1 Clemson Tigers
Clemson, South Carolina
At-large bid from ACC
2017 record: 17-13 (ACC), 39-19
Head coach: Monte Lee (College of Charleston, 2000)
Record at school: 83-39 (2 years)
Overall record: 359-184 (9 years)
Assistant coaches: Bradley LeCroy, Andrew See, Greg Starbuck
Team offense: .286 BA, 366 R, 69 HR, .452 SLG%, .385 OBP%, 48-66 SB
Team pitching: 3.53 ERA, 524.2 IP, 516 H, 135 BB, 531 K
Top hitters: Reed Rohlman (.375/6/33), Chase Pinder (.318/7/31), Seth Beer (.291/14/51), Chris Williams (.270/14/51)
Top pitchers: Charlie Barnes (5-4, 2.73 ERA, 95.2 IP, 85 H, 21 BB, 109 K), Pat Krall (8-3, 3.63 ERA, 84.1 IP, 95 H, 29 BB, 64 K), Tyler Jackson (8-1, 4.00 ERA, 74.1 IP, 80 H, 9 BB, 65 K), Alex Eubanks (6-5, 4.12 ERA, 94 IP, 93 H, 14 BB, 97 K), Ryley Gilliam (3-1, 4 SV, 1.56 ERA, 34.2 IP, 24 H, 14 BB, 50 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2016 (2-2 at Clemson Regional)
Notes: After winning the ACC Tournament in 2016, Clemson went 0-2 in 2017 losing to Duke and Virginia. The Tigers were ranked in the Top 5 nationally in various polls throughout April before going 5-8 in May and had a 9-game losing streak in ACC games in late April and early May. CU boasts one of the most consistent starting pitching staff’s in the country with Barnes, Krall and Eubanks making all 30 ACC starts with grad transfer Jackson making 12 of 14 mid-week starts. Second team all-ACC selection Krall moved to the rotation after being an all-American reliever in 2016. Their 8 shutouts tied them for sixth nationally and team ERA of 3.53 is in the Top 25. Clemson went 14-0 in mid-week games. Second team All-ACC selection and Dick Howser Award semifinalist Seth Beer remains one of the best in the ACC at getting on base combining 60 hits, 56 walks and 12 hit by pitch ranking in the top-5 in the league (.462 OBP) reaching base in every ACC game this year. Deep lineup with eight regulars posting batting averages at .270 or better. Freshman shortshop Logan Davidson joins Beer and Williams with double digit home runs (11) and has started every game this year for the Tigers. Rohlman was a first-team all-ACC selection and leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage and ranked in the top 5 in both in the conference.
2 Vanderbilt Commodores
Nashville, Tennessee
At-large bid from SEC
2017 record: 15-13-1, 33-22-1 (third in SEC East)
Head coach: Tim Corbin (Ohio Wesleyan, 1984)
Record at school: 643-312-1 (15 years)
Overall record: 749-450-1 (21 years)
Assistant coaches: Scott Brown, D.J. Svihlik, Aaron Gershenfeld
Team offense: .279 BA, 373 R, 47 HR, .422 SLG%, .378 OBP%, 50-74 SB
Team pitching: 3.54 ERA, 505.2 IP, 412 H, 203 BB, 497 K
Top hitters: Will Toffey (.337/8/52), Julian Infante (.326/11/62), Jeren Kendall (.306/15/44/18-22 SB), Jason Delay (.301/2/36), Reed Hayes (.294/0/35)
Top pitchers: Patrick Raby (9-3, 2.24, 92.1 IP, 75 H, 26 BB, 82 K), Kyle Wright (4-5, 2.91, 89.2 IP, 67 H, 27 BB, 104 K), Drake Fellows (3-2, 3.38, 1 SV, 56 IP, 48 H, 15 BB, 61 K), Reed Hayes (0-2, 5.40, 7 SV, 18.1 IP, 17 H, 10 BB, 22 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2016 (0-2 at Nashville Regional)
Notes: The Commodores are in the NCAA tourney for the 12th straight year and 13th time under head coach Tim Corbin. Vanderbilt won the national championship in 2014. VU is 1-0 all-time against St. John’s, a 7-2 win in 10 innings in 2001 in the Wiregrass Baseball Classic in Dothan, Ala. The Commodores are 1-1 against Clemson, splitting a pair of games in 1986. Associate head coach Scott Brown worked 10 seasons at St. John’s prior to coming to Vanderbilt. The Commodores have never faced UNCG. Jeren Kendall and Kyle Wright were All-SEC First Team. Vanderbilt had 466 wins over the past 10 years, the most in the nation.
3 St. John‘s Red Storm
Queens, New York
At-large bid from Big East
2017 record: 13-5, 42-11 (second in Big East)
Head coach: Ed Blankmeyer (Seton Hall, 1976)
Record at school: 758-458-4 (22 years)
Overall record: same
Assistant coaches: Mike Hampton, Corey Muscara, Matt Wessinger
Team offense: .327 BA, 401 R, 35 HR, .458 SLG%, .411 OBP%, 51-64 SB
Team pitching: 2.97 ERA, 484.1 IP, 416 H, 178 BB, 408 K
Top hitters: Troy Dixon (.394/3/34), Michael Donadio (.379/4/37/10-12 SB), John Valente (.372/2/33), Jesse Berardi (.358/4/47/12-15 SB), Gui Gingras (.336/5/37), Jamie Galazin (.327/2/34/13-14 SB), Anthony Brocato (.324/8/47)
Top pitchers: Sean Mooney (8-1, 1.22, 96 IP, 60 H, 16 BB, 85 K), Gavin Hollowell (2-1, 1.65, 3 SV, 32.2 IP, 22 H, 14 BB, 37 K), Ryan McAuliffe (4-0, 1.85, 1 SV, 34 IP, 24 H, 14 BB, 28 K), Joe LaSorsa (7-1, 1.88, 1 SV, 48 IP, 38 H, 13 BB, 39 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2015 (2-2 at Stillwater Regional)
Notes: Ed Blankmeyer batted .320 in four seasons at Seton Hall. The second baseman helped the Pirates reach the College World Series in 1974 and 1975. St. John’s is in the NCAA Tournament for the 36th time in program history. St. John’s is one win away from the program record for victories in a season. The Red Storm ranked third in the nation in batting at .327. Eight of its nine starters are hitting .305 or higher. Senior catcher Troy Dixon is batting .394 and is a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award.
4 UNCG Spartans
Greensboro, North Carolina
Automatic bid – won Southern Conference Tournament
2017 record: 14-10, 35-22 (tied for third in SoCon)
Head coach: Link Jarrett (Florida State, 1994)
Record at school: 141-129 (5 years)
Overall record: same
Assistant coaches: Jerry Edwards, Joey Holcomb, Sean Guite
Team offense: .325 BA, 428 R, 42 HR, .472 SLG%, .395 OBP%, 58-84 SB
Team pitching: 5.02 ERA, 498 IP, 508 H, 219 BB, 470 K
Top hitters: Caleb Webster (.397/0/38), Andrew Moritz (.390/3/37/16-20 SB), Ben Spitznagel (.362/1/31/12-18 SB), Tripp Shelton (.330/6/45), Austin Embler (.329/3/35), Michael Goss (.320/8/52), Cesar Trejo (.284/10/54)
Top pitchers: Andrew Wantz (6-4, 4.15, 4 SV, 65 IP, 53 H, 25 BB, 62 K), Matt Frisbee (7-4, 4.37, 90.2 IP, 84 H, 28 BB, 72 K), Jack Maynard (3-3, 4.43, 3 SV, 65 IP, 65 H, 24 BB, 75 K), Bryce Hensley (7-7, 4.59, 86.1 IP, 89 H, 28 BB, 76 K), Chad Sykes (1-0, 4.79, 7 SV, 20.2 IP, 24 H, 11 BB, 24 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 1997 (1-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)
Notes: Link Jarrett was an assistant at Flagler, Mercer, Florida State, East Carolina and Auburn before becoming head coach at UNCG. The Spartans are making their third NCAA Tournament appearance. They went in 1994 and 1997 after winning the Big South Tournament.