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College Baseball Thoughts Heading Into The Season’s Home Stretch

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

The “weekend” starts early this week.  With most conference tournaments starting next Tuesday and Wednesday the start of the last week of most conference regular season series will start this Thursday instead of Friday.  In fact, so many conferences are starting on Thursday this week (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East to name a few) the Big 12 is about the only conference that is sticking with its regular Friday, Saturday, Sunday schedule.

Peter O'Brien

The MEAC starts its tournament this Thursday.  It would be a major upset if Bethune-Cookman doesn’t win the championship.  The top-seeded Wildcats (32-18, 18-0) are one of just two teams in the six-team field with a winning record (North Carolina A&T at 25-23 overall & 15-3 in league play is the other).  BC’s Peter O’Brien leads the MEAC and is tied for fourth in the nation with 19 home runs.

What happened to Portland? Just two weeks ago the Pilots were the nation’s feel good story heading into a home series with West Coast Conference leader San Diego.  Winners of 11 straight heading into that showdown, they had a chance to make a case for at least an at-large NCAA berth and an outside chance to claim the WCC title.  All that is gone now though.  After being swept by San Diego, Portland (31-16) lost a mid-week game to Washington State and was swept again last weekend by San Francisco.  That’s seven straight losses heading into Wednesday’s (5/18) home game vs. Oregon.  Ben Roethlisberger has about as much of a chance at being named Georgia’s Man of the Year as Portland now has to get an NCAA bid.

What happened to the Big Ten? A year ago at this time there were three Big Ten teams that had a legitimate chance to receive an NCAA bid, and that’s how many bids the league ended-up with.  Ohio State, Minnesota and Indiana all went to regionals, while Illinois just missed out after the Hoosiers won the conference tournament.  There won’t be three bids for the Big Ten this year though.  All ten teams are still in contention for the six spots in the conference tournament, but only the tourney winner will be NCAA bound this year.  Minnesota (25-27, 13-8) leads the conference, while Michigan State (32-17, 10-11) has the best overall record, but sits in a four-way tie for fifth place

Retiring head coach Bob Todd (OSU photo)

heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Speaking of Ohio State…The Buckeyes have to be the biggest disappointment in the conference.  OSU returned the conference Player and Pitcher of the Year (Dan Burkhart and Alex Wimmers, respectively) from last year’s regular season championship team, but they have floundered their way to a 27-21 overall mark, including 10-11 in conference play.  And if head coach Bob Todd was hoping for a “Corky Palmer effect” by announcing his retirement it hasn’t worked.  Palmer’s Southern Mississippi squad ran a hot streak all the way to Omaha after he announced his retirement before season’s end last year, but Todd’s Buckeyes have gone 3-4 with series losses to Illinois and Iowa since he announced his impending retirement on May 5.

Tony Thompson (KU photo)

Kansas finds itself in a rough situation this weekend. As they head into this weekend’s regular season ending series with Oklahoma, most current bracket projections have the Jayhawks (31-21 DI record, #54 NCAA RPI) staying home for the NCAA Tournament.  A look at the stats shows this year’s team is not much different than last year’s team that finished 39-24 after playing at the Chapel Hill Regional.  This year’s respective team batting average and ERA of .303 and 5.15 are pretty similar to the 2009 marks of .301 and 4.46.  The biggest difference appears to be the absence of the big bat Tony Thompson provided when he won the Big 12’s first triple crown by hitting .389 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs.  He was one of two Jayhawks to hit double-digit dingers last year, but so far no KU player has reached even 10 long balls in 2010.  Thompson fractured his left knee cap before the season started, and he hasn’t been able to fully regain his form in the 33 games he’s played since his return to the field.  Thompson is batting a respectable .325, but has just five home runs with 35 RBIs.  He also hasn’t seen as many pitches to hit this year.  After walking 21 times in 61 games and 247 at-bats as a sophomore, the junior has drawn 19 free passes in just 126 ABs this season.

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Six 2009 Semifinalists On 2010 List

USA Baseball announced Thursday its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented in 2010 for the 33rd time.

The Watch List features 50 of the nation’s top amateur talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, to be presented live on Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.

Headlining the 2010 Watch List are six athletes who were among the 30 semifinalists for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award. Those players are Daniel Bibona (LHP, Sr., UC Irvine), Bryce Brentz (OF/RHP, Jr., Middle Tennessee), Deck McGuire (RHP, Jr., Georgia Tech), Addison Reed (RHP, Jr., San Diego State), Anthony Rendon (3B, So., Rice) and Alex Wimmers (RHP, Jr., Ohio State).

“We’re very pleased to announce the 50 members of the preseason Watch List for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The level of amateur baseball talent in our country continues to rise each year, and there is no greater evidence of this than seeing six 2009 semifinalists named to the 2010 Watch List.”

The list of 50 names also features Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada, a junior. The freshman catcher is the only junior-college player named to the list. Alex Fernandez, as a sophomore pitcher for Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) in 1990, stands as the only junior-college player to ever win the Golden Spikes Award.

LSU leads all schools with four players named to the Watch List. Texas is second with three, and Alabama, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, Rice and Virginia have two apiece.

The SEC tops all conferences with 15 Watch List players. Other leading conferences include the ACC with 10 athletes, the Big 12 with five, and the Big West and Conference USA with three each. Juniors dominate the list with 35 players named. Sophomores are next with nine players, there are five seniors, and Harper is the lone freshman.

On Tuesday, June 1, USA Baseball officials will cut the list of players to 30 names. The final list of 30 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff — about 150 voters in total.

All voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 30 names. Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2010. June 1 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on goldenspikesaward.com. On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting for a winner will commence that same day.

The 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 13 on an award show via live telecast from Anaheim on goldenspikesaward.com, USABaseball.com and MLB.com in conjunction with All-Star FanFest.

Past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006), David Price (2007), Buster Posey (2008) and last year’s winner, Stephen Strasburg.

2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Important Dates

Thursday, Feb. 18 – 50-player Watch List released, shaped by USA Baseball officials, advisors and college SIDs
Tuesday, June 1 – 30 semifinalists announced, selected by USA Baseball officials; semifinalist voting begins; voters select five
Friday, June 4 – Deadline to vote for finalists, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 8 – Five finalists announced; finalist voting begins; voters to select one
Friday, June 18 – Deadline to vote for winner, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 13 – Golden Spikes Award presentation live at All-Star FanFest in Anaheim

Complete 2010 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List:

Name, School, Position, Class (in order of name)

Chad Bettis, Texas Tech, RHP, Junior
Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine, LHP, Senior
Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee, OF/RHP, Junior
Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington, OF, Junior
Gerrit Cole, UCLA, RHP, Sophomore
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS, Junior
Zack Cox, 3B/RHP, Arkansas, Sophomore
Todd Cunningham, OF, Junior
Blake Dean, LSU, Jacksonville State, 1B/OF, Senior
Sam Dyson, South Carolina, RHP, Junior
Brett Eibner, Arkansas, RHP/OF, Junior
Micah Gibbs, LSU, C, Junior
Sean Gilmartin, Florida State, LHP, Sophomore
Yasmani Grandal, University of Miami, C, Junior
Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Grimm, Georgia, RHP, Junior
Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia, 2B/3B, Junior
Rick Hague, Rice, SS, Junior
Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C/3B/OF, Freshman
Cody Hawn, Tennessee, 1B, Junior
Chris Hernandez, University of Miami, LHP, Junior
Tyler Holt, Florida State, OF, Junior
Danny Hultzen, Virginia, LHP/1B, Sophomore
Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Taylor Jungmann, Texas, RHP, Sophomore
Leon Landry, LSU, OF, Junior
Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Hunter Morris, Auburn, 1B/OF, Junior
Jarrett Parker, Virginia, OF, Junior
Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi, LHP, Junior
Anthony Ranaudo, LSU, RHP, Junior
Addison Reed, San Diego State, RHP, Junior
Anthony Rendon, Rice, 3B, Sophomore
Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton, RHP, Junior
Kyle Roller, East Carolina, 1B, Senior
Cameron Rupp, C, Junior, Texas
Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP, Junior
Jake Smith, Alabama, 3B/RHP, Senior
Josh Spence, Arizona State, LHP, Senior
Tony Thompson, Kansas, 3B, Junior
Preston Tucker, Florida, 1B, Sophomore
Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State, 3B/RHP, Junior
Austin Wates, Virginia Tech, OF, Junior
Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina, LHP, Junior
Ross Wilson, Alabama, 2B/SS, Junior
Alex Wimmers, Ohio State, RHP, Junior
Mickey Wiswall, Boston College, 3B/1B, Junior
Kolten Wong, Hawaii, 2B, Sophomore
Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina, 3B, Junior
Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP, Junior

Longhorns Look To Win Again

2009 Regular Season Champion:  Texas

2009 Tournament Champion:  Texas beat #3 seed Missouri 12-7 in the title game.

Postseason Power:  The Big 12 was well represented in the postseason with 8 of 10 teams that play baseball (Colorado and Iowa State do not) going to an NCAA Regional.  However, eventual national runner-up Texas was the only Big 12 team to even advance to a Super Regional.

Early Accolades:  Six Big 12 players, Tony Thompson (Kansas), Ryan Duke (Oklahoma) and Texas players Cameron Rupp, Chance Ruffin, Taylor Jungmann, and Cole Green have all received preseason All-American recognition.

Baylor

2009 Record:  (30-26, 10-16)

Mascot:  Bears

Head Coach:  Steve Smith

Location:  Waco, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 73 HR, .376 OBP, .983 Fld%…5.29 ERA, 2 CG, 10 SVs, 461 K, 224 BB, .292 opp. BA

Packed For Postseason:  2009 marked the 10th time in the last 12 seasons that Baylor made it to an NCAA Regional.  The Bears were 1-2 at last year’s Baton Rouge Regional.

Home Cookin’:  Baylor opens the season with an 18-game homestand.

Big Holes To Fill:  The Bears return five starters from last year’s team, but it’s not who’s back but who’s gone that is most significant.  Baylor loses it’s top thee run producers: Shaver Hansen (.330, 17 HR, 59 RBIs), Dustin Dickerson (.377, 10 HR, 41 RBIs) and Aaron Miller (.310, 12 HR, 47 RBIs).  They combined to hit more than half of the team’s 73 home runs.

Swing Man:  Logan Verrett (7-1, 5.13 ERA, 3 SVs) made five starts and 20 overall appearances.  He’s one of just three pitchers on the staff who had a winning record last year, and he’s the only one of the trio to pitch more than 37 innings.

Kansas

2009 Record:  (39-24, 15-12)

Mascot:  Jayhawks

Head Coach:  Ritch Price

Location:  Lawrence, KS

Vitals:  .301 BA, 61 HR, .389 OBP, .967 Fld%…4.46 ERA, 4 CG, 10 SV, 466 K, 179 BB, .267 opp. BA

Tourney Talk:  Kansas advanced to just the fourth NCAA Regional in school

Tony Thompson (KU photo)

history in 2009.  The Jayhawks were 2-2 at the Chapel Hill Regional.

Tony Terrific:  Junior 3B Tony Thompson exploded in 2009.  After hitting just .276 with 5 HR and 18 RBIs as a true freshman in 2008 Thompson won the first Triple Crown in Big 12 Conference history by batting .389 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs.  He sported an 1.195 OPS, and struck out just 35 times in 247 at-bats.

Line-Up Losses:  While Thompson is KU’s biggest returning bat, the Jayhawks also lose two solid bats from last year’s team.  David Narodowski (.354) and Buck Afinir (.333) combined to hit 18 HR with 106 RBIs.

Family Ties:  Junior RHP Brett Bochy (5-0, 4.34 ERA) is the son of San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, while Soph. OF Jason Brunansky (.280, 2 HR) is the son of former big leaguer Tom Brunansky.

Hurlin’ ‘Hawks:  Bochy is one of 8 veteran pitchers to return from last year’s NCAA squad.  Included are weekend starters Lee Ridenhour (6-3, 4.65 ERA) and T.J. Walz (8-3, 4.70 ERA), while bullpen stalwarts Bochy, Colton Murray (2-3, 3.23 ERA) and Travis Blankenship (3-2, 5.80 ERA) combined for 102 appearances (just two starts among them) 132 Ks and 45 BB.

Kansas State

2009 Record:  (43-18-1, 14-11-1)

Mascot:  Wildcats

Head Coach:  Brad Hill

Location:  Manhattan, KS

Vitals:  .317 BA, 58 HR, .399 OBP, .972 Fld%…4.52 ERA, 6 CG, 11 SV, 453 K, 169 BB, .282 opp. BA

Wild (cat) Ride: 2009 will forever be the season that all future K-State baseball teams are judged by.  The Wildcats set a school record for wins, while earning the first NCAA Tournament berth in the 113 years of the program.  Head Coach Brad Hill also earned Big 12 and ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.

Losses On The Mound…:  KSU loses its top two starting pitchers, including Big 12 Pitcher of the Year A.J. Morris (14-1, 2.09 ERA) who had 5 of the team’s 6 complete games. He and Lance Hoge (6-4, 4.54 ERA) notched nearly half of the

Jason King (KSU photo)

team’s wins.

…And Losses At The Plate: The Wildcats also have to replace their top three run producers from 2009 with Justin Bloxom (.361 BA, 12 HR, 63 RBIs), Jordan Cruz (.324, 11 HR, 52 RBIs) and Drew Biery (.329, 9 HR, 44 RBIs) all gone.  That trio accounted for more than half of the Cat’s 58 HR.

Wildcats Back:  Carter Jurica (.353, 4 HR, 46 RBIs), Nick Martini (.336, 4 HR, 50 RBIs) and Jason King (.316, 7 HR, 61 RBIs) give K-State a solid base to the line-up, while pitchers Thomas Rooke (5-2, 4.33 ERA) and James Allen (2-1, 5.50 ERA) also return.  The two combined to make 56 appearances with 99 Ks in 90 IP last year.

Missouri

2009 Record:  (35-27, 16-11)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Tim Jamieson

Location:  Columbia, MO

Vitals:  .272 BA, 41 HR,.964 Fld% …5.08 ERA, 6 CG, 12 SV, 492 K, 177 K

Tiger Fact:  Missouri’s 2009 NCAA bid gave Tim Jamieson’s team a seventh straight NCAA Regional berth.  Mizzou is one of just 14 programs in the country to receive NCAA bids from 2003-2009.  Missouri was 1-2 at the Oxford, MS Regional.  They lost twice to Western Kentucky and beat Monmouth.

Tough Losses:  Missouri loses both its staff pitching, Kyle Gibson (11-3, 3.21 ERA, 131 K), who went to Minnesota with the 22nd pick in last year’s draft, as well as its top bat,  Greg Folgia (.326, 12 HR, 70 RBIs) who was taken by Cleveland in the 40th round.

Draft Dodger:  Aaron Senne (.305, 6 HR, 43 RBIs) was picked by Minnesota in the 32nd round of last year’s draft, but chose to return for his senior season.

Bullpen By Committee:  Missouri had eight pitchers who appeared in at least 24 games in 2009.  On several occasions the Tigers at least eight pitchers for an inning in conference games.  Brad Buehler (1-3, 4.29 ERA, 8 SVs) led the team with 35 relief appearances for a total of 35.2 IP.  He and Tyler Clark (3-0, 2.86 ERA, 28 app.) are among the top returning bullpen arms.

Nebraska

2009 Record:  (25-28-1, 8-19)

Mascot:  Cornhuskers

Head Coach:  Mike Anderson

Location:  Lincoln, NE

Vitals:  .282 BA, 48 HR, .368 OBP, .970 Fld%…6.22 ERA, 4 CG, 6 SV, 361 K, 256 BB, .291 opp. BA

Rare Absence:  Nebraska failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, marking just the second time since 2000 that the Cornhuskers failed to reach the postseason.

Coaching Connections:  Nebraska assistant Dave Bingham led Kansas to the 1993 College World Series as head coach of the Jayhawks.  Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson was an assistant on the ‘Husker’s 2001 & 2002 CWS squads before leading his own team to Omaha in 2005.

Cornhusker Returnees:  Sr. OF Tyler Farst (.333, 3 HR, 36 RBIs) received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.  He was the only Cornhusker to receive All-Conference recognition.  Adam Bailey (.325, 12 HR, 50 RBIs) returns as well. 

Mound Experience: The Cornhuskers return a group of pitchers who combined to earn 23 of the team’s 25 total wins last year.  Mike Nesseth (5-4, 5.01 ERA) leads the group.  The senior led the pitching staff in wins, ERA, saves (2), and strikeouts with 73 in 64.2 IP.  He made 8 starts with 20 overall appearances, and tossed one of the team’s four complete games.   A handful of junior college transfers will also try to bolster a staff whose ERA ranked second to last in the Big 12 in ’09.

Two-Sport Cooper:  Sophomore Khiry Cooper (.229, 2 HR, 9 RBIs) had just 70 at-bats as a true freshman, but he’ll look for bigger contributions this year.  The 6’2 receiver/outfielder had 13 catches for 80 yards and a TD last fall for the Nebraska’s Holiday Bowl champion team.  Cooper was drafted in the 5th round by the L.A. Angels Of Anaheim coming out of high school.

Bulldog Bound:  Nebraska opens its season with a four-game series at Fresno State Feb. 19-22.

Oklahoma

2009 Record:  (43-20, 17-10)

Mascot:  Sooners

Head Coach:  Sunny Golloway

Location:  Norman, OK

Vitals:  .317 BA,  91 HR, .407 OBP, .973 Fld%…5.09 ERA, 3 CG, 16 SV, 495 K, 198 BB, .275 opp. BA

Out At Home:  Oklahoma hosted an NCAA Regional last year that included Arkansas, Wichita State and Washington State.  The Sooners made it to the championship round, but the Razorbacks advanced all the way to Omaha.

Ryan Duke (OU photo)

Sunny Days:  Since taking the helm at Oklahoma head coach Sunny Golloway has led OU to five straight NCAA berths.  That includes 2005 when he was 12-6 after taking over after Larry Cochell resigned.

The Duke Of Saves:  Junior closer Ryan Duke (3-1, 3.22) became the first Sooner pitcher since 2000 to earn All-American status after saving 16 games last season.  His save total led the Big 12 and ranked 6th in the nation.

Powered Down:  OU led the Big 12 with 91 HR in 2009, but loses its top four home run hitters.  Big 12 Player of the Year J.T. Wise (17 HR), Aaron Baker (15), Jamie Johnson (13), and Bryant Hernandez (12) are all gone.

Oklahoma State

2009 Record:  (36-24, 9-16)

Mascot:  Cowboys

Head Coach:  Frank Anderson

Location:  Stillwater, OK

Vitals:  .300 BA, 81 HR, .379 OBP, .976 Fld%…4.69 ERA, 3 CG, 15 SV, 516 K, 199 BB, .264 opp. BA

Power Outage: The Cowboys lose their top four power hitters from last years team.  Michael Dabbs (13 HR, 38 RBIs), Tyrone Hambly (10 HR, 41 RBIs), Neil Medchill (14 HR, 57 RBIs), Doug Kroll (10 HR, 36 RBIs) combined to smack 47 of OSU’s home runs.

Depleted Pitching:  The losses of starting pitchers Andrew Oliver (5-6, 5.30 ERA, 97 K in 88.1 IP),  and Tyler Blandford (7-4, 5.31 ERA, 97 K in 78 IP) and Randy McCurry (4-1, 2.16 ERA, 10 SVs) leave big holes to fill in the weekend rotation as well as the back end of the bullpen.

California Dreamin’:  After opening its season at home on Feb. 20 with one game vs. Oklahoma Christian, OSU plays USC, UCLA and Vanderbilt the following weekend at the Dodgertown Classic in L.A.

Kevin Keyes hit 9 HR last year for Texas.

Texas

2009 Record:  (50-16-1, 17-9-1)

Mascot:  Longhorns

Head Coach:  Augie Garrido

Location:  Austin, TX

Vitals:  .288 BA, 53 HR, .377 OBP, .976 Fld%…2.95 ERA, 6 CG, 18 SV, 556 K, 189 BB, .227 opp. BA

Armed & Ready:  Closer Austin Wood (6-1, 2.61 ERA, 15 SVs) is one of the two pitchers Texas loses from a staff whose 2.95 ERA

Taylor Jungmann

ranked second in the nation.   Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00 ERA), Cole Green (5-3, 3.34 ERA) and Chance Ruffin (10-3, 3.32 ERA) are among the notable returnees.

Play Small:  The Longhorn offense was second to last in the Big 12 with 53 home runs, but led the nation with 104 sacrifice bunts last year.

Loaded Line-Up:  Texas loses five players who started at least 43 games last year, but they return some of their most productive players including Kevin Keyes (.305, 9 HR, 46 RBIs), catcher Cameron Rupp (.292, 11 HR, 46 RBIs), Brandon Loy (.288) who tied for the NCAA lead with 25 sac bunts, and Russell Moldenhauer (.262, 4 HR, 14 RBIs).  Moldenhauer started just 26 games last year due to injury, and he hit all four of his home runs at the College World Series.

Texas A&M

2009 Record:  (37-24, 14-13)

Mascot:  Aggies

Head Coach:  Rob Childress

Location:  College Station, TX

Vitals:  .298 BA, 85 HR, .392 OBP, .971 Fld%…4.49 ERA, 2 CG, 13 SV, 568 K, 172 BB, .261 opp. BA

Crowd Favorites:  Texas A&M ranked 9th in the nation with an average of 4,076 fans per game at Olsen Field in 2009.

One Step Back:  After going to back-to-back Super Regionals for the first time in program history in 2007 & 2008, the Aggies were just 1-2 at the Ft. Worth Regional last year.  Both losses were to Oregon State.

Trade-Off:  While the Aggies did lose Luke Anders (13 HR) and Kyle Colligan (15 HR), Brodie Green and Joe Patterson return to lead a team that hit the second-most home runs in the conference last year.   Colligan hit his team-leading 15 HR in 233 AB, while Patterson’s 12 HR came in just 145 AB.

Pitching The Pill:  Head coach Rob Childress’ forte is piching, and while the Aggies didn’t have the eye-popping 2.95 ERA that Texas had in ’09 his staff still tied for second with Kansas in the Big 12 at 4.49.  Ross Hales (6-2, 4.11 ERA) is the top starter back, while Nick Fleece (4-1, 3.54 ERA, 5 SVs) is the only returning reliever (of four) who combined for the team’s 13 saves last year.

Texas Tech

2009 Record:  (25-32, 12-15)

Mascot:  Red Raiders

Head Coach:  Dan Spencer

Location:  Lubbock, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 40 HR, .382 OBP, .959 Fld%…6.31 ERA, 2 CG, 12 SV, 409 K, 266 BB, .304 opp. BA

Experience:  The Red Raiders return seven of their top nine batters from last year’s squad, including C Jeremy Mayo (.313, 11 HR, 35 RBIs).  Three other returnees hit .327 or better.  However, the team that finished last in the Big 12 with just 40 HR loses its top home run hitter, Chris Richburg (.341, 14 HR, 60 RBIs), who led the team in nearly every offensive category.

Home Boy:  Lubbock RHP Chad Bettis (6-1, 3.59 ERA) did a little of everything last year.  He was the only Tech pitcher with a winning record, he started four games, made 19 relief appearances, tossed one of the staff’s two complete games, and earned 7 of the Red Raider’s 12 saves.

2010 Big 12 Predictions

Player of the Year:  Tony Thompson-Kansas – The junior takes the honor a year after winning the first Triple Crown in the history of the Big 12 Conference.

Pitcher of the Year:  Taylor Jungmann-Texas

Conference Champion:  Texas – There’s just too much great pitching and too many key line-up contributors back for them not to repeat.

Kansas’ Field Of Dreams: KU, K-State & Wichita State Make The NCAA Tournament

Wichita State head coach Gene Stephenson

made in to an NCAA Regional in the same season for the first time ever.

While Wichita State has been as successful as its own high standards in recent years, 2009 was largely business as usual for the Shockers.  Stephenson’s squad advanced to its 27th NCAA regional this year.  But consider this:  WSU’s seven College World Series trips prior to ’09 are more than twice as many NCAA appearances (3) as Kansas and Kansas State had combined before last season.

Kansas State earned its first baseball win in program history back in 1897.  Entering 2009 the Wildcats had amassed a little more than 1,500 wins, but none of them had ever come in an NCAA Tournament game.  In fact, none of their losses had ever come in an NCAA game either.  Prior to head coach Brad Hill’s arrival in June of 2003 K-State had never been to the NCAAs, and they had qualified for exactly one Big 12 Tournament.

Hill came to Manhattan from Central Missouri State where he had guided the Mules to seven Division II College World

2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year Brad Hill

Series berths in his nine seasons in Warrensburg, Mo.   Hill’s program overhaul didn’t happen overnight, but the turning point toward respectability was probably in 2005.

On April 3, 2005, in Hill’s second season at the helm, Kansas State beat top-ranked Texas 5-3 in their series finale at Disch-Falk Field.  Texas would go on to win the national championship that season, while KSU wouldn’t sniff the postseason, but it was a monumental win for a program on the rise.  It marked the nearly 110 year old program’s first ever win over a number one ranked team, and after 17 tries it was also the Wildcat’s first ever win over the Longhorns-the standard bearer for baseball in the Big 12.

K-State finished 2008 with a 29-29 record, but the momentum of a run to the Big 12 title game (and loss to Texas) heading into the 2009 season.  The Wildcats went 43-18-1 this past season, and they were just flat better across the

A.J. Morris was 14-1 in 2009

board.  The team ERA dropped from 5.12 in ’08 to 4.52 in ’09, and the team batting average and home run totals jumped from .261/36 to .317/58.

The biggest individual improvements came from Justin Bloxom and A.J. Morris.  Bloxom hit just .288 with 8 HR and 49 RBIs as a junior, but he blossomed to .361/12/63 (all team-highs) in his final season in Manhattan.  Morris had won just 8 games in his first three seasons pitching in Wildcat purple (he redshirted his freshman season in 2006), but he was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year this past season after going 14-1 with a 2.09 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 116.1 innings.

K-State made its NCAA debut at the Houston Regional where Hill rolled the dice in the opener.  Instead of starting his ace, Hill went with Lance Hoge, who was victorious in a 16-8 win over Xavier.  Morris gave-up 13 hits the next day in a complete game 7-6 win over the host Owls.  KSU lost its next two games though to Rice, which advanced to a Super Regional match-up with eventual national champion LSU.

The transformation wasn’t quite as dramatic for Ritch Price as Kansas.  The Jayhawks had been to the NCAA

KU's Ritch Price

tournament twice prior to Hill’s arrival in Lawrence in July of 2002, but KU hadn’t been to an NCAA Regional since 1994-the year after the Jayhawks made it all the way to their only College World series appearance.

Price is now heading into his eighth season at the Kansas helm, and his teams have won at least 30 games six times.  Prices’s Jayhawks won their first conference title in nearly 50 years in 2006, to earn the program’s first NCAA bid since ’94.

Kansas started the season with the excitement of Schaeffer Hall’s no-hitter (click for podcast interview) vs. Air Force on opening day, and then started Big 12 play a little more than a month later with a 3-game sweep of top-ranked Texas.  The wins would propel the Jayhawks to a 39-24 overall record and 15-12

Tony Thompson won the Big 12 Triple Crown in 2009

conference mark-improvements of nine and six wins respectively from the previous season.

KU’s offense was spearheaded by Tony Thompson.  The sophomore third baseman hit just .276 with 5 HR and 18 RBIs as a freshman, but he made history in 2009 by becoming the first player to win the Big 12 Triple Crown.  Thompson led the conference in batting average (.389) home runs (21) and RBIs (82).  His efforts helped the Kansas offense go from a .261 hitting team with just 36 home runs in  2008 to a .301 average with 58 longballs last season.

Thompson

(Click play to listen to a podcast interview that Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires recorded with Thompson last spring.)

The Jayhawks’ 17-7 win over arch-rival Kansas State to end the regular season gave them 25 home wins in 2009-the 2nd most in program history.

Despite an 0-3 mark at the Big 12 Tournament, KU earned the fourth NCAA bid in the 118 years of the program.  The Jayhawks made it to the championship game of the Chapel Hill, NC Regional, but lost 12-1 to the host North Carolina.  The Tar Heels would go on to their fourth straight College World Series appearance.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes Out 17 In A No-Hitter

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

LSU’s Ranaudo Tabbed Preseason National Player of the Year