andy Sawyers

Team offense: .318 BA, 435 R, 54 HR, .495 SLG%, 79 SB, 104 doubles

Team pitching: 3.95 ERA, 507.2 IP, 501 hits, 283 R, 453 K, 180 BB

Top hitters: Jose Duran (.397/5/51, .574 SLG%, 94 hits), Dane Carter (.383/8/58), Luke Anders (.348/13/50, .552 SLG%, 19 HBP, 32 BB, .483 OBP), Darby Brown (.337/9/55)

Top pitchers: Clayton Ehlert (3.18, 5-2, 52.1 IP, 47 K, 8 BB), Brooks Raley (3.73, 5-1, 79.2 IP, 52 K, 22 BB), Kyle Thebeau (1.87, 5-4, 52.2 IP, 58 K, 30 BB, 27 appearances)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (4-1 in College Station Regional, 0-2 in Houston Super Regional)

Notes: Childress led the Aggies to the Super Regional last year in one of the biggest recent turnarounds as the Aggies won 48 games in ’07 compared to 25 in ’06. This year the Aggies won their first Big 12 regular season title since 1999. Childress was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and junior shortstop Jose Duran was named Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Duran was fourth in the NCAA in hits (94). The Aggies lost their last six games of the regular season. Senior Blake Stouffer is inducted in the Little League Hall of Fame. Duran’s brother, German, is a top prospect in the Texas Rangers organization.

2. Dallas Baptist Patriots

Dallas, Texas

At-large bid as an Independent

2008 Record: 37-17

Head coach: Dan Heefner (Olivet Nazarene, 2000)

Record at school: 37-17, one year

Overall record: 37-17, one year

Assistant coaches: Travis Wyckoff, Nate Frieling, Cody Montgomery

Team offense: .325 BA, 423 R, 537 H, .494 SLG, .402 OBP

Team pitching: 4.47 ERA, 479.0 IP, 305 R, 516 H

Top hitters: Nick Santos (.394/5/37), Ryan Goins (.353/10/43, .592 SLG), Evan Bigley (.340/13/58), Trevor Head (.335/15/51)

Top pitchers: Jordan Meaker (7-1, 4.28, 82.0 IP, 58 K, 33 BB), Victor Black (1-5, 4.54, 52 K, 45 BB), Tyson Bagley (4-2, 2.19 ERA, 11 SV, 37.0 IP, 54 K, 21 BB), Chris Haney (5-4, 2.33, 45.1 IP, 45 K, 19 BB, 22 APP)

Last NCAA appearance: First NCAA appearance

Notes: 2008 is DBU’s third season in NCAA Division I and is not affiliated with any conference. The Patriots had several wins over prominent programs this year including two victories over Rice and Texas Tech. The Patriots were 16-3 at home, 17-10 away and 4-4 on neutral fields.

3. Houston

4. Illinois-Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Automatic bid - won Horizon Tournament

2008 record: 17-6, 34-20 (first in Horizon)

Head coach: Mike Dee (Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1979)

Record at school: 338-221-1, 10 years

Overall record: 338-221-1, 10 years

Assistant coaches - Sean McDermott, Mike Nall, Mike Hughes

Team offense: .310 BA, 358 R, 35 HR, .444 SLG%, .394 OBA%, 97/127 SB

Team pitching: 4.54 ERA, 477.1 IP, 540 H, 168 BB, 283 K

Top hitters: Brett Schaefer (.384/10/58), Steve McGuiggan (.374/3/38), Jake Carr (.330/4/37), Tony Altavilla (.321/1/18/19 SB), Kevin Coddington (.308/3/29), Ty Rubio (.303/0/22), Rafael Garcia (.301/3/26).

Top pitchers: Adam Worthington (2-3, 5 SV, 2.98, 41.1 IP, 37 H, 14 BB, 36 K), Peter Ifft (2-0, 3.00, 33 IP, 22 H, 13 BB, 19 K), Derrick Miramontes (6-2, 3.31, 92.1 IP, 97 H, 22 BB, 45 K), Mike Kool (6-4, 3.92, 87.1 IP, 101 H, 23 BB, 33 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (1-2 at Long Beach Regional)

Notes: The Flames are back in the NCAA tourney four the fourth time since 2003 and the second straight year. Last year, they knocked off Long Beach State 4-1 on the first day (their first NCAA Regional win). They then lost 3-1 to UCLA and 4-3 to LBSU. Brett Schaefer went 11 for 15 with seven RBI and was the tourney MVP. He missed most of 2007 with a fractured wrist. He also missed all of 2005 with a fractured elbow and received a medical redshirt. Starter Mike Kool has allowed three earned runs in his last 24.1 innings and has three straight wins. Derrick Miramontes went 16-8 at Butte College prior to arriving at UIC. The Detroit Tigers’ Curtis Granderson played for the Flames.