Latest / Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball / 2026 College Baseball Midseason Report — SEC, ACC, Big 10 & Top 25 Easter Weekend Preview - Ep. 161

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2026 College Baseball Midseason Report — SEC, ACC, Big 10 & Top 25 Easter Weekend Preview - Ep. 161 · Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

• 0:02
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• 1:11
  Speaker B: welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kirikidis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing?
• 1:18
  Speaker A: Great. How are you?
• 1:19
  Speaker B: Got an awesome guest on. As usual, we're at the midweek point, so those of you who listen, you know exactly who's on the pod today. Mr. Jonathan Grasse.
• 1:28
  Speaker C: Sup, guys? Thanks for having me on.
• 1:31
  Speaker B: I didn't even notice. We got the background rolling again.
• 1:34
  Speaker C: Got a back special.
• 1:36
  Speaker B: Special. We're close to the halfway point here, and, you know, we did our preseason pot. I think we got a couple things right. We got a couple things that probably aren't looking so good, but I think we got some good talking points here today. So we're gonna. We're gonna cover a couple things. First thing, we'll do a little round table here of. Talk to me a little bit about some surprises, some. Some teams that have maybe overperformed expectations, perhaps. Maybe that's the best way to put it. What do we got here, Mr. Grass? We'll start with the guest first.
• 2:13
  Speaker C: Yeah, I got. I got two big ones. One, one, I'll. I'll kind of put on the second here. But the. For my first one's Central Florida, I think they've done a phenomenal job. They were kind of trending in this direction the last, like, few years. New staff, they've done a really good job. Their pitching staff this year is ridiculous. Like, those first three are going to be a problem. I don't know if they're going to be able to get into a spot where they can even consider, you know, be in consideration for hosting. But they're going to be a problem as a 2 seed, especially in a building that, you know, is not, you know, like a super offensive building. I think they're going to be an absolute problem as a two or, you know, three seed if they kind of have a hiccup here. But kind of what they've done so far, you know, in the Big 12, they're in first in the Big 12 right now. Those first three are going to be going to be an issue for. For somebody, you know, as we get, you know, further down the line here. And then my second one, I think, is. Is a slam dunk. They're in the top 25 this week. We've kind of had them on our radar, you know, in our group chat, you know, for the last, like, two weeks. I would say really maybe three weeks. But what that staff has done up in Boston Colleges is ridiculous. You know, I mean, they're, you know, I think they're technically in second place in the ACC. They're 8 and 3, you know, or 8 and 4, I believe they are. You know, but to have eight wins through your first 12, you know, the first two have to be on the road because that's just the way they, you know, they operate. They only had a home game, I think, two weeks ago, was their first home game of the year, was a midweek. So what they've done has been, you know, phenomenal. They grabbed two from Virginia this past weekend. They had a lead through, I think it was through six or seven on Sunday, too, to go and sweep them, I mean, that would have been incredible. You know, for them to, you know, even be in that position was. Was super impressive. You know, if you, if you're just counting wins, right, and you're. And you're figuring out, you know, how are you going to get in and, you know, not even looking at seating, but just, you know, who's going to get in from that league? I mean, you know, they're basically halfway there. I mean, last year, Notre Dame at 14, when they did not get in. So if you just say, hey, 15 or 16 from the ACC gets you in. You know, you're. They're the halfway point. You know, they're. They're halfway home and they have, you know, 18 to go. They put themselves in a really, really, really good spot. I mean, again, they're, you know, they're not going to get in, I don't think, you know, a spot to host or anything like that. But, you know, they're going to be a problem as a two seed. You know, Ryan Forrest, their pitching coach, has done a phenomenal job with the development of that staff. They're playing the way that Todd wants to play. You know, they're, they're small ball and you know, people, they're running, you know, they're doing a lot of really, really, really good things. And you know, I think, I would say in terms of most impressive, you know, Division one teams, I think you got it. You got to, you got to put them up there.
• 5:15
  Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. UCF's a good call out because I think that they fly. They've flown under the radar for a little while, but I think this year they're, they're, they. To your point, they could be a problem. Coach Glass, who, What do you got?
• 5:31
  Speaker A: I think one of my surprise, I guess I don't know if it would be a surprise if you follow college baseball, but I think that, and I think they've hit a little bit of a lull in their last 10. But I thought the start that Cincinnati got off to this year was rather impressive. They took a series of Jacksonville State, who was a regional team last year. They beat Auburn and they've, I think they've, they're four and five, I believe, or five, maybe close to 500 in the, the Big 12. But man, can they play there. They can. They are a very, very well coached baseball team. I feel like they've kind of been on the cusp the last couple of years and this year it looks like they've, you know, in the handful of games that I've, as my video disappears, the handful of games that I've watched, I've probably watched seven or eight of their games. Like they, they play tough, they play hard, they play the right way, they can pitch it, they can play defense. Their offense is pretty dynamic. So I think that, you know, I don't necessarily know, like I said, if you follow college baseball, if it's a huge surprise, but you know, I think they're 20. They got 20 wins already, 21 and 10. They got a pretty good RPI. So, you know, I thought that, you know, it was worth noting that the Cincinnati Fighting Bearcats are off to a pretty good start to the 2026 season.
• 6:58
  Speaker C: You gotta mention Quentin Coats then, right? I mean, 20 pumps.
• 7:03
  Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
• 7:07
  Speaker A: Do you imagine having 20 home runs 30 games into the year?
• 7:11
  Speaker C: No, it wasn't as of yesterday. Was not April and he had 20 bumps.
• 7:17
  Speaker A: It's not even, it's not even like you're 30 games in you have 20 bolts.
• 7:24
  Speaker B: It's not even a bunch of pole side stuff either. Now it's like, it's pole to poll. Like the one he hit last night was. I mean, that's right center. Just absolutely. I. What's his name? Chris Burke uses a, an adjective to describe balls being hit as compressed. And I just love it. Like, that kid compresses baseballs. It's just a different type of thump. Yeah, he's a highlight. He's a highlight waiting to happen. Like, you're just waiting. You're waiting for a ball to get 100, 115 miles an hour.
• 7:57
  Speaker C: And if you're not, thank you for
• 7:59
  Speaker A: bringing that up as I, I, it slipped my mind, but yes.
• 8:03
  Speaker C: Yeah. If you're not like, totally familiar, like, with home runs, like 20 home runs in a Division 1, like, regular season, full thing all the way to Memorial Day is a very good season. Like, just, just to give everybody like a baseline here. Like, if you're listening and you're not, 100, like 20, 20 punts is a good year. It's a very, very good year. Like, and this dude's got it before we, you know, hit April 1st here.
• 8:28
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's next level power. He's a sophomore, so, yeah, I guess we'll see how all that plays out. Like, shout out Kyle Petter, Ruto. Because wherever that dude goes, they smash baseballs.
• 8:45
  Speaker A: They do.
• 8:45
  Speaker B: Whether it's Bryant, whether it's Rutgers. He's at Cincinnati now. Like, wherever he goes, they smash baseballs, period. So I got a couple. BC was on my list for all the reasons that you mentioned, Jonathan, so I will, I won't, won't kill that horse. I think there's a couple blue bloods that are. One is exceptional right now. That hasn't been exceptional in a long time, but if you follow college baseball history, they have the most national championships ever, usc. And they're back. Like, that team's for real. We got a hell of a matchup coming this weekend between them and ucla, but they can just flat out pitch. They play really good, clean, quality west coast baseball. Obviously, you know, the coaching change over there has paid huge dividends for them and they've kind of been building towards this. But, like, they look like, they look like they could be a problem. And then the other one, who was a blue blood, that is good to see him back at least being like, really competitive. And they have the, the second leading home run hitter in the country on their team is Arizona State. I think it's cool when you have these historically relevant programs that had been down a little bit in recent years and maybe maybe underperformed the historical expectations to see them kind of back up. You know, Arizona State's top 25 in RPI right now they got Landon Hairston who's got 17 Jacks, super sweet looking left handed swing. Then the other one that jumped out to me is at least for the first half of the season, we'll see how they handle the back half because they're scheduling. The ACC is going to be a gauntlet, but Pitt's been really impressive. They got a couple really young freshmen that are very, very impactful and they've, they started off hot, hot offensively and have seemingly stayed hot and they're going to cause some problems in the ACC right now. And I think that the ACC for me is just an interesting conversation I think we'll get into later. There's some teams that historically haven't been in the upper half of that conference that look like they belong in the upper half of that conference this year. So there's a little bit of a changing of the tide, which I think it's a good segue into disappointments. Who, who do, who do we got here for disappointments here? Coach Glass.
• 11:17
  Speaker A: Disappointments. I think two and one. I'll keep my, our feelings to ourselves. One, I think Wake Forest has been, it was one of my, one of my picks to go to Omaha. I know they're banged up. I know that, you know, they, they had some injuries before the season started. They were hoping to, you know, keep their head above water to get through March, which we've gotten through. But they, it hasn't been a great start for the Demon Deacons. You know, Morningstar hasn't had, you know, some of the starts that you'd expect out of a guy who is, has the ability that he has. There's a lot of talent on that roster, especially from the arm standpoint. I mean last night they got shut out one nothing at, at high point and like make no bones about it, high points good. But that's probably not something that should be happening to an acc ACC team midweek, you know, so I think that's probably really one, the other one.
• 12:18
  Speaker B: And I, I don't really know.
• 12:21
  Speaker A: I, I don't know if it's, I, I think it's a disappointment because it is who they are. But Clemson has not been good this year. You know, why do they got swept at Notre Dame? They lost the series to Miami. I think, you know, their only series Win realistically, I think has been South Carolina, who, if you follow college baseball, that was a wild Twitter follow for a good month. But that, you know, from being from what Clemson is known for and how good they, they should be and what they have from a facility standpoint and a resource standpoint, what, what they're, the way that they're playing right now is not good. You know, the, the positive for a lot of these teams when we hit the midweek point, mid year point, I should say, is that you, you have the back half of the year to kind of figure it out. But I like, it's, it's inching closer and closer to like you're gonna have to win a lot of games if you're going to be playing postseason baseball if you're a Clemson Tiger fan, you know, so like the, you know, their defense hasn't been great, their offense hasn't scored a lot of runs. They're, you know, it seems like they can't put it all together, but I think from a preseason standpoint, from where they were and what people expected out of that ball club to where they are now is, is a pretty far drop off from what people thought at the front part of this year.
• 13:47
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, Jonathan, I think you're probably gonna have some similar sentiments.
• 13:53
  Speaker C: Yeah, Clemson's gotta be, you know, I find it hard pressed to even find somebody that would, you know, that would be, I guess, second, you know, in terms of like major disappointments like that, that has not been hit by the injury bug. Like you're just, I mean, Clemson's been, you know, they just been a huge disappointment. My other one's tcu. You know, I know all three of us had them gone. Omaha been super pedestrian. You know, they are banged up. So, you know, you know, you can put them in a little bit of a different category, I think similar to wake where, you know, they haven't been horrible, but just not quite what we're used to, you know. And then the reality is it's not what we're used to when Schloss was there. That's just the reality, like the post slash era, you know. So this has had some, some success early on, but I mean, he's going to have to kind of wear some of this blame at this point now because when you look at really hasn't gone great since Slash left for, you know, to go to Texas A and M. And you know, this was a year I think that a lot of people had them back in the mix back to, you know, that you know, that. That era where they were, you know, going to Omaha, you know, I think it was four straight years. You know, that was the type of team they had, and that's just not been the case. You know, a couple of, you know, a couple other smaller ones. I mean, I think, you know, Miami, you know, but you could also argue, right, that Miami was probably in a pretty similar spot 365 days ago, and they ended up a win away from Omaha. So, you know, it is early, right? Like, you know, and obviously, you know, that's the biggest thing about the, you know, the disappointments and even the surprises. Right. Like, we're working at half a body of work here, you know, and when you get going and, you know, you have the month of April to get going and, you know, most of May, you know, maybe some teams that have kind of just floated around that.500 marking conference or, you know, lost some games that we're a little bit more uncharacteristic of them. You know, you. You listen, you got two months to really, you know, to get this thing going again, you know, six. Really probably closer to eight weeks. So, you know, who knows, you know, with some of those, you know, Miami, NC State could be probably thrown into that category. They've had some bad losses. I mean, lost. Lafayette lost to Princeton, you know, swept, you know, at home, you know, I'm sorry, on the road against Georgia Tech this weekend. So, you know, but again, got a lot of time to kind of get the, you know, Right. The ship. I. I think Clemson's a slam dunk. And then I would kind of put those other guys in, you know, kind of a step below that. That category.
• 16:39
  Speaker B: Yeah, Clemson's got some serious work to do, I think, to your point, you know, like Miami, Louisville, tcu, like, they still got it in front of them. Like, they can still get in the mix, but. Yeah, just not quite what you would expect. The other one, because I. I had Clemson, I had tcu. I don't even think we need to talk about South Carolina. Like, I don't. It's not a disappointment to me. I think it kind of is what it is. Maybe a little surprised that it happened so quick with Monary getting. Getting pushed out halfway through the year. But, I mean, that's been a. That's been a tough goal, but for. For a couple of years now. And, you know, I think kind of the writing was on the wall there. But the other team, for me, just because of how much they returned specifically on the mound and just how dynamic their Offense can be. I feel like Louisville, Louisville is either. They've been disappointing, but they're still scary. But you're getting to the point where you question like, do you have it in you to turn it around? Like, can you get hot? Because you know you're, you're four and five in conference. You know, they're still well and you know, well on the path to become a tournament team. But you know, you, you have another rough weekend and you know you're five and seven and then now you're starting to get to that point where you're, you're looking at like, you got to count some wins. It's like, all right, well we're five and seven through 12. Well, you know, we probably need to win 10 more games. You know, it gets tough and I mean with the amount of innings they returned, I just thought they would be better on the mound that they have. And it's been, it seems like it's been really, really, really up and down and the offense hasn't been able to kind of COVID it. So I'll be really interested to see what Louisville does here in the back half of the season and wake to the same extent because they got a ton of arm talent. Obviously, Morningstar has been been disappointing. I'm sure it's not anywhere near where he, how he wanted it to go and he's seemingly on the, on the men from a back injury. But those couple of those schools and like, I guess that kind of gets to where, you know, some of the blue bloods in the ACC aren't. They're not in the top half of that conference like we would expect them to be. And you're starting to see Notre Dame looks like they got a chance to be dangerous coming off of a tough week against North Carolina. But you know, they look like they're going to be a problem. They got a legit Friday night guy and that offense is dangerous. Pitts better than they've been in a while. Boston College is a problem. Georgia Tech is firmly solidified themselves as one of the bigger threats in college baseball. And you know, you look at it in a vacuum in this small window of time and it's like, oh, well, they were a regional team last year and, but they weren't as good as they had been historically four or five years prior to this. But they're back and that's a problem for the rest of the acc. So it's an interesting conference to follow right now because I think that middle pack, there's a lot to be Sorted out. Any schools that you're not necessarily surprised by but kind of impressed with up to this point?
• 19:50
  Speaker A: Jacksonville State. Oh, sorry. Go ahead, Jonathan.
• 19:54
  Speaker C: You go, go ahead.
• 19:56
  Speaker A: I was just gonna. Jacksonville State. Yeah, you know, they're, I mean they're, I think they only have five or six losses right now. I know they don't have the, they don't have the best RPI in that conference because Missouri State just beat Arkansas. And as in, Missouri State is good, But Jacksonville State's 24 and 6, they're 9 and oh, in the, in Conference USA, which is not a pushover conference to be 9 and oh. And I mean I know they were, they were a regional team last year. You know, they weren't the best team in the conference last year, but seemingly they have the pieces this year to be pretty good at the midway point as we've gotten through three weeks of conference play there. So, you know, I, I'm not surprised, but also impressed with what it is that, you know, that Jacksonville State team has been able to kind of put together.
• 20:51
  Speaker B: Conference USA has got four teams inside the top 50 RPI right now and one of them is not Dallas Baptist, who has, you know, for the most part been the best team in that conference for, you know, a decent window now. Yeah, I mean, for me, Jacksonville State was on my list. I think Missouri State, if you haven't watched them play offense, you need to find a way to watch them because they bang.
• 21:16
  Speaker A: It is electric.
• 21:18
  Speaker B: They're freaking physical. The kids get good swings off. Like that game against Arkansas last night was like one of the best watches you could have. It was just talent all over the field. Bolts playing hard, competing. The, the atmosphere was electric. And for those of you who've never watched Missouri State, their facility and their setup is so good. I got Cal Baptist as one. They're 24 and five and they're 3, 0 against quad one. Right. The RPI is like 85 right now, but another team, they can really hit and they've got some, they got some serious arm talent to go with it. But I've been impressed with them from what I've watched. And then the other team, that might not be super obvious, I'm going to say I'm incredibly impressed with Coastal and what Kevin Stallone is task his, his staff has done because we talk about TCU earlier, right, and they're like a little bit banged up. Well, Coastal lost, you know, one of the top five right handed pitchers in the country pretty much for the whole, you know, six or eight weeks Rumor is he might be back in the next couple weeks. But you're talking like a six week stretch where you lose your Friday guy where there's nobody you play on a Friday who has a better starter than him and you lose your best bullpen guy and they just haven't missed a beat. They haven't missed a beat. So kudos to that staff, developing guys. They're throwing young guys who are stepping in and getting huge outs. Been, been super impressed with, with what they've been doing. I don't think it should go overlooked.
• 23:02
  Speaker C: Yeah, you still have one for me. I had Coastal too. I think it's, it's hard to say you're impressed with the, you know, the reigning national runner up, but what they've gone through injury wise is wild. I mean they're 21 and 7, they're 9 and oh in the Sunbelt. Like that's incredible the depth that they have for them to be 21 and 7. I mean you could look at their depth and be like, yo, you kind of just gotta like have to punt on Tuesday and Wednesday. And they haven't, they haven't even missed a beat on the midweek, you know, they've been fine. I mean, and it's not that they're winning 21, 19 on Tuesday and Wednesday. They've won to one, they've won five. Nothing like they've won all different kinds of ways. So I think again, tough to say when you know you're the national runner up to be impressed by them. But I think like you said, Andy, you hit the nail right on top of the head with that one. The one that I think is really impressive and I'm going to stay in the Sunbelt here and they've been kind of a doormat in that league for a long time. They probably have the worst facilities in that league. My guess is, I don't know the, the operating budget, but it's got to be close to the, towards the bottom of that league. But Ulm, they're, they're six and three in the Sun Belt. They had a huge win last night where they smoked La Tech and I can guarantee you La Tech's probably got doubled operating budget that they do. They, they, I think they played them in seven innings. They, they run ruled them. But just super impressed with, with their, their ability to, what that staff has done to new staff there with Coach Pemberton in charge. Like they've done a great job. And again that, that school, not only the baseball program, that school in general has been the laughingstock of that league and a doormat in that league for the better, well over a decade to shout out to them for the job that they've done thus far. And the other one I think, you know, I think that's really impressive is to me was, was what they've done at Georgia Tech. And I know it's tough, you know, when you, when you, you say, well, you know, Jonathan, you had him, you know, in Omaha, you know, you know, six weeks ago or whatever. But, you know, one of the things I said then and I still stand by is I still think they, I hope that they go through a little bit of a rough patch just to kind of get their bearings straight, but they just, they haven't really missed a beat. I mean, you know, they had a little bit of a hiccup. You know, they lost Auburn on a midweek a couple weeks ago, but like they just, that offense is so legit, you know, Coach Ramsey's done such a good job with that team. They are, they've been basically three, you know, four, two, you know, as high as two, you know, in the country the whole way. And they haven't budged off of that and they really haven't had to. So I've been super impressed with them as well. So those would be my three though, you know, that I think kind of exceeded, you know, a little bit, you know, whatever they're, you know, they were handed, especially with the Coastal thing, you know, the hand they were dealt. All three of them have done a really nice job.
• 26:12
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• 28:12
  Speaker B: No, that's a great call out. And he's. The interview we had with him was awesome. So if you haven't listened to Fuller, go ahead and, and make sure you do that because great conversation with him. Speaking of Texas, let's talk a little bit about the Blue Bloods, because, dude, it's kind of been chalk at the top right now. Like, the three teams, I think for the most part, we all kind of had Texas, UCLA and Mississippi State in some order. Like, it's kind of held true. Like, they seem to kind of be in their own class with Georgia Tech probably sneaking in as that fourth team. But those teams for me have just been dominant. I mean, nobody's even. It's like UCLA takes a break during the midweek and decides that they only want to win by like a run or two. And then they just pound people on the week, weekends. Like it's kind of a joke at this point, what they've been doing. Like, I. I don't know. I don't know if anybody can catch them. We'll see what happens this weekend with usc, but I actually worry with UCLA if are they going to go such a long period of time without really being tested that that could actually be a problem for them in the tournament when they get there. But I don't know if they have a weakness. Texas certainly doesn't look like there's a whole ton to poke holes in there. And Mississippi State's problem, like, they're like 13 arms deep. You know, they got a lefty throwing 102 who gets sparse innings midweek as they're trying to just continue to develop him. That's the. Just the type of talent they're running out there. It's pretty wild to watch.
• 29:54
  Speaker A: And we'll see this weekend. Usc, I Mean, USC is leading the country in era.
• 29:58
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's gonna be a good matchup. That's.
• 30:02
  Speaker A: They've been smashing people on the weekends. And I know USC gave up some runs last weekend in Maryland. They dropped a game. It's a tough Big Ten across the country matchup, but in a tough park
• 30:15
  Speaker B: to pitch in, too.
• 30:17
  Speaker A: But, like, I mean, they're still pitching at a 26 as a team. I mean, like. And you're gonna go in and face ucl. Like, I, I'm very interested to see what that series looks like. Like, is it going to be
• 30:32
  Speaker C: 10,
• 30:33
  Speaker A: 11, you know, 11, 10 games? Is it going to be three one games? Like, you know what I mean? Like, I'm very interested to see because both of them are really, really good. Like, it's, it's interesting. I mean, Texas is unbelievable. Mississippi State's really good. You know, Georgia Tech, I think, is, you know, probably, you know, they've been smashing baseballs all year long. You know, I, from a Florida. I don't know what to make of. Like, and it sounds crazy to say when you look at their overall record, because what are they? 23.
• 31:07
  Speaker B: Weirdest. Weirdest team.
• 31:11
  Speaker A: You look at it. It's like they're 23 and 7 or whatever it is. Like, but at the same time, like, you lose the series at home to High Point, and then I don't know what to make of you. You, you roll into Fayetteville and sweep Arkansas this past weekend. Like, what. What are we doing? And then I think they lost last night, didn't they? They did, yeah. Like, and then it's just like this weird. I don't know what to make of them. Like, I, I think they're good. I know they're good, but, like, you have these weird losses that a really good team that just swept Arkansas shouldn't have. Like, you don't really have trap games in baseball.
• 31:50
  Speaker B: Like, you know what I mean?
• 31:52
  Speaker A: Especially with weekends. Like, you know, so I don't, I don't know what to make of Florida. You know, it's. I, I don't know. Like, it, I, I, I feel like I'm losing my mind talking about it, but at the same time, like, it's, it's just, it's a weird, it's a, it's a weird thing to watch this year, like, because I think, because we've known, like, there's been years where, like, we don't, they don't deserve to be in the postseason. And then they make doma. And then it's like, well, we think that they should be there. And then they don't make doma. And then now it's like, man, they're really good. And then. But, like, you drop weird games. I, like, I just don't know what to make of it.
• 32:31
  Speaker B: And they got, like, in Alabama is. It might be the hottest team in the country right now. Like, when you're looking at, like, what they've done, they swept Florida, they swept Auburn, but Alabama took them. They beat their ass. Wouldn't even, like, six, nothing. 8, 4, 14, 7, like, adios, goodbye, head back to Gainesville. Like, get out of Tuscaloosa. We just pounded you. And then Florida comes back and they've got two wins against Florida State, and they sweep Arkansas, like, and then drop a 4, 3 game at Jacksonville.
• 33:10
  Speaker A: They took two from Miami, too. Yeah, you took two from Miami, two from Florida State.
• 33:16
  Speaker C: Those two was a sweep, too, Keith. That was a sweep. Because they didn't play.
• 33:19
  Speaker A: Yeah, because they didn't play on Sunday.
• 33:23
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's their. They're an interesting one. Like, I watched the Peterson kid throw against Miami, and, like, if that kid's dialed in, like, good luck, like, you might get no hit. Like, his stuff's as good as anybody in the country. Like, absolutely electric. But he's a little bit of a. I don't want to call it a coin toss, but, like, he has some outings where you watch him and you're like, nobody with that type of stuff should have those type of lines.
• 33:51
  Speaker C: Honestly. I'll be honest. I think he is, like, a perfect microcosm for what they are.
• 33:56
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 33:56
  Speaker C: This year. Right? Like, you're like, yo, you're one of the best teams in the country. Oh, wait, now, like, you're just gonna get pounded at Alabama three times. You lose two or three at home, the high point almost gets swept. Like. Yeah. But then you sweep Florida State on the midweek. You know, so far, that's what Florida State in the midweek, go up to Arkansas and sweep Arkansas. Like. Like, what are we doing? Like, we're all over the place here.
• 34:19
  Speaker A: And I hate to play this game when we talk about, like, actually, like, from a coaching perspective, but, like, those South Carolina games were a lot closer than anyone really thought they were going to be. Like, opening weekend, South Carolina's reeling, and you go 10 and win one nothing. Where I think both teams had, like, one hit or two or it was, like, between the two of them, I think they had three hits going into the extra innings, and I think they won three nothing. And then they won on Sunday, but like, those games were a hell of a lot closer than anyone thought they were going to be going into that weekend. It should, like, I mean, and they won. So, like, good on you. That's. That's fine. But to the point that we're trying to make, like, it's just a weird, it's a weird feeling season based off of what the talent that they have and what they're doing. If you told me they were 20, if I watched all their games and I didn't know the outcomes, I'd be like, yeah, probably 500 team and they're 23 and seven beating the doors off people.
• 35:19
  Speaker B: Well, I mean, I guess to a certain extent it kind of sums up the SEC in a lot of ways. Like, it's just such a gauntlet and you're going to go through a stretch where your character is going to be tested. At some point you're going to lose a series that you probably think you should win. Or, you know, for Florida, like, you get pounded by Alabama. Like, Arkansas is in that mix right now. It's like, all right, you got swept at home by Florida. Like, what's your bounce back? It doesn't mean that any of these teams are not good. They're all good. I mean, even, you know, I think South Carolina is the only team in the SEC right now that you look at and you're like, yeah, as long as we show up, we're probably pretty good. Like, even Missouri's playing like, this is a totally different ball club this year. I don't know how many more games are going to win in the SEC because of how good the conference is.
• 36:08
  Speaker A: But you can't just roll out.
• 36:10
  Speaker B: They are not a cakewalk this year. They played some really significantly better baseball. Yeah, but I mean, that conference is crazy. Like, it's to. It's to the point in that conference where if you're on the road and you don't get swept, that's not a bad weekend.
• 36:26
  Speaker A: Even you and I talked about this. Jonathan. You and I haven't discussed this yet, but I said this to Andy the other day. Like, it's not. You look at last weekend where Tennessee lose three walk off losses at Vandy in state rival on the road. Sec, you get walked off three times. It is a wild notion to kind of think this, that those three losses don't ding you even remotely bad in the grand scheme of things because of who it is and what in the. The conference that it is. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's you very well could have walked out of that series with three wins. You don't. You go 03. But like, yes, it sucks because you lost and you want to win, but from a an overall perspective standpoint, like, it's not the end of the world for Tennessee. Like, Jimmy, you go like, yeah, I know they weren't. They're, you know, Vandy's not ranked. But like, let's be honest, they're, you know, on the cusp. Like, you lost three walk off losses on the road and it doesn't hurt you at all.
• 37:40
  Speaker B: The margins in that conference are so absurdly then. Yeah.
• 37:45
  Speaker A: Like, it's. Aside from South Carolina, and I think you're right, Missouri is, is markedly better than they were last year. So kudos to that staff for what they're doing. But like the other 12 teams in that conference are.
• 38:00
  Speaker C: But the thing is with South Carolina is like, like, I get what you're saying, but like, let's not forget South Carolina could have took two of three at home against Arkansas.
• 38:10
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 38:10
  Speaker C: A ball away in the ninth that tied the game and they ended up losing in the 10 and then smoked him on Sunday. So like, if. Yes, they are. They have been a disaster. It has been a total dumpster fire. The higher was a dumpster fire. We all know that. We don't need to, you know, dice this up any more than it is. It's been a disaster. But they still almost took two from, from Arkansas at home.
• 38:33
  Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that that sums it up that like, you go in to play the worst, by far the worst team in the conference and you still play games that close. That's a, you know, and there'll be some people at the back end of the year when, you know, only four SEC teams make it to the College World Series, be like, oh, you know, SEC bias or whatever. It's like, just watch that conference play. Watch them play every single week. Watch Ole Miss in Kentucky. Like, watch Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Like, watch these games being played. It's. It's so thin. Like, it is so thin. And you're, you're a weekend away from feeling awesome about yourself. And you're, and you're also a weekend away from going, like, we got to figure some stuff out. And I think you, you, you test your, your character gets tested big time. Like, Alabama is a great example of like, they got swept by somebody. I forget who it was. And now there's. Yeah, six, six straight. And they're number three in the RPI right now. Like Darrell right now.
• 39:46
  Speaker C: Yeah, Think about that just real quick, right? And then we can move on. But think about that. Just that, that, that right there. Right. So you go swept that on the road at Kentucky. You win six straight. You were basically a non NCAA team, right. Coming out of Kentucky, like I was one of them. I'm like, yeah, they're garbage. Like they'll be towards the bottom. They'll play on Tuesday and it's in the SEC tournament and that'll be it for them. They're done to now you're three right in the rpi. You're, you're an easy host. You're a potential national seat at this point. Just, just that fast in, in 14 or 15 days.
• 40:25
  Speaker B: Yeah, well the other thing too is like go back to that Kentucky series. They got swept. They lost 7, 4, 8, 7 and 6, 4 to a good Kentucky team. Kentucky's good. They're not, they're not like a fluky team anymore. Like I think everybody thinks that Kentucky is like a little bit up and down. Like that's a really good program now. It wasn't just a flash in the pan that like they ran into a good team. Like that's a good program now. And it always, hasn't always been like that. Yeah, and then Florida and I mean, shoot, they're gonna, they gotta go play an Oklahoma team who just lost, like did the energy and just everything that happened with them against Texas. Like there's Oklahoma got swept by Texas and you walk away from that series going, Oklahoma might be better than we thought they were, but either Oklahoma is going, is walking away from this series going, losing five of their last six or Alabama gets slapped in the face and has to come back and play Arkansas who could have a rebound weekend. Like it's just this never ending test of who are you week in and week out. And yeah, it's just, it's a different level of intensity. You know, I know everybody makes fun of it, but like does mean more. I think it does mean more.
• 41:57
  Speaker C: No, you're 100% right. It does mean more. And I think the one thing that we've seen with the success that they've had in the postseason, basically putting four teams in Omaha, you know, on, on average the last, we'll call decade, right, eight years. It's basically four every year from the sec and it's because of that they're battle tested. They are going to go through stuff that you and other leagues are not going to go through. That's just the reality. There's certain Leagues that you can just cakewalk through a weekend and you're going to grab two wins. It just doesn't happen that way. We just gave you a perfect example. South Carolina has basically been a doormat this year for that league, losing games, you know, to bad opponents, and still almost took two or three at home from Arkansas, who I believe it's been eight straight years that they've had at least 17 or 18 SEC wins.
• 42:55
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 42:56
  Speaker A: And that Oklahoma, Texas series, to be fair, like, two of those games are. Five were one run games, I think four, three and five, four in extras.
• 43:04
  Speaker B: It's the best series of baseball we've had so far this weekend. We'll see if. We'll see if ucla, USC overdoes. But that series was ridiculous like that.
• 43:13
  Speaker A: Very. Like, Oklahoma could have walked out of there with two wins.
• 43:17
  Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
• 43:18
  Speaker A: Having a completely different conversation about Texas and Oklahoma.
• 43:21
  Speaker B: Yeah. If Oklahoma wins two of those games, Oklahoma is the top five team in the country.
• 43:27
  Speaker A: Well, I say that. And like, on the same hand, I don't know if you're having a completely different conversation. Right. Like, I said the same thing about Texas and. Or Tennessee Vandy five minutes ago. Like, you still know Texas is good. Like, you know, your two, three pitches plays away from sweeping Oklahoma. If you, if you. If it goes the other way.
• 43:47
  Speaker B: Texas is 11 and two against quad one teams.
• 43:52
  Speaker C: Texas is a unit. Texas and UCLA. Mississippi State's really good. I just think Texas and UCLA are just. They're just a unit, those two.
• 44:02
  Speaker B: Like, I don't know anybody. Is there anybody out there that you're looking at going, Nobody's really talking about them in that same category. But, like, you're looking at it going, like, they can win this thing. Like, they could, you could say, maybe not even say win this thing because that's a different ball of wax. But, like, looking at him, nobody's super high on him, but it's like, that might be an Omaha team.
• 44:24
  Speaker C: Georgia.
• 44:25
  Speaker B: Huh?
• 44:26
  Speaker A: I was just gonna say Georgia.
• 44:29
  Speaker C: Georgia.
• 44:30
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 44:34
  Speaker C: And this is like, they just. For whatever reason, and I'm not saying this is my opinion, I'm just stating a fact of what I've kind of just looked at and read. They, for some reason, they get dinged so bad for that building that they play in that it. Like, it's just like. Well, yeah, like, but they, you know, they have so many home games, so that's why their record is so gaudy. But, like, they're still. I think they're tied for first in the sec. Right. Like, they have that they have arguably the best pitching coach in the country. I mean, like, right. Like there had, you know, Wes is probably one of the top five pitching coaches in the country. Like, that offense is a problem in that building especially. So, like, and if you just continue to do what you've been doing, you're going to get all. The road's going to have to go through Athens. Like, I don't know. I mean, I think Georgia, I think they're the, they're the one that would be, I would say is next, in my opinion.
• 45:40
  Speaker B: Parents, if you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to navigate youth sports, there's a new resource designed just for you. Team Match. Team Match is an online platform built to streamline how families find the right youth sports teams by location, sport and skill level all in one place. It also provides a safe, organized space for kids to share their accomplishments, stats and highlights while giving coaches and teams a clear way to connect with athletes who are the right fit. Less searching, less stress, more confidence in the process, youth sports just got simpler for families. This is Team Match. Check it out today@teammatch sports.com that home field advantage is, is an interesting one that like, if they could sneak in as a national seed, maybe not even sneak in like, you know, there's 39 in the RPI right now. But obviously if they continue to do what they're doing in the SEC to even, even close to the clip that they're doing it right now, like, they'll be, they'll be in that top 20, which gets you in the conversation to be a host, at least a host right now. They're interesting. I like, I'm looking at it. There's one team that and Jonathan, you said this to me two weeks ago, so I'll give you, I'll give you your props because you deserve them here on this one. But like, I think Ole Miss is three and six in the SEC and I think they're freaking good. I don't know if they're going to make it to Omaha, but, like, I think they are better than that record and I think that we'll see if they can like, tighten up a few screws. But I watched them play and there's something about them. I like them like they've had a gauntlet in the SEC too. They took one, they had to play at Texas. They lost that series. They ended up winning one game. They lost the series to Kentucky and then they just lost to Mississippi State. Like, they got to play Florida. They got LSU and they got Tennessee Like, I don't know if it gets any better, but I think that that's a good ball club in lsu. Scary right now because, like, you got to think that they're. It's going to click at some point.
• 47:58
  Speaker A: They'll figure it out.
• 48:01
  Speaker B: But yeah, yeah.
• 48:05
  Speaker A: What, what about Nebraska?
• 48:10
  Speaker B: I was just going to bring that up because I was going to say I think the top of the Big Ten is the best that it's ever been. I think there's four really, really good teams in that conference and I think Nebraska is the fourth. I think you got Oregon, you got usc, you got ucla, who I think are all national seed, quality teams, but Nebraska is quietly 8 and 1. And for those of you who haven't followed college baseball for a long time, there's a ton of history in Nebraska baseball.
• 48:38
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 48:39
  Speaker B: Back when we were playing, when I was in college, they were a college World Series team back in the day. And job at Chamberlain, Jabba Chamberlain. The, you know, shoot, that's where Dave Van Horn was before he went to Nebraska or before he went to Arkansas. There's a lot of history there.
• 49:00
  Speaker A: And they're 9 and 1, their last 10. Their own loss is a one run game on Friday night against Michigan.
• 49:07
  Speaker B: Yeah, they're sitting, sitting 24 in the RPI.
• 49:11
  Speaker C: I think that like you said though, Andy, like, the Big Ten has such a, like, class that you're like those top four and then you're dropped to five is like going off a cliff. Like those four. I mean, barring a miracle, one of those four will be winning the Big Ten tournament. Obviously one of those four are going to win the regular season. Three of the four are probably going to be the hosts. You know, we're right there, you know, borderline hosts. Like they're going to get at least two hosts, maybe three. Like you're talking about. There is. They're in their kind of their own class and then the rest of the Big Ten is kind of just trying to hold on for dear life, in my opinion.
• 50:02
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think that sums up the Big Ten. I think it's a huge separation, huge separation between the four teams we just talked about and everybody else in that conference. And until proven otherwise, I think it's pretty clear cut. Like Nebraska's got some, they've got some legitimate wins and they've played a pretty challenging schedule to start this year. Like. Yeah, I know, I know. UConn and Northeastern and Grand Canyon are all down by their own personal expectations, but they beat them early in the year. You know, they gotta, they gotta win against Florida State. They gotta win against Auburn. And I mean, shoot, they just been pounding people for the last month, you know, since, since March 3rd, which was the Tuesday after they played Auburn. They've only lost two games. They lost game one to Michigan in that series two to one. Actually, that's the only loss they've had. They've only lost one game since March 3rd. Yeah.
• 51:05
  Speaker A: Which is absurd.
• 51:06
  Speaker B: Dominated Indiana, beat. Beat a good Creighton team at Creighton. Beat Kansas State midweek.
• 51:16
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 51:16
  Speaker B: They beat, you know, beat Michigan 10 nothing on Saturday 10 row and rule them. Pounded Wichita State, swept Maine. Yeah. I mean that's a, that's a good ball club. They'll get tested in two weeks. They'll get tested next week here. Not this upcoming weekend, but the following weekend. They're gonna, they gotta go to Oregon. So that'll, that's gonna be a good matchup.
• 51:40
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 51:45
  Speaker A: UCLA hasn't lost since February 23rd against San Diego State.
• 51:51
  Speaker B: Fighting Kevin Vance's. Yeah.
• 51:55
  Speaker A: Both of their losses this year by one run. They're a handful of pitches away of being 26 0, 28 0. Excuse me.
• 52:08
  Speaker C: But the funny thing though, you say that, Keith, though, but I want to say Mississippi State might be. They have four losses and I think they're all one run losses as well.
• 52:17
  Speaker B: One of them's two. Ucla.
• 52:19
  Speaker C: Yes. Which they should have won. You guys remember correctly.
• 52:25
  Speaker B: I mean, you see UCLA went into the college baseball series at a Maggie Bank Park. They went in and pounded Tennessee, pounded Texas A and M and beat Mississippi State next year innings. Like if that's not a statement weekend, like, I don't know what else is. They, they beat, they beat Tennessee 12 to 5 and they beat Texas A and M, who's playing really well right now. They're 23 and 5. They beat them 11 to 1 in seven innings at Globe Life Field. They're like, we'll go to the big league park. And we're, we only want to play seven today, so we're just going to get this done real quick. And they've got the best, they've got the best college shortstop probably this century on their team. He's that good. Yeah, he's a, he's a different level. I think that kid, he's probably, from
• 53:20
  Speaker C: what I read early in the year, he's the, he's the best college position player since Bryce Harper.
• 53:32
  Speaker B: The crazy thing is, is that Mr. LeBron in Alabama probably isn't quite at that level, but he's not that far
• 53:40
  Speaker C: behind him, he's gonna be a top five pick. He should be top six pick.
• 53:43
  Speaker B: Yeah, there's some electric players in college baseball right now. Some of the arms, I mean it's. If you like velocity and nasty break and stuff like go just, just tune in across the country on Friday night. Go watch a back end of a game. I mean, shoot. I was, I was joking with one of our buddies today. I was watching the back end of the Florida Jacksonville game yesterday. Jacksonville's dude comes in in the ninth. He's throwing 94 mile an hour freaking bowling balls. Just bowling ball sinkers. And that's what Jacksonville's running out to close out a game midweek against Florida. Like it's just the, the town across the country right now is. It's exciting to say the least. It's, it's.
• 54:24
  Speaker A: Tennessee was rolling out a left hander on Saturday last week. Freshman who was like 93 to 95.
• 54:36
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's a fun time to be a college baseball fan. And the best part about it is we've, we've got like another seven weeks before, before tournament time. We might have to queue up another just round table instead of doing, you know, the postseason picks or whatever. We might have to, might have to stop in here in a couple weeks because I think we, we got some matchups coming up that are going to set the table for an exciting stretch run.
• 55:02
  Speaker C: Go early mag.
• 55:04
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 55:06
  Speaker A: Might have a special guest on for regional picks.
• 55:13
  Speaker B: Yeah. Any, any other, any closing remarks from you gentlemen?
• 55:19
  Speaker C: I have one. And this is going to be a direct shot at the Big Ten. So we, we hit on it. You guys both brought it up this series this weekend with USC and UCLA. Probably the first time the, the Big Ten is gonna have a top 15 matchup in I don't even know how long. Right. And two of the three games are on Big Ten plus and not on the Big Ten network or espn. Like can we do better job, please? Like just look at the sec, what they've done. You turn it on on Sunday, you know, they got games starting at noon. They go noon 4 and 7 or noon 4 and 8. Like be better, just be better. Like you have a top 15 matchup. They're both right down the street from each other. Put it on the Big Ten network. But to have two of them on, you got Easter Sunday. Put that thing on, you know, get it on national tv. ESPN should take it. Somebody should take it. But the fact that two of those games are only on streaming is ridiculous in my opinion.
• 56:19
  Speaker B: Yeah, I Mean, your point about the Big Ten is well taken. It's also the. It's also the first time in 20 years that both of these teams have been this good. And it's a legitimate rivalry. Like, it doesn't have the. The buzz of Auburn and Alabama, but, like, look, historically like you, UCLA and USC is. That's a rivalry game across all sports. And you've got two top 10 teams and you got an electric offense with UCLA versus the best pitching staff in the country. Best player in the country. Yeah, I mean, yeah, huge mistake because it's an easy sell if you make it accessible that people would tune into it. But I'm not paying for the Big Ten network to watch that game, so screw you guys.
• 57:06
  Speaker C: You live in the great state of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth, baby. You're all set. You just right on normal cable.
• 57:13
  Speaker B: Very good flow. Yeah, thank God it's not a flow sport. What a sham. What do you got, Coach?
• 57:29
  Speaker A: I think we have phenomenal baseball all weekend. My, my big one for the weekend. And this is close to home for you and I. Is that the Maris Red Foxes?
• 57:42
  Speaker B: You son of a.
• 57:44
  Speaker A: Are off to a pretty good start in the Mac. We'll see how good we are this weekend when we take on Ryder. Top two teams playing this weekend. But I do think that this weekend there's phenomenal matchups in the SEC and the ACC and all across college baseball. So tune in, watch it. Let's see what we can. Let's see how good we shake out going into Easter.
• 58:07
  Speaker B: Eh?
• 58:08
  Speaker A: You know, you got another six, seven weeks of college baseball that we're kind of at the midpoint here, so it'll be interesting to see how everyone kind of holds up on the back half. I'm. I'm glad you guys mentioned BC on the front part of this. This podcast. I think that I'm excited to see how well they do over the back half of this year because it is. I won't say surprising, but where they are right now in the ACC is. Is fun to watch. But hopefully our Red Foxes give a good counts of themselves this weekend. And we find ourselves at the back at the top of the Mac where. Where we as alumni would like to see them.
• 58:49
  Speaker B: Yeah. 10 and two matchup. Ryder, fun fact leads the country in fielding percentage right now. 987. We learned that during our reconnaissance pre. Pre. Show. Yeah, fired up for that. Foxes are playing good on the weekends, which at this point in the year is the. It's the most important thing there is. So. Yeah, looking forward to that. But Jonathan, always a pleasure, my friend.
• 59:16
  Speaker A: As always.
• 59:17
  Speaker B: We'll have you, I'm sure. I'm sure we'll be exchanging college baseball means facts and outrageous thoughts over the next couple days, but hopefully you'll enjoy watching ucla, USC on the Big Ten network that we do not get in Virginia or New York. So kudos to you. Maybe you can FaceTime me in so I can watch Zoom in.
• 59:45
  Speaker C: We'll get it. We'll get you locked in.
• 59:47
  Speaker B: Me, you and Sammy Keith can watch that game on FaceTime.
• 59:50
  Speaker A: That's right.
• 59:52
  Speaker B: All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you everybody for listening. Hope you enjoyed. Talk to you next week. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week.