The Road to Omaha starts today as the 2019 college baseball season gets rolling.
When last we left the sport, a misplayed foul ball opened the door for Oregon State to rally to beat Arkansas in the second game of the College World Series Championship Series. The Beavers won their third national title a day later.
With Opening Day upon us, here’s what we’re watching this season.
New Skippers
A few months after capturing the national championship, Pat Casey surprised the college baseball world by announcing his retirement. Pat Bailey, who’s spent 11 seasons as an assistant to Casey, was named the interim head coach for the 2019 season. Bailey is one of 21 new coaches this season (Akron announced former big leaguer Chris Sabo will be its coach when the program returns in 2020). A few we’re most intrigued by: Matt Bragga, who replaces the legendary Wayne Graham, at Rice; Chris Lemonis, the former Louisville assistant who became a head coach at Indiana and moved on to Mississippi State; and three other first-time coaches who replace legends – Gino DiMare (Jim Morris) at Miami, Ben Orloff (Mike Gillespie) at UC Irvine and Rucker Taylor (Dick Cooke) at Davidson.
Old Skippers
Another legend will call it a career after the 2019 season. Mike Martin has done everything at Florida State but win a national championship. The all-time leader in wins (1,987), Martin has guided the Seminoles to 40 or more wins and the NCAA Tournament in each of his 39 seasons. He’s never had a bad year. It’s absurd. And just this week, UNC Wilmington coach Mark Scalf announced that this year, his 28th, will be his last. Rather quietly, Scalf’s Seahawks have won 909 games – an average of 34 wins a year – during his time in Wilmington. And what can you say about Siena’s Tony Rossi, who is in his 50thyear leading the Saints? How about golden?
New Digs
Construction at college baseball stadiums continues around the country. Fans got a sneak peek at a partially finished Dudy Noble Field at Mississippi State last year. The finished product goes on display this year. Ditto for Virginia Tech, whose English Field was partially done last year. Among others, we’re excited to see Kentucky’s new Kentucky Proud Park. On the horizon are new parks at Oklahoma State (2020) and Florida (2021).
The SEC
Three of the top five teams in the CBI Preseason Composite Poll. Six of the top 13. LSU and Vanderbilt have split No. 1 among the six national polls; they are 1-2 in the CBI Composite Poll, with Florida checking in at No. 5. Ole Miss, Georgia and Mississippi State check in at 11, 12 and 13. That leaves Arkansas as the seventh-best team in the league, according to the pollsters, at No. 16. For what it’s worth, three SEC teams finished in the Top 5 in RPI (WarrenNolan.com) last year; five were in the Top 10.
And the ACC
While no ACC teams are in the Top 6 of the CBI Preseason Composite Poll, North Carolina (7), Louisville (9) and Florida State (10) crack the top 10.
What about the West Coast?
UCLA is poised to make a run at a Pac-12 title and deep run in the NCAA Tournament. And Stanford is loaded again. Oh, and don’t forget about those Beavers – they’ve won back-to-back national titles before. The Bruins are No. 3, the Beavers No. 6 and Cardinal No. 8 in the CBI Preseason Composite Poll.
The Outsider
The only team from outside the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 to crack the Top 10 in our preseason poll is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have reached Omaha in 2014, 2016 and 2018. While the odd years haven’t ended in Omaha, Tim Tadlock’s crew is poised for their first back-to-back trips.
The Arms
Oregon State rode the right arm of Kevin Abel in the clinching game of last year’s College World Series. Out West, he’s joined by UC Irvine’s Andrew Pallante. Plenty of pro scouts will be in the state of North Carolina, where Elon features two draft-ready arms in Kyle Brnovich and George Kirby and Duke’s Graeme Stinson will be on display. Georgia State features Hunter Gaddis, and St. John’s has a terrific arm in Sean Mooney. Florida State’s Drew Parrish gives coach Mike Martin a bona fide ace in his last year. Mason Feole at Connecticut is another lefty to watch. Others to watch: Minnesota’s Patrick Fredrickson; Northeastern’s Sean Mellen; TCU’s Nick Lodolo; Stanford’s Jack Little; Jacksonville’s Chris Mauloni; Vanderbilt’s Drake Fellows; LSU’s Zack Hess; Samford’s Samuel Strickland; Rice’s Matt Canterino; Southeastern Louisiana’s Carlisle Koestler; and Saint Mary’s Ken Waldichuk.
The Bats
The West features some of the biggest returning bats, and three big ones are in the Pac-12. California’s Andrew Vaughn ranked second in the country in slugging, third in homers and eighth in average last year, while Arizona State’s Spencer Torkelson led the country in homers as a freshman with 25 and was third in slugging. Then there’s Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman, who hit for average, power and production, ranking second in the nation with 83 RBI. Texas Tech’s Josh Jung, like Rutschman, does it all at the plate. And Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum and Tennessee Tech’s Kevin Strohschein are hits machines. Others to watch: Arkansas’ Casey Martin and Hunter Kjerstad; East Carolina’s Bryant Packard; UNLV’s Bryson Stott; Bryant’s Ryan Ward; Grand Canyon’s Quin Cotton; North Carolina’s Michael Busch; and Southern Miss’ Matt Wallner.