1. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
At-large bid from ACC
2017 record: 19-11, 39-18
Head coach: Tom Walter (Georgetown 1991)
Record at school: 235-216 (8 years)
Overall record: 663-547 (21 years)
Assistant coaches: Bill Cilento, Matt Hobbs, Joey Hammond
Team offense: .308 BA, 445 R, 96 HR, .510 SLG%, .402 OBP%, 38-53 SB
Team pitching: 4.15 ERA, 507.2 IP, 474 H, 223 BB, 498 K
Top hitters: Jake Mueller (.354/2/30), Stuart Fairchild (.353/15/59), Ben Breazeale (.348/7/44), Gavin Sheets (.319/20/79)
Top pitchers: Connor Johnstone (7-0, 3.46 ERA, 80.2 IP, 72 H, 31 BB, 56 K), Parker Dunshee (9-1, 4.16 ERA, 88.2 IP, 89 H, 26 BB, 98 K), Donnie Sellers (3-5, 4.34 ERA, 74.2 IP, 72 H, 24 BB, 53 K), Griffin Roberts (1-4 8 Sv, 2.31 ERA, 46.2 IP, 27 H, 29 BB, 67 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2016 (1-2 at College Station Regional)
Notes: Wake Forest made their first NCAA regional appearance since 2007 a year ago and built on by earning the 3 seed in the ACC tournament after being picked preseason to finish 5th in the Atlantic Division. The 19 ACC wins set a school record as did its eight series wins. WFU has been ranked nationally in the top-25 since early April for the first time in at least a decade reaching as high as No. 12.
The Demon Deacons boast one of the most powerful offenses in the country as their 94 homers lead the nation and .512 slugging percentage ranks fifth. They have five batters who have hit double digit in home runs including the top two in the ACC (Sheets, 20, Johnny Aiello 18). Sheets’ 79 RBIs leads the country. First-team all-ACC selection and Dick Howser Award semifinalist Stuart Fairchild ranks in the top 5 in the ACC in runs, total bases and RBIs and is recognized as one of the best outfielders in the country. Joining Fairchild as first-team all-ACC selections were Sheets (1B) and Breazeale (C). Breazeale was named as a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award.
Wake is a combined 21-6 in starts this year by Dunshee and Johnstone. Power can also be used to describe the Deac’s pitching staff with Dunshee as the school’s leader in strikeouts and closer Griffin Roberts is averaging 13K/9 and only allowing batters to hit . 154.
2. West Virginia Mountaineers
Morgantown, West Virginia
At-large bid from the Big 12
2017 record: 12-12, 34-23 (fourth in Big 12)
Head coach: Randy Mazey (Clemson, 1988)
Record at school: 157-124 (5 years)
Overall record: 345-284-2 (11 years)
Assistant coaches: Derek Matlock, Steve Sabins, Cody Atkinson
Team offense: .288 BA, 342 R, 45 HR, .415 SLG%, .370 OBP%, 72-108 SB
Team pitching: 4.14 ERA, 515.2 IP, 461 H, 234 BB, 488 K
Top hitters: Ivan Gonzalez (.314/4/25), Kyle Davis (.312/8/41), Cole Austin (.303/6/39), Darius Hill (.303/4/44), Brandon White (.280/0/14), Jackson Cramer (.279/10/43)
Top pitchers: Sam Kessler (1-2, 2.55, 35.1 IP, 27 H, 17 BB, 36 K), Braden Zarbnisky (6-1, 6 SV, 2.63, 37.2 IP, 31 H, 17 BB, 44 K), Michael Grove (3-1, 2.87, 47 IP, 29 H, 15 BB, 61 K), Alek Manoah (1-1, 3.10, 52.1 IP, 40 H, 32 BB, 44 K), BJ Myers (4-4, 4.15, 89 IP, 91 H, 17 BB, 71 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 1996 (2-2 at Clemson Regional)
Notes: West Virginia is in the Regionals for the first time since 1996 – it went 2-2 at the Clemson Regional. Coach Randy Mazey was a head coach at Charleston Southern and East Carolina before assisting at TCU and eventually being hired by WVU. The Mountaineers use a lot of arms – eight pitchers tabbed more than 30 innings, and only one (BJ Myers) has more than 55. Sophomore Michael Grove limited hitters to a .174 average this season and has 117 strikeouts in 92 innings spanning two years. Senior Jackson Cramer has 28 career homers.
3. Maryland Terrapins
College Park, Maryland
At-large bid from the Big Ten
2017 record: 15-9, 37-21 (tied for fourth in Big Ten)
Head coach: John Szefc (Drexel, 1989)
Record at school: 179-120 (5 years)
Overall record: 388-254-3 (12 years)
Assistant coaches: Rob Vaughan, Ryan Fecteau, Corey Haines
Team offense: .283 BA, 363 R, 69 HR, .450 SLG%, .377 OBP%, 62-92 SB
Team pitching: 4.40 ERA, 517.2 IP, 572 H, 215 BB, 453 K
Top hitters: Brandon Gum (.330/4/32), Marty Costes (.326/11/42), AJ Lee (.318/8/35), Zach Jancarski (.317/3/25), Kevin Smith (.269/11/42), Nick Dunn (.267/4/30), Will Watson (.263/5/30)
Top pitchers: John Murphy (2-0, 1.26, 28.2 IP, 18 H, 8 BB, 23 K), Andrew Miller (2-2, 3 SV, 1.96, 18.1 IP, 9 H, 6 BB, 17 K), Brian Shaffer (7-3, 2.18, 103.1 IP, 81 H, 18 BB, 102 K), Ryan Selmer (2-1, 8 SV, 2.20, 41 IP, 41 H, 11 BB, 26 K), Tyler Blohm (8-6, 3.62, 72 IP, 62 H, 32 BB, 67 K), Taylor Bloom (6-2, 3.98, 81.1 IP, 94 H, 23 BB, 53 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2015 (2-2 at Springfield Regional)
Notes: The Terrapins are making their third appearance in the past four years – their previous two appearances ended with trips to the Super Regionals. Maryland ranks 11th in the nation in stolen bases. Brian Shaffer has been brilliant on the mount – opponents hit .218, and he’s struck out 102 compared to 18 walks. Junior Kevin Smith has been a starter at shortstop since Day 1 and had a huge year in the Cape Cod League last summer – he’s hit 26 homers in his three seasons.
4. UMBC Retrievers
New Britain, Connecticut
Automatic bid from NEC
2017 record: 11-9, 23-23 (second in America East)
Head coach: Bob Mumma (UMBC, 1993)
Record at school: 130-167 (6 years)
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Liam Bowen, Larry Williams, Tim O’Brien
Team offense: .294 BA, 261 R, 27 HR, .416 SLG%, .372 OBP%, 44-63 SB
Team pitching: 5.63 ERA, 388.2 IP, 450 H, 163 BB, 271 K
Top hitters: Hunter Dolshun (.333/9/34), Andrew Casali (.332/2/19), Collin Stack (.326/0/21), Zack Bright (.305/1/18), Raven Beeman (.298/3/19), Jamie Switalksi (.294/4/27)
Top pitchers: Michael Austin (4-2, 4.21, 62 IP, 68 H, 20 BB, 45 K), Matt Chanin (4-5, 4.52, 61.2 IP, 58 H, 19 BB, 44 K), Jacob Christian (5-3, 5.93, 57.2 IP, 60 H, 19 BB, 53 K), Mitchell Wilson (5-3, 6.14, 44 IP, 61 H, 17 BB, 25 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2001 (0-2 at Wilson Regional)
Notes: The Retrievers are making their third NCAA appearance after winning their first America East title. UMBC earned its trip with a 2-1 win over Maine on a walkoff walk. Coach Bob Mumma is the school’s all-time leader in homers (42) and is second in RBI (152) – he was a 13th round pick of the Chicago White Sox. Senior catcher Hunter Dolshun is a four-year starter and has posted averages of .304, .293, .354 and .333 in his career.