Latest / Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball / Episode 154: 2026 College Baseball Preview

Transcript

Episode 154: 2026 College Baseball Preview · Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

• 0:02
  Speaker A: Hey, parents and coaches, are your kids using the right glove? The most important skill for youth athletes to learn is how to play proper catch. The problem is most youth gloves are made with bad leather and are too big for small hands. They actually make it harder to play catch. That's why former Major League baseball shortstop Kevin Smith created Cali Gloves. Cali gloves are crafted from 100% Japanese kip leather and are the perfect size for kids. All Cali gloves come with palm slits, finger loops and elastic wrist lacing that encourage proper hand placement. The right closing patterns and give kids more confidence to go make plays. Cali gloves even allow parents to break in the glove without stretching out the fit. It's the glove Kevin wishes he had growing up and the glove all his teammates want for their kids. Visit caligloves.com to learn more and help your kids play better catch. Cali Gloves K a l I gloves.com.
• 1:10
  Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kira Kutis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing?
• 1:18
  Speaker A: Great. How are you?
• 1:19
  Speaker B: It's that time of year. We've got our esteemed college baseball expert on the pod with us tonight, Mr. Jonathan Grasse. Welcome.
• 1:27
  Speaker C: Sup, guys? How are you?
• 1:29
  Speaker A: Great. How are you?
• 1:31
  Speaker B: I think we're all operating on a level of excitement that's hard to quantify.
• 1:35
  Speaker A: No doubt.
• 1:36
  Speaker B: We're a couple, couple days out from opening day of Division 1 baseball. I think Division 2 has already started. JUCO's already started. Division 1 gets started this Friday. Yeah, it's an exciting time of year if you're a college baseball fan. We're going to cover a couple topics today. We'll do our eight for Omaha, a couple sleeper picks. We'll do that at the end. You have to bear with us for some college baseball banter for a little bit. Yeah. Give me a couple opening thoughts here. Jonathan, why don't you kick us off here, Tell us how you're feeling. Sure.
• 2:15
  Speaker C: I mean, obviously super exciting when this airs will be one day away. We're a few days before that. So super excited about the week and kind of see where things get going. And I think the one thing that we've seen a lot of this year, and I know we've joked about it quite a bit, is the sec. It just means more, as their slogan likes to say, I think you've seen or we've seen on social media especially, like a lot of interest, a lot of hot takes, a lot of fan accounts that we haven't seen in years past. And I think, you know, part of it is, you know, as you can see, like when, you know, they print out the games and you see how many games are nationally televised and the interest in college baseball, the ratings are breaking and, you know, breaking records in Omaha the last few years. You know, I think you've seen, you know, a lot of interest and it makes it fun. You know, you, you can get, you know, head coaching interviews, you know, the last few weeks we've seen them, you know, a pre season practice and stuff like that. You know, obviously the SEC has, you know, done well, to be putting it mildly, over the last two decades. You know, and I think that obviously that trend will continue, especially in this, you know, portal era, you know, you know, pain athletes, stuff like that. They're, you know, they're three to four in Omaha every year. I think is probably, we're probably on track for that, you know, again this year. Couple of things I've noticed I would like to see. The one big question I have is what does the ACC look like this year and does the Big 12 make a real push to be the second best baseball conference, you know, in the, in the country? Because I think that could definitely be something we're talking about here. You know, eight to 12 weeks from now when we, when we reconvene here, that the midway point. Definitely something we could be talking about. The Big 12 and their surge. The other big thing I think.
• 4:38
  Speaker B: To.
• 4:38
  Speaker C: Look at this year and we've seen a little bit, you know, in the last few years, but you know, the high mid major, I'm not talking about just like a normal mid major, I'm talking about the high mid majors, the Sun Belt, you know, schools that are investing, you know, Conference USA schools that are investing money, serious amount of money into baseball, being able to revamp a roster from year to year, maybe it's a down year, you know, then they, or even just a mediocre year, right? They can go, maybe they have a great year, they graduated ton, but they can go and jump in the portal and really revamp a roster and you can end up with, you know, guys that maybe went to Oregon State or went to the SEC at a high school or went to a UCLA at a high school and you know, now they're kind of, you know, bouncing back a little bit, but you know, those players and maybe it wasn't the right fit at that school that first time, but you know, those are still really high level, you know, types of players. You Know, in terms of talent, it'll be interesting to see how some of these schools, you know, that, you know, have made a push, whether it's coaching change, where they invested money, whether it's, you know, any of those things. But how do they, you know, look this year? Again, one more year into this portal, error, one more year into the nil money, you know, all that stuff. How does that look, you know, this year compared to the last few years?
• 6:05
  Speaker B: No, it's interesting you brought that up specifically around the transfer, like kind of, we're in this era of the transfer portal. And Keith, you sent me this earlier, which was the breakdown of the roster construction by conference. And I think it's pretty interesting to look at that. You know, when you remove the Ivy League and the Patriot League from the equation, which have really, really small percentage of their rosters are transfers. You know, most of these programs, most of these conferences as a whole, like, you're looking at 35, probably close to average, like 35% of the roster on any in any given conference is transfers, you know, so at the end of the day, you're looking at what, you know, 10. Every team's bringing in 10 to 12 transfers into their roster. And yeah, a lot of that can be trying to fill gaps. You know, I was looking at Arkansas earlier and you know, they lost their whole outfield. They lost two infielders. And in today's day and age, it's hard to count on freshmen. So you go and find guys that are proven and now that they have the ability to do that. But I think that that's an interesting thing to factor in on multitude of levels is like, are you going to see some teams pop up on the radar because they did really good in the transfer portal or were able to find some guys? Our team's going to take a step down because they weren't able to fill some of those shoes and they're going to have to rely on some freshmen to do some stuff. So with. With some of this stuff, you might see some teams ebb and flow a little bit more. And I'll be interested to see how that works coming up this year, because I think this is. This is like the first transfer portal or p. I think people started to put in place systems of how they were evaluating current college players and how they're going to build out their roster and where they can find value. Right. Is it being able to find bats? Is it being able to find bullpen arms, like whatever it might look like and like how you actually are going to plan to handle it with high school players versus transfer portal. So I think we should get some clarity on kind of how that's going to work. I think it's a really interesting, just interesting thing to watch is how some of these guys transition up levels, how some of that Power 4 conference talent who might go down to a Mountain west or they might go to the American or Conference USA to some of those cast offs from the big programs, do they end up finding their footing and show off the talent that got them to those programs in the first place? And do you see some of these programs start to rise up because of that? I think it's a, interesting storyline that we're going to have to keep an eye on.
• 8:43
  Speaker A: Yeah, that article is pretty wild with the, we don't have to get into it tonight, but the percentage of guys that are on the roster this year and I don't, you know, we don't really have a database of what it looked like before, but it's pretty wild to see the amount of schools out of the, what, 305.
• 9:03
  Speaker B: I think it is at the division.
• 9:05
  Speaker A: One level that are in like the 40s, 306, like you know, 40, 30, 40% of the roster that are, are still on that were, that were that were returning, I should say, you know, which is, it's pretty wild to think about if you had 34 or 35 or even if you had 40, like you're losing a substantial, like not all those guys graduated is the point I'm trying to make there.
• 9:37
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's, I think it, I think it kind of makes it fun. I know people have their thoughts on the transfer portal, but I think it adds another, another wrinkle, another thing to think about when you're, when you're doing this. And I think it's another level of complexity for coaches to try to navigate. You know, integrating 10 or 12 new guys that have already played in other programs is very different than integrating freshmen. So it'll be, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Coach Glass, what do you, what do you got for your opening salvo here? Any thoughts?
• 10:10
  Speaker A: My, my main one, I don't have a lot to, a lot of what I kind of have drummed up Jonathan talked about. So I'm not going to beat a dead horse. The one that I, I'm interested in and I, I talked about it with you this morning. I didn't have a opportunity to talk about Jonathan yet, but I'm interested in a team out of the Summit League this year. Jonathan I'm not saying that they're going to go to Omaha, but I am interested in the St. Thomas Tommy's out of the Summit League. For those of you that don't know, they were a Division 3 school for a very long time and they are the first Division 3 school to up their level to Division 1, skipping Division 2. They are current. They are now starting in the fall of 2025. They are now eligible for postseason play not only in conference but also in the NCAA Tournament. And the reason I'm interested is because they've won the Summit League regular season for the last two years. So even though they were a team that could not then compete in the in the conference tournament and thus find themselves a bid into the NCAA field of 64, I'm interested to see what they look like this year and how it goes with that ball club being able to potentially find their way into the field of 64. I think it would be an awesome story. You know, a program where obviously they've had success. They've had success. They were good as Division 3 program, but also, you know, making the jump in Division 1. And then, you know, they tied for the, I think two years ago they tied and then last year they wanted outright. I believe I could have flipped that. But nevertheless they've, they've won the regular season the last two years and now they are eligible for postseason play. So I'm interested to see how the what happens in the Summit League. I'm not going to sit here and suggest that they're going to make a super deep run into the postseason like we saw Oral Roberts do out of the Summit League a couple years ago. But I am interested to kind of see what they can produce this year. Being like I said, four years ago they were Division 3 program and now they could be making the NCAA tournament as a Division 1 team in the first year of their actual eligibility to do it. So I think it's a super cool story. I think whatever they're doing there is obviously working and they're having a lot of success in being able to win a regular season at the Division 1 level not long after being a Division 3 school. So that's, it's an awesome kind of story that I'm interested in following this year to kind of see what, what the St. Thomas Tommy's can do this year at the Division 1 level where they can actually potentially get into the field of 64.
• 12:57
  Speaker B: It's such an interesting thing to see them go from Division 3 to Division 1, because I think there's an argument to be made that there's a lot of schools at the diversity, the bottom. Bottom of the Division one world that might be better off going to Division three. When you talk about what they invest and the money and, you know, all that kind of stuff. So to see them do that, I think it's awesome. I'm glad that you brought that up because that's a cool storyline that I'm sure a very small percentage of college baseball fans are even tracking right now.
• 13:22
  Speaker A: Yeah, I just, I, I find it interesting. I think that they're, you know, that's. I, you know, we talk about this all the time, that there's levels within the levels, but it is, it is difficult to go from Division 3 to Division 1 and be able to compete. And they did it, you know, not that they did it instantaneously, Right. Like, they weren't, they weren't winning the Summit League in years one and two. And, you know, they've, but they've, they've been uber competitive over the last two years while not being able to compete in the postseason, which I think is something hard to do as a coach. Right. Like, you're, You're. You're. You're coaching your kids and trying to, you know, the ultimate goal is to be able to win championships and, and be able to do things that, you know, you. To win the Summit League and to get to the NCAA Tournament, do these things. And you're, you're going every year. You're going into every year being like, yeah, no, we're just like, we're playing our regular season and that's it. And to be able to get them to do it and win, you know, is a, Is a testament to what they're able to do as a coaching staff and what that team's able to do. And I think that it's, it's just an interesting story to be able to kind of follow this year. And again, I, I don't. I don't know if they're going to go out and win the Summit League and get the AQ and, And be able to, to get into the tournament, but I think given what they've done over the last couple years, it's, it's definitely worth following to kind of see what, what it is that they're capable of doing this year. So I'm, I'm interested. This, like I said, it's. It's my, My lone big thing that I was kind of excited to drop on Jonathan tonight, but I think it's, you know, like I said, I'm, I'm very interested to see what they're, what they're capable of doing this year.
• 15:05
  Speaker B: I'm going to take it a little bit larger scale for a couple things that I have my eye on. One of them is the Arizona Wildcats, right? Preseason top 25. They just came off of a College World Series run. You know, they went to Arizona or went to North Carolina and won a super there, which is an incredible task. That place is really hard to play and obviously North Carolina is a really good program, but they have been absolutely gutted from a coaching perspective on the pitching side. So Kevin Vance took over at San Diego State. Kevin's track record speaks for itself with the work that he did at Boston College. Instant impact. At Arizona, they go to the College World Series. He did an awesome job. You know, Chip Hale has done an amazing job getting Arizona back into that College World Series mix where, you know people who've watched baseball for a long time. There's a ton of history in that program with national championships and big leaguers and all that good stuff. So they lose, they lose. Kevin, he goes to San Diego State, which I think is its own storyline in itself with some of the stuff that he's got brewing over there with transfers. And I think that they might make a little bit of noise in the Mountain west, but then they lose their next pitching coach to pro ball who is super highly regarded. I had a chance to talk to Kevin about him in particular and you know, he was behind the scenes like a really huge impact to Kevin's ability to navigate a pitching staff and all the data and everything and it was really highly regarded. And he leaves. And then they had their ops, their director of pitching who wasn't their pitching coach also leave for pro ball. So now you've got three coaching changes over the course of seven months on the pitching side. And that's a lot for, I mean that's a lot for three consecutive years. Never mind for it all to happen in a six or seven month window. And I'm very curious to see if that has any impact on Arizona success because they do come in with some buzz. You know, It's a top 25 program right now, preseason top 25. And just to see how that could potentially impact them and then to stay out west, I got my eyeballs all over the Big West. I think, I think it could be a bloodbath in the top four or five there with probably a three bid league. It's looking like would be my guess, but I think the battle for those three spots is going to get pretty heated when you've got Irvine and Santa Barbara and Poly and Hawaii are probably the four that stick out to me. But I think Fullerton's an interesting one where they've gone and added some Power 4 talent to that roster. They return a pretty good amount of guys. They always do a good job. Supplement with junior college and they seem to be Are they going to get back to Fullerton World Series type stuff? No, probably not this year but they seem to be climbing and getting back to more of the Cal State Fullerton that that we grew up watching. So those are the two things that stick out to me. The other one I want to stop here and we were talking about it for the podcast is Xavier's just insane non conference schedule and shout out to Coach o' Connor for you can never accuse this guy of not wanting to go out and play the best. So I'm going to, I'm going to run this down real quick for the listeners because I think this is absolutely Insane. They're at three. There are three games at ECU midweek versus Louisville is a top 10 program. Three at Arkansas, home game against Indiana. They fly out west and they're going to go play Cal State Fullerton, come home for a Tuesday, play Ohio State 4 against Oregon State out in Corvallis going to hit up Oregon for two and Eugene. Then they'll start to get into their conference play and they line up a midweek slate of a Cincinnati team that was a regional team last year, probably a regional team again. They'll go play the Commodores in Nashville, Vanderbilt their bye weekend in the Big East. They're going to fly down to Atlanta and go play the number what, four ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, plus their conference slate with Creighton and St. John's and UConn. So I, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a, a harder non conference slate than what Xavier's put together and I'll be very curious if they can get to 32 wins if the committee can find a reason to keep them out of this tournament with the strength of schedule that they're running out there. The other big topic, and I want to spend a couple minutes on this is there are quite a few major coaching changes that happened this year, right? Maybe the biggest one was Coach o' Connor from Virginia leaving and going to Mississippi State, which kind of started a trickle down effect of Coach Pollard from Duke going to uva. Then he got Corey Mascara going from Wake Forest to take over at Duke. You had Tony Vitello leaving to go to the Giants. Josh Elander is going to take over Tennessee. And then, you know, you got Coach Ramsey at Georgia Tech taking over for, you know, a college baseball coaching legend in Danny Hall. And I think it's going to be really interesting to see how these coaching changes play out. Like, you have really experienced guys with Coach o' Connor and Coach Pollard, and then you've got three guys who've never been a head coach before, who all, you know, have really good track records as assistants. But, you know, what happens in those programs, I think is going to be really interesting to see what plays out, especially for me with, with Ramsey at Georgia Tech. Like, he's taken over the best Georgia Tech team since probably since like 2003, when they're in the College World Series. Like, it's probably the best roster they've had in 20 years with sky high expectations. And obviously he's had a big role in. In putting that roster together. Haven't been on staff there for a while now, but, you know, taking over as a head job, some people would say that's a great opportunity, which I think it is. But I think the pressure there is going to be pretty immense and be really interesting to see how he handles it in his first year.
• 21:27
  Speaker C: Yeah, I think that Georgia Tech and I think the Tennessee, those two, obviously, because the expectations are going to be so high, both those places. I think Corey probably has a little bit of a pass, you know, at Duke, he got the job a little bit later than, you know, kind of, you know, obviously at Tennessee was a little bit different, but he had been there. Coach Elander, you know, whereas Coach Mascara is going to get the job a little bit later in the summer, you know, then probably would have liked. I don't think expectations are as high, but obviously with Georgia Tech being a top five team and then you have Tennessee with what they did with, you know, Coach V. Like, it's. It's to be, you know, the expectations are to be that high. So those two, I think, are very interesting from that perspective is, you know, you're never, never been a head coach. Here you go. You know, top five team and a team that, you know, basically has been a top five team for their top ten team for the last, you know, we'll call it six years or so. Coach Pollard going from Duke to uva, it's in conference. There's going to be expectations there. But Virginia obviously has been very good. Coach Pollard's done A phenomenal job. They were, you know, went away from Omaha or. Yeah, went away from Omaha twice. You know why he was at Duke. You know, he's been multiple supers like that. That, that is, you know, should be a fairly easy transition we'll call it. The other one that I think is interesting is, and I know we talked about it, you know, our group chat the other day, there was, there was something online where they were ranking, you know, SEC head coaches and going through it and you know the list had Brian o' Connor I think at like four or five or somewhere in that, that range, which is very fair. But the one thing I said was just like, well before we put him at four or five, like why don't we just put an asterisk next to him and you know, and coach Elander and they've never coached a game in the SEC before, you know. Now yes, Brian o' Connor won a national championship at uva. He's the first guy to do it, you know, in the ACC since 1953 when Wake did it. But, and he's a phenomenal head coach. Been to Omaha how many times? Multiple times. Like you know, again he was, he was a win away from another national championship when they lost the Vanderbilt. But like he's never coached in the SEC before, you know, and we know, you know I opened you know this show with that like you know we, we know what that gauntlet is. We know what that 30 game schedule is like. You know he had hoover on the backside of that and you know you're talking about, it's a gauntlet. So I think it'll be interesting, you know, and again like toe bound placement has high expectations. The expectations are always high in Starkville, you know and then they, they load up. They got a bunch of the guys that they had at Virginia to come. They did really well in the portal and a couple other, you know, higher end mid major transfer guys that came in like, you know, depending on what you look at, you know, in terms of rankings, some people have them basically their top like 12, I think at all of them, top 15 and all of them. But you know, some of them, some, some rankings have as high as 6 or 7, you know, first year again like, you know it's going to be a little bit different. You know that home crowd is, there's no, you know, there's no, there's no pass, there's no getting your feet wet. Not you know, in that place. You know, when you're putting that much money into baseball and you Know, what you could argue is the most important sport there at Mississippi State, you know, so I think that that's kind of an interesting storyline. Loaded roster. Again, expectations are going to be through the roof just because it is Mississippi State, no matter what they did last year, you know, and coach Parker did a great job, you know, kind of steering that ship in the right direction. I mean, what could have easily had the rail, you know, them come off the rails, you know, last year when, you know, they had a coaching change mid year, which again, very unprecedented, you know, in college baseball, you know, outside of, you know, some, some, you know, extracurriculars we'll call it, that had happened in the SEC previous. This was just a strictly wins and losses kind of, you know, kind of, you know, firing for coach Lemonis. So coach Parker took over. They did a great job. They actually, Coach o' Connor retained him, you know, as the pitching coach. I think he's the associate head coach as well. But I think those, you know, those three to me are like ones that I really, really, really star just because again, the expectations, you know, and again it is for two of them. It's going to be the first time they're going to be head coaches. And you know, obviously for Brian o', Connor, it's the first time he's going to behind coaching sec.
• 26:10
  Speaker A: If you are the parent of a high school baseball player with college aspirations, you already know the recruiting process can feel overwhelming. Endless showcases, nonstop emails and big promises with very little clarity. That's why we recommend Diamond College Showcase Camps, the nation's premier academic baseball showcase. At Diamond College showcases, every college coach in attendance is there with a purpose to coach, instruct, evaluate and recruit. Every player is seen, every player is engaged, and every family leaves with a clear understanding of where they truly stand. This is not a mass camp. College coaches run the drills, evaluate every athlete and provide honest professional feedback that you can trust. Diamond College Showcase camps are built for serious student athletes who value both baseball and academics. If you're looking for transparency, clarity and a recruiting experience that respects your time and your players future, Diamond College Showcase is the place to be. To learn more, visit diamond collegeshowcase.com. Yeah, I think it's different when you're the head coach, right? Like it's, I said this a couple of weeks ago and I got foo fooed by someone else, but it's a completely different ball game when you're the head coach. Not saying that these guys can't handle it, you know, and probably more talking about Tennessee and Georgia Tech, like there's going to be some, some expectations there. And when you know you're the one that the wins and losses go on your record and you're making the one making the decisions, you know, it takes a little bit of time getting used to. And I, you know, they're all, they're phenomenal coaches and we'll see how it plays out. But I, I don't think you cannot consider that a factor going into this season. I do think it's a little bit different for Brian OConnor. Obviously. He's been a head coach for a very long time, has had success and won a, and won a national championship. Like, you know, it is the sec. It is a little bit different and it's a gauntlet of a, of weekends, every weekend in that conference. But, you know, I do think it's a little bit different when you've, you've done it for as long as he has versus someone who's, who's never done this before. And oh, by the way, you are doing it in the best conference in college baseball where you're, it's, there's high expectations, it's tough. 13 of the 15 teams in that league, 14 of the 15 teams are tough to play against. So, you know, I think that it's, it's something that you can't discount going into the, this season. Not to say that ultimately it matters. We'll find out in another couple months here. But I, I, again, I, I don't think that it's something that you can just kind of gloss over. The fact that you have two programs with really, really good teams and high expectations and brand new head coaches who, it's not like they, it's not like they're new. And I think this is a, a clear delineation. Like, it's not like they're new head coaches to the league. League.
• 29:10
  Speaker B: Right.
• 29:11
  Speaker A: Like, it's not like they got hired from Marist and went there. Like, they haven't been head coaches before. Like their head coaches in the best league in the conference or in the country for the first time ever. So there's, there is a little bit more weight to that. So, you know, we'll see how it plays out. And I'm hoping for those guys that they, they do well. But I, again, I, I don't think it's something that you can gloss over and not at least have a conversation about.
• 29:38
  Speaker B: All right. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just, it's just o' Connor's the one that, for me I think it's going to be really interesting. To your point, Jonathan, like, Mississippi State might be the Most unique Power 5 school, Power 4 school in the country from a baseball perspective, because if you look at all the other SEC schools and I'm talking, you know, even Missouri, like, they're all really good in other men's sports, right? They've all had really good runs in basketball or football. Mississippi State, like, baseball is the sport. It is the sport at that school for men's, for the major men's sports period. You know, they get 10,000 people who show up to, to inner squad scrimmages and stuff during the fall. Like, it's wild. And I mean, I think that it was a home run higher. The expectations are wild. Like, you know, D1 baseball has got him number four. I mean, are they going to make it in my Omaha? We'll find out. But I think it's really interesting to, to see him a coach who's as good as he is and what he did. Like, is there another level he can get to at a school like Mississippi State with, you know, make no bones about it, like, UVA's got a beautiful setup. They've, you know, what he did there was incredible. But like Mississippi State, you're dealing. It's a different beast. It really is. I'm sure he's well equipped to handle that. He brought the bulk of his staff with him. But that one, that one's an interesting one for me. So. All right, let's get into. Let's get into some sleepers here. Any Jonathan, any. Any quote unquote, mid majors that people need to be keeping their eye on. Anybody, anybody you got tab that are some interesting follows here.
• 31:29
  Speaker C: I'm like, to be honestly not. I'm not going to break any airways here. It's pretty, you know, pretty standard, I think. I don't even know if you even consider them a mid major anymore, but they're in the Sunbelt boat and, you know, coastal. I mean, you know, I guess if you win a national championship, go to Omaha, you know, as many times as they have now, like, I, I guess I'm really not, you know, again, stepping too far out of the box here. Oh, coastal. I think East Carolina gets back on track. I think the Americans interesting to look.
• 32:00
  Speaker B: At.
• 32:03
  Speaker C: You know, South Florida. I think they'll be better. You know, that league is, you know, is interesting to look at. You know, two lanes. Guy obviously got into two regionals in a row. You know, they'll be interesting again. You know, I think that's an interesting league to look at. You know, East Carolina for a long time had, really, since Coach Godwin got there, had kind of, you know, ran the roost there, you know, with Tulane, obviously, you know, going to regionals the last two years, making it a two bit league. But I think they'll be back. I think they'll. I don't know if they'll be quite what they were, you know, maybe three or four years ago, but, you know, I think they'll be back. Southern Miss again will be really good. I think that Sunbelt's gonna be really good. I think that Sunbelt's a really fun to watch in terms of, you know, you know, some of the other schools in there, you know, LA Tech obviously, you know, with Troy, like Georgia Southern, like, it's a really good league, top to bottom. It's a really good baseball league. So I think that will be interesting to kind of look at and then, you know, just to kind of piggyback off what you said, you know, the Big west with those four, you know, in Santa Barbara, Poly and Irvine, you know, in Hawaii, and then you still have Long beach and Fullerton in that league, you know, which for a long time, you know, have been, you know, powerhouses in, you know, college baseball. So that was kind of the few points I had. The one team I actually, I think is going to sneak up on, some people did really, really, really good in the Portal. It's in a great place, it's in a very winnable league. But keep an eye on Bethune Cookman. They did a really good job on the mound and the Portal and I think they're going to be way, way, way, way better and they've had some good records and they've had some success in that conference. But just keep an eye on them because I don't, I wouldn't take them for granted. You know, if you're one of those, you know, other Florida, you know, division ones that you catch them on a midweek, like, just, just be careful, you know, with them. And I think early on, I think we'll see them get off to a really good start. It'll be interesting. Keep an eye on them though.
• 34:17
  Speaker B: You're not going to bust the airways and you're just going to drop a Bethune Cookman on the listeners. Come on. Now.
• 34:25
  Speaker A: They have that kid pitching in the World Baseball classic who's like 97 pitching for the Netherlands.
• 34:31
  Speaker B: Yeah, coach, class, what do you got?
• 34:36
  Speaker A: I think the, the only thing I would, I mean, Jonathan covered quite a bit there in the mid. In the mid majors. I think the Conference USA is going to have some teams that are going to be able to compete Dallas Baptist as usual. I think Jacksonville State actually made a pretty good run last year that they're going to be pretty competitive and I think the. I just lost my train of thought. What was going to be my other one? Oh, Northeastern I think is going to be back. Not that I'm breaking airwaves there. The CAA has changed up their scheduling and there was a little, a little article recently on D1 baseball that came out after we kind of discovered that they, they flipped their, their scheduling there in the CAA where there's a. I believe they're calling it a North and a South. Northeastern from a conference perspective. And I don't think it realistically, if they go out and do what they did last year, which was impressive, I don't think it really matters. But they have a pretty favorable. I'll just leave it at that conference schedule in front of them where it could be a pretty impressive conference record that you see out of the Northeastern Wild. Kitties or Husk. Are they the Huskies? They're the Huskies, aren't they?
• 35:59
  Speaker C: They are, yeah.
• 36:01
  Speaker A: The Northeastern Huskies when we get to the end of May. So just something to keep an eye on. You know, again I'm not really, I'm like Jonathan, I'm not breaking any airwaves here with, with the Northeastern pick. But I, you know, I think that they're, they're, they're definitely worth paying attention to to kind of see what it is that they're going to do in conference now that that conference schedule looks a lot different where they're not playing everyone like they did in the past. They're, they're playing just their division twice in home and Homes. So worth kind of paying attention to over the course of this 56 game set.
• 36:36
  Speaker C: The other thing that. To know with that league too is that they are the first. They're going to be the first league to put two teams in the conference tournament. Not off of record, but off of rpi, which I think is very interesting.
• 36:52
  Speaker B: Yeah, that. That Northern Conference, that northern portion of the conference that Northeastern is in is going to be hard pressed to have an RPI better than some of those Southern schools. Yeah, just, just from, you know, we've talked about this, that it's, it's really hard to accumulate a hard high RPI in the Northeast just because of the, the different schools and you know, it's something that Northeastern and Yukon and, and you know, Boston College they run into every year with, you know, no knock on some of those schools. But you know, a road, a home win against UMass Lowell doesn't really move the needle. But you don't have a lot of, you just don't have a ton of options up there. I'll say this, I think there's a better chance of Northeastern going undefeated in conference play than them losing a series.
• 37:46
  Speaker A: Yeah, it's a fair, it's a fair statement to make. I think that it can happen.
• 37:56
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 37:56
  Speaker A: But I mean it also is a bold take.
• 37:59
  Speaker B: I coached in that conference. I think it, I think what they're doing is, I think it sucks to be really honest with you. Like Northeastern now you don't get to watch Wilmington and Northeastern. Wilmington or you know, Wilmington and Northeastern. Northeastern and Charleston. Like they don't play William and Mary. Like they don't play Campbell. Like you're, you're not giving the five best teams, six best teams a chance to duke it out during the regular season. And I think that that sucks. So whatever reasons they did it, I'm sure that they had their reasons and there's probably something financial and yada yada, yada, but at the end of the day, I think it sucks for that conference because I think on a good year that's the type of conference that can get you two teams in. It's happened before when Charleston was really rolling. Wilmington's always really good, Northeastern's good. Like you've, I think it's going to be really, really hard for them to be a two bid league now because you're, you're really just, you're hurting the chances for the RPI stuff to take place in, in the conference. So I don't like it.
• 39:06
  Speaker A: But no, you're shooting yourself in the foot from a conference standpoint. Now the, the, I think you're right and I don't know 100 but I would imagine that financials, this summary is, plays a big role in why they did this because the north, you know, the north traveling down to the south obviously costs a little bit more money, you know, and it's not easy to get from Boston to Charleston for a three game set, you know, and I, so I, I would imagine that the, the main driver was finances. But from like, from an overall conference perspective, it's going to hurt you in being able to get multiple teams now under the current landscape. I, you know, I don't know if, if it matters. Right. Like we thought they should have been, you know, what they were one bid league two years ago when Northeastern tripped up in the, in the conference tournament. Right. There was still a one bid league and then Northeastern had a really good year. So like that I guess the question then becomes like, is it, are they viewed as a one bid league regardless of what they do?
• 40:11
  Speaker B: That's a good question because Charleston got left out a couple years ago too. Yeah, about 40 revolutions per minute and they got left out. Northeastern would have got in last year if they didn't win it. But you don't put yourself in the position anymore for a team like Northeastern to get an at large. I think it's going to be really, really hard. Now I haven't looked at their pre.
• 40:28
  Speaker A: No, but I, I, I, I also think it's hard and you guys can tell me if I'm wrong, but I think it's wrong for exactly what you're I not wrong. I think it's hard for exactly what you said when like Northeastern struggles with midweek stuff like midweek RPI climbing games. And I think it, it would be tough regardless because those, some of those games that you have to play because of, you're bound by geography that those games don't help you in the long run because yeah, you should win that game on that Wednesday they get multiple.
• 41:04
  Speaker C: Bids moving forward would be a Northeastern win the tournament and Charleston or Wilmington has a gaudy enough RBI and they lose like in the championship game. But they do enough at a conference to keep their RPI high enough that they could find a way to get in. And the win total is probably gonna have to be like 40 wins, maybe 41. I mean, what was it two years ago? What did they have? Northeastern, but they had like 42 wins, I think it was.
• 41:38
  Speaker A: Oh, they had 44.
• 41:40
  Speaker B: Charleston was over 40 that year too and got left out.
• 41:43
  Speaker C: Yeah, so like the conference had a.
• 41:45
  Speaker B: Legitimate, they had a legitimate case for three that year. Yeah.
• 41:50
  Speaker C: Because Wilmington, Northeastern and Charleston all should have gotten in two years ago. Yeah.
• 41:55
  Speaker B: Now interesting, interesting stuff there for me. I got, I don't know what it is, but I got my eyes out west these days. I think Nevada is loaded. I think that that program is really good. I got an inside source out there who speaks very, very highly of what, what's cracking out at Nevada right now. But like talk about a major wrench and things. Their head coach left in the fall. So like you got a really talented roster that looks to be kind of the class of the Mountain west and one of those teams that, you know, you get them in A regional and you're not feeling very good about them being a three seed or a four seed, potentially probably a three seed. But I think that they're really interesting one to follow, can make some noise and I think Gonzaga's got a chance to be really good again. I know their, their rotation is going to be really good and they're not that far removed from being a two seed out in the Virginia Tech regional. Wouldn't be surprised if they, you know, kind of separate themselves from the, in the West Coast Conference and end up being a really tough out in the regional. I think they're kind of that mid. One of those mid majors I think is really interesting to, to take a look at. And then the other one that got left on the, they got left on the outside looking in last year. You know you mentioned the Sunbelt, Jonathan. Like I think Troy is an interesting one. If they continue to pump money into that program. Coach Mead's done an awesome job. They're in a league where they can get in at large. You know, Sunbelt's probably a three bid league would be my guess. They're one of those teams that can make some noise. I don't know if they're going to make like College World Series type run, but they're one of those programs that they might not be the flashiest name to people who follow college sports, but you get them in a regional and that's a tough out and they've been good and I think they, you know, they probably got a little bit of chip on their shoulder. I think they should have got in. I think they're in the boat that we talked about with like Charleston where you look at it on paper and you're like really? But we'll see with them. I'll be really intrigued to see what they roll out because I think they got a chance to be a really good ball club again this year. So. All right, before we get to the Omaha eight, we'll, we'll go quote unquote sleeper Omaha picks. I don't think this needs to be non power 4 choices but you know, anybody that's not on the College World Series radar, Jonathan, you think we need to keep an eye out for.
• 44:31
  Speaker C: No, not really. I mean now I don't really have, I mean I have three from the SEC, two in the ACC, Big 12 and Independent and Big 10. I don't think it's. Again, I'm not really breaking any airways here. You know, I, you know I, I think if you look at it right, like you know, somebody from the Sunbelt maybe, you know, maybe a Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, you know, a Dallas Baptist, maybe at a Conference usa, you know, some teams that have been there, I mean, odds are right, like what we've seen the last two years is we're going to get somebody that nobody had, you know, nobody's even brought their name up tonight. But, you know, obviously with the last two at Murray State and Oral Roberts, you know, like, nobody had them, you know, anywhere near in their Omaha 8, you know, when the year started. So maybe we continue that trend, you know, team that gets hot the right time, you know, it's baseball, you know, and again, like, you know, you run into an arm or, you know, a couple arms, you know, that can really do it, get into a, you know, get through the regional, and next thing you know, you're in a super and you just got to win one series and you go to Omaha, you know. So, you know, I don't think, you know, right now I have anything. I think, you know, you. As you get through it and as you kind of look at, you know, as you get closer to regional weekend and, you know, you get through the conference tournaments and you kind of see what shakes out again because of that, you know, portal with being able to reload so quickly, I think that will be. Will be interesting to see. You know, what. What program can, you know, maybe take 10, 12, 15 transfers and get them all on the same page and kind of playing, you know, playing together, you know, at the right time of year.
• 46:29
  Speaker B: What do you got on that front, Coach Glass?
• 46:33
  Speaker A: I think Jonathan's dead, right? I think it's a little bit too early to find sleepers, although I do have one that I put in my. That I. I don't necessarily know if it's a sleeper, but I think that they are. They could make the jump this year if. If all things go right and they stay healthy.
• 46:58
  Speaker B: I don't have them in my eight, right. I have one team in my eight that I don't think a lot of people are talking about that I'm taking a flyer on. It wouldn't be. It's not like a groundbreaking pick because they've been there recently, but I don't think anybody really has them on the radar. But there is one team that's routinely not in the top 25 right now that I wouldn't be surprised if they broke through and made it for the first time is West Virginia. They. They're returning a ton of experience on the mound, and they've Got some young dudes that got some burn last year that have a chance to be like, really impactful players. I don't think it's a quote unquote sleeper pick, but it's a team that's never been there and they kind of been knocking on the door in recent years. It wouldn't surprise me if they were able to put it together this year, but I don't have them in my. But they were. They were in my, like, top 12 where I was like, you look at them on paper, there's a lot of things to like with some experience. They've done really good in the Portal, specifically with Division 2 guys that they've been able to bring in that have been really impactful for him. And they. That's a program that, like, they're. They've got some buzz around them. They're doing a lot with the facility. It's a really, really good coaching staff, top to bottom. I mean, if you listen to Coach Saban's talk, like, I mean, how can you not like that guy? Like, I'm sure those guys just play their butts off for him. He's just. He's just. It's hard not to, like, listen to him to talk. He seems like such a real. Like a real guy. So they're my, you know, kind of on the outside looking in, but somebody that wouldn't shock me, but. Let's do it. This is what everybody's here for. Our first shot will run this back midseason, but first shot at the Omaha. Jonathan, break the ice here. What do you got?
• 49:00
  Speaker A: First one. We're going one and one one. Let's just go all the way around.
• 49:05
  Speaker C: We can do that. I also did have West Virginia marked down, but I do not have them in my eight, so I'm. I'm with you on that one, Andy. They were in it and I scratched them out, so they're not in it, but they were close. They're my top 12 as well. I'm going to go first and I'm going to take LSU.
• 49:24
  Speaker A: I have LSU too.
• 49:26
  Speaker B: As do I. Tough, tough to keep those guys out of it at this point. I think they. Not only do they reload, but they've still got some holdovers in some superstars on that roster that. Yeah, I mean, it's. It's gonna be tough to bet against Jay Johnson and the boys. I think they. I think they get there again. Coach Glass, who's your number two?
• 49:52
  Speaker A: I have. Well, I, I have these in no particular order, but the second One I wrote down was Arkansas.
• 50:00
  Speaker B: I do not have Arkansas. Okay, them as my nine instead of Arkansas. I flip flopped on this right before we started. I've got Oregon State. I think that their offense will figure it out. They lost a lot, but I think that that pitching staff is. Dax Whitney's. Probably the best sophomore arm in the country. People saw what that dude can do in the College World Series. I mean, it's absolute electricity coming out of that kid's hand. Super high end number two and then really, really experienced Sunday guy. So I like the combination of that and obviously there's the pedigree there. So that's. It was tough for me to say no to Arkansas, but they got a lot of guys who haven't done it at that level that are going to be counted on and I just didn't. Matt Hobbs will probably prove me wrong, but. Sorry, Matt.
• 50:58
  Speaker C: I. Both actually. So I'll go twice here. I had Oregon State and Arkansas both in.
• 51:07
  Speaker B: Next one on my list to my third team, tcu. I think that sophomore class is electric. They were on the. You know, I just. I think that they're going to make that. They're going to be back in the World Series again. A team that's been there a ton of in the last 25 years. I think they get back to Omaha again.
• 51:31
  Speaker A: I have TCU as well, more or less for the same reasons. I mean, they're. They're returning a bunch of dudes on offense, good portion of innings on the mound. They were there last year. I, I think as long as they stay healthy, I think it's. It's. It's going to be very tough to keep the match of out of Omaha.
• 51:55
  Speaker C: I also had TCU in there as well.
• 51:59
  Speaker B: Great. Mics think alike. Maybe we'll start to differ here in a few. Who's your. Who's your fourth pick here? Jonathan.
• 52:08
  Speaker A: Jonathan has four out.
• 52:11
  Speaker C: Four out.
• 52:13
  Speaker B: Okay. Keith, who's your fourth?
• 52:15
  Speaker A: All right. We're probably not. None of us are probably going to differ on this either. So John will get a fifth. I have UCLA and too.
• 52:23
  Speaker B: Same. Same.
• 52:25
  Speaker C: There's just two towns. I mean, they're just.
• 52:27
  Speaker B: It's. They're freaking loaded.
• 52:29
  Speaker C: I. I think they're loaded. Thinking this is going to sound crazy because to say this on February 9th, I think is. It's tough for any program. I don't care who you are. But like, with their expectations, I think if they're not in Omaha, it's probably not a good year.
• 52:42
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 52:42
  Speaker A: I mean, they're returning 85 of their offense and like 80 of their innings on the mount, and they were pretty good last year, so.
• 52:53
  Speaker B: Yeah, and then you throw in some super premium freshmen and you have, I mean, we'll see how the whole season plays out, but, like, Rock Tralsky is the best prospect college baseball has had at shortstop, and there's been some really good ones. Right. But, like, he's, he is the number one pick unless something goes totally wrong. Yeah. All right. Number five. It's my, my first ACC team. I think we're gonna see the Louisville Cardinal back in the College World Series again. I think the only thing that can trip them up, I think, is if they, if the pitching goes sideways a little bit. I think they relied on some guys really heavily last year that could really help them, but they need a couple guys to step up. But that offense is electric. They got power, they got experience, they got guys who can run the bases. They always play defense. I know they're not picked ahead of Georgia Tech, but I think they might be the best team in the acc top to bottom. Okay.
• 54:08
  Speaker A: I took, I did not have Louisville. I put UNC back in the, in Omaha this year. I think they're pitching, they, they return a bunch of arms on the mound. Offense, they're gonna have to figure it out, but I think that they're, they're prime for a big run. And I always like watching super regional weekend at, at UNC Stadium. It's always a fun atmosphere, so a tough place to play. I, I'm hoping that UNC is a pig. I've shied away from them in recent years, so I'm hoping that this year I, I, I get on the bandwagon and they, they get me to Omaha.
• 54:48
  Speaker B: I do not have unc.
• 54:50
  Speaker A: All right.
• 54:52
  Speaker B: They were, they were on the, they were on the edge for me. Next team I got in. We talked about him at the top of the coach and change. I think, I think Brian o' Connor's first year down in Starkville goes really well. I think with the guys that he was able to bring in some of the holdovers. I think the pitching staff, like, might not have, they might not have, like, your traditional, like, loaded Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but I think the collection of arms that they're going to run out, they'll figure out a way they might throw. They might consistently throw 10 guys, which, as you guys know, is not normal in college baseball to, like, legitimately have substantial innings across the board for 10 guys. Like, it's super, super deep, and I think that'll Ultimately get them there. So I got Mississippi State.
• 55:51
  Speaker A: Jonathan.
• 55:53
  Speaker C: I have somebody else that we talked about earlier with a coaching change, and I have Georgia Tech getting in. I know first year head coach, super high expectations. I actually think that a little bit of like a hiccup early or to the middle part of the year wouldn't be the worst thing for them because I think you'll see how they respond, you know, because if you kind of just cruise, you know, all the way through, you know, the regular season, you know, and then you get, you know, into the postseason and you're going to face some adversity at some point in those first two weekends at regional and super regional weekend, like, you know, it will be good for them to have a little bit of a hiccup, I'll put it that way. Again, new head coach, super high expectations. The talent, like you said, Andy early is probably the best talent they've had in, you know, two decades. Face a little adversity in, you know, April or so. And I think if that. If they can come out of that, I think they're going to be all right. And I think they'll. I think they'll get to Omaha and Coach Ramsey's first year.
• 56:59
  Speaker B: I like it. All right, we got two more picks left each. I'm gonna go back to the sec. I'm gonna leave my quasi sleeper for last. But I think Texas may not be back in football, but they haven't really left in baseball. I think. I think the Longhorns. The Longhorns get there for a lot of the same reasons that we're talking about some of these other teams. Like, they got Velo. They got stuff. They got athletes. They're really freaking good. And I think. I think the Longhorns are back in Omaha.
• 57:38
  Speaker C: I actually. I have Texas in there as well. I think they've kind of gone under the radar just a little bit. And again, I know they're preseason top 10 in most polls, but they've kind of like, they have so much coming back. They played so many young guys last year. They had so much coming back along with the portal kind of sprinkling in, some older guys bringing them in. They've done a really good job on the West Coast. They've done. They've done better actually in states. And Schloss just got there. Slosh knows how to get to Omaha. Like they're gonna be all right. I think they get back there as well.
• 58:18
  Speaker B: Coach Glass, who's your.
• 58:20
  Speaker A: I don't have Texas. Texas. My first team out. I do have Mississippi State to, to tack on for the, the last one that I, I missed in that round, I took a flyer here. I have two picks that one, one's probably not as surprising the other one might be. But I, I was having some conversations recently and I, I have the Demon Deacons going. I think that the, if they stay healthy, obviously there's a question mark at shortstop. They're, they're, they're very high on the, the freshman shortstop that they have coming in there. I think Billy is one of the best hitting guys in the country. But they have some guys on that staff that have some serious stuff. I mean, they have, so they had a dude who was up to 102 in the fall. They ran into a really good Tennessee team in the Supers last year. You know, so I, I think that, you know, they, they've, they've been to the postseason the last couple years. They have, they did go to OMaha in what, 23. They, they made it there, you know, so I, I, I, I took a little bit of a flyer. I, I don't know if it's necessarily the, I, I, you know, I think we've talked about this before. Like, I just don't know in the ACC who's going to come out of it. And I think that if they're, they're athletic, they, they can pitch a little bit, then why not? Let's see what happens. I don't trust any of the other ones, I guess is what I'm driving at.
• 59:54
  Speaker B: Parents, if you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to navigate youth sports, there's a new resource designed just for you. TeamMatch. TeamMatch 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 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 all right, Jonathan, who's your eighth?
• 1:00:38
  Speaker C: My last one is going to be the Seminoles. I think Florida State gets back again. Link's been there, you know, he's obviously an alum at Florida State, but he's been there, you know, with Notre Dame when he, when they knocked off, you know, maybe one of the best teams in, you know, college baseball history in Tennessee that year, 2022, I guess that would have been, I just, it's Florida State. Like, they're old. They're a little bit older. They're not like super old. They're kind of like a mix. They're going to have to rely on a couple of young guys in the lineup. I think their rotation will be interesting. I think they have depth, you know, again, I think kind of similar to kind of Mississippi State, where, you know, you may roll some guys, you know, a little bit deeper, like, in terms of like the entire staff. I don't know if they have quite that frontline, you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday that they've had in years past, but I think they have more depth than they have definitely that they have more depth than they have in the last two years on the mound. I think, again, they've been there. You know, Link's been there before. You know, they. They kind of have, you know, his system down in play. They're going to be. They're going to be tough. And I like Louisville. I think Louisville is really good. I think North Carolina's gonna be really good. I think North Carolina State's gonna be really good in the acc. Obviously, I picked Georgia Tech already, but I think, you know, I think Florida State's kind of that sneaky, that sneaky one that you kind of look up, you know, again towards the end of April, beginning part of May, and you're like, wow, they're whatever in conference and here's our overall record. So I'm going to go. Seminole's bat to Omaha.
• 1:02:32
  Speaker B: Keith, you stole my pick. I'm on the way train, too.
• 1:02:37
  Speaker A: Oh, okay.
• 1:02:39
  Speaker B: Because here's why I think they return enough offense with Wentz and Lewis and Jabar Williams and Luke Costello. I think their experience behind the dish with Jimmy Keenan and the Conte kid got some burn last year. And I think Billy's just. They're going to hit. I think they'll figure that piece of it out, even if they don't have quite as much star power as they might have had in recent years. But I think this is the. I think this is top to bottom, the pet. The best staff that Wake Forest has had. Morningstar is a legit ace. They got the Bagwell kid coming in from Wilmington, who's a super high end stuff guy. And then Chris Levonis. He didn't throw a ton last year as a freshman, but there was a reason that he was a top 60 pick in the draft. Like, you're talking elite, elite stuff. And if that kid figures it out, he's as good as anybody in the country. And then I think you've got other guys with experience like Matt Dallas. Will Ray is going to be a more substantial role. And then they got guys like, he's an EMD alum, so I'm going to shout him out. My guy, Reese Bowie, who's a mid to upper 90s lefty who got his feet wet as a freshman. They got them, they just got the arm. Talent is as good as anybody in the country when you start looking at pure stuff. And yeah, I mean, I think, I think they got a chance. I believe in that offense being able to figure it out. And I think that they might be another one of those teams like you're talking about with Georgia Tech, Jonathan, and like, it might take them, they might go through a little bit of a rough patch because they're going to probably rely on some younger guys early. But I think at the end of the year you could be looking at a team that's got a legitimate one two punch in the front of the rotation, which we know makes it super hard to battle in a super regional setting. And I think they got a chance to make it happen, so we'll see.
• 1:04:35
  Speaker A: My last one, I took Southern Miss.
• 1:04:41
  Speaker B: Oh, another Sunbelt representative.
• 1:04:43
  Speaker A: Yeah, I, I guess maybe it's a flyer that we talked about earlier about maybe the team to watch. I don't necessarily know if they fall into that category. Category. I think that they've, we, if you follow college baseball, you know that they've been very good over the course of the last.
• 1:04:59
  Speaker B: Forever.
• 1:05:01
  Speaker A: It's a super fun atmosphere to watch games in. They, they show up and show out down there in Hattiesburg for, for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. But I think they return enough on the mound and offensively to, to obviously, I think they're going to stay at the top of that conference. You know, I, I'm not. This isn't a knock on Coastal or anything, but you lose two arms at the front end of that rotation that threw. I think it was close to 200, if not more 200 innings last year. Like, they went super deep into games. You lose that, that's kind of hard to replicate. And I think it's, you know, I, I, I think when you have teams like Coastal who do what they do out of the Sun Belt, I do think there's a, a little bit that happens in the conference where teams see it. They're like, why we can do that too. And I think they return enough. They've added out of the portal that I think that, you know, if I was hard pressed Then, you know, I'd. On February 9th, I'm going to go ahead and say that I think Southern Miss could be the team this year that might run the table a little bit. You know, if you're listening to this and you're, you're new to college baseball, the Sun Belt is, is just shy of a power four conference. They, they roll out a bunch of teams that are really good. Not necessarily the, the football that you'd think, but I think Southern Miss has a legit shot this year. So I, I went ahead and threw them in there because I think that they're older, they've been just shy the last couple years, and let's see what happens.
• 1:06:29
  Speaker B: Any closing remarks?
• 1:06:31
  Speaker A: I wrote them all down this time so I actually know who we all have.
• 1:06:35
  Speaker B: So we can make fun of, of each other eight weeks from now when we're like, oh, yeah, yeah.
• 1:06:40
  Speaker A: Well, we had, when we all had Texas A M last year, and after four weeks we were like, well, that one's over.
• 1:06:49
  Speaker B: Well, good news, Jonathan is. I don't know if LSU is going to have a hangover, so. We'll see, though.
• 1:06:55
  Speaker C: I've never lived that down, but that's all right. Gotta be in it to win it, baby. You know what I mean? Gotta begin it to win it.
• 1:07:02
  Speaker B: Who are you?
• 1:07:02
  Speaker A: Who are your first three out?
• 1:07:06
  Speaker C: I had, I actually had Kentucky, I had West Virginia and I had Mississippi State. That was my first three.
• 1:07:18
  Speaker A: Andy.
• 1:07:18
  Speaker B: Yeah, Arkansas was one of the three out. Oregon was another one that I had on the outside looking in West Virginia. And then the other team that I like, for the reasons that you outlined, Keith, from a pitching perspective, North Carolina.
• 1:07:35
  Speaker A: I had Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Texas as my first three out for. I just think that the, it's going to be tough on new head coaches to, to live up to the expectation of what's going on there, the expectation of what's going on in Tennessee and the expectation of what Georgia Tech did last year in taking over for Danny Hall. Texas, I mean, I want to like Texas, I really do, but I like, I, I just don't know that it's a hard place to go into and play. You know what I mean? Like, I, I think, I think it's. I think it's a lot harder in a lot of the other SEC stadiums to go in and play. And I, I think that now, I think, you know, Schloss is a great coach and they're going to play hard and they're going to be really good. I just don't know when it, when it comes down to it, if, if you're hosting a super, like, you know, if you have a, if you're hosting a super against another SEC school, I don't know if they're going to be scared. Like, not that they're going to be scared, but I don't think that the crowd or the stadium or anything really factors in to what's going to go on there. It's just going to be like a regular April weekend at home.
• 1:08:45
  Speaker B: My personal feeling, no, that's it. I mean, I've been to that stadium. You know, I watched them play Oklahoma, and I would, I would not disagree with you whatsoever. It's not that it's country club atmosphere, but it's, it's not lsu, you know, it's not A and M where if you throw six straight balls, they start chanting numbers at you. A little bit of a different setup. And that's, that's an interesting thing to factor in when you're talking about, you know, the value of being able to host a super is, you know, being able to play in front of your home crowd and. No, that's an interesting take. I like it. Who's the, who's the national champ? Jonathan, who's your, who's your pick?
• 1:09:28
  Speaker C: I mean, I, I, if I were to, if I'm gonna pick today, I'm gonna go. It's gonna be LSU against ucla and I'm gonna take LSU again in a repeat, which I know it's very difficult to do. Wow.
• 1:09:42
  Speaker B: What do you got, Coach Glass?
• 1:09:46
  Speaker A: I think that it's going to be ucla, Mississippi State. I think UCLA wins. Really taking a flyer on the number one team in the country right now. I just think if they do. What if they just, if they progress the way that you do year to year, I think they're going to be, Obviously everything has to fall into place. You have to stay healthy. All these things have to happen. But I, I just cards on the table with what they have. Coming back off of what they did last year, I think that they're going to be incredibly difficult to beat. But I think Brian o' Connor is going to exceed expectations in Mississippi State in year one.
• 1:10:21
  Speaker B: I'm going to take it one step further. Coach Glass. I'm going to tell you right now that Mississippi State Bulldogs are going to, they're going to take it down. EMD alum is going to get a national championship ring. Shout out Will Kirk, who I think might actually factor into how that all works. But I think, I think o' Connor's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. I think he's got the players to do it. Yeah. I'll put my money on Brian o' Connor and the Bulldogs this year to take it down.
• 1:10:54
  Speaker A: All right, all right.
• 1:10:58
  Speaker B: Any closing remarks here?
• 1:11:00
  Speaker A: Go watch college baseball.
• 1:11:02
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 1:11:05
  Speaker C: Here's my one I got for you guys. And I know me and you talked about this earlier, Andy, and I'm going to come at it from a little bit of a different angle. Santa Barbara goes cross country is going to open up at Southern Mass, which as anyone who has listened to this in years past knows, my opinion on a lot of the west coast schools and how they like to sit in their home state and complain that the RPI is, you know, east coast biased. But it's not. But we'll just call it what it is. So number one, I give Jackets and Company a ton of credit from a coming across the country place, other Miss opening weekend. But I think the one to kind of think about here to also give a ton of credit to is Southern Miss. Like you're Southern Miss, right? Like you do what you're supposed to do in conference play and you just. Are just there. Just do what you're supposed to do in the non conference on the midweeks. You're gonna be fine from an RPI stand, but you don't have to worry about playing UCSB opening weekend, right? Like you're, you're a host. If you do what you're supposed to do in the Sunbelt and you do at a conference, you know, your midweeks, you grab one from Ole Miss, maybe you split with Mississippi State, like you just do that. You're a host and they're saying, come on down. Tana Barber, who could be in Omaha, you know, you know, they've been a top 25 team basically for the last five straight years. Really long, I guess since 2018. So, you know, almost close to 10 years. They've been, you know, top 25 program and they welcome them into town opening weekend when, you know, you don't know what's going to happen. You haven't played a game yet. You've been playing each other. Like kudos to both those programs because I think that's awesome for opening weekend to kind of have that start on your calendar is really cool.
• 1:12:56
  Speaker A: I think it's huge. Cal Poly is going to Campbell too, which, you know, you don't see a lot of way like in this is. This is a recent development that you see in the west coast teams Come east, which I think it's awesome for college baseball.
• 1:13:16
  Speaker B: That's a, that's a highlight series for sure. Be some good games out down in Puerto Rico this weekend. You'll see some good matchups.
• 1:13:23
  Speaker C: There's got really good matchups. Really good matchups at Globe Life.
• 1:13:28
  Speaker A: Yep.
• 1:13:28
  Speaker B: Except you can't watch it because it's on flow sports.
• 1:13:32
  Speaker A: Then you got Vandy. TCU opens up Friday night. That'll be a good game.
• 1:13:38
  Speaker C: Yeah, that's global. That's. That's the Globe Life tournament.
• 1:13:40
  Speaker A: Is that the Globe Life one? Yeah, because there's another one at Arlington too.
• 1:13:48
  Speaker B: That's.
• 1:13:48
  Speaker C: Isn't that Globe Life?
• 1:13:50
  Speaker A: I don't know. I thought it was, but it's listed as something different.
• 1:13:54
  Speaker C: I think they may be playing that game at TCU though. Oh yeah, I could be off on that, but I think they are.
• 1:14:07
  Speaker B: Yeah. That Santa Barbara Southern Miss is one of the more intriguing series for sure. When you look at it. Just two really, really good programs. It's not a tournament setting. So you're talking about like they plan that three game set. I think that'll be really good. Looking right now at some other ones in Northeastern. Flying out to play. Why not to play? Am I drawing a blank? Grand Canyon.
• 1:14:37
  Speaker A: Grand Canyon.
• 1:14:38
  Speaker B: That'll be a good, a good series. I think the Notre Dame at Florida Atlantic is a good series. Like good on Notre Dame. Like when you play in the acc, you don't have to make trips like that. Florida, Lance, good ball club, man. Like that's a good ball club. Notre Dame is going to need to be ready to go. I think Notre Dame's got a chance to be an at large this year, you know, so starting off there and having a good weekend I think would be really good. I think you got Davidson, Bryant, which is an interesting. I think that's a really good mid major matchup. You know, Bryant has been very good for a while now in that low mid major category. Davidson's obviously had some really good teams. I think that's an interesting one for, for folks who are listening. Like if you want to go watch different levels of baseball, I think that that's a really good one. You're looking at two pretty darn good programs there. We hit on it earlier. Xavier, East Carolina, Illinois at South Florida I think is a good one. Illinois had some really good teams. South Florida is South Florida solid. I think that one will be pretty good. See any other ones pop off here?
• 1:15:47
  Speaker A: Yeah, the Globe Life series has Oklahoma, Texas Tech, tcu, Vandy, Oklahoma State, Arkansas Texas Tech. And there's one other school in there that I'm missing. No, Cincinnati.
• 1:16:03
  Speaker B: Jacksonville State will be a good. Be a good series too. Jacksonville State flies under the radar. That's a good ball club. They were good last year. They were top 70. RPI. Cincinnati, who's at large. Like that's a. That's a solid opening open weekend matchup right there. What else we got? Anything? Any other ones jump off?
• 1:16:29
  Speaker A: I think you covered the ones that are. Stanford and Arizona open up out in Arizona against each other, which will be interesting.
• 1:16:37
  Speaker B: Wilmington, Rutgers, College of Charleston. Those would be good. Those would be two good series to watch. Nebraska, Yukon, I don't know if that's a series, but they're playing on Friday. That's a good matchup. Nebraska's got a chance to be an at large team. Obviously Yukon is. Yukon.
• 1:16:59
  Speaker A: Oh, the Stetson tournament has some good games too. Stetson, Minnesota, Friday night. And then there. There's two other teams in that that are actually pretty good too. I'm drawing a blank on who they are, but I looked it up earlier.
• 1:17:20
  Speaker B: And of course the. The Fighting Red Foxes of Marister flying down to Johnson Tennessee to play East Tennessee state.
• 1:17:29
  Speaker A: That's right. St. John's Ball State are the other two teams in that Stetson get together. That won't be terrible matchups.
• 1:17:40
  Speaker B: Should be a fun opening weekend.
• 1:17:43
  Speaker A: I can't wait.
• 1:17:46
  Speaker B: Tune in, check it out. Get your ESPN plus subscription or steal it from a friend, whatever you need to do. What time? Earliest game? Jonathan 11.
• 1:17:59
  Speaker C: 11 or 12.
• 1:18:01
  Speaker A: Richmond, Monmouth kick off at 1. Who's earlier than that?
• 1:18:08
  Speaker C: I thought there was like some. I could be wrong. I thought we had some like elevens in there. Twelves. I think maybe one in Puerto Rico might be at like 11.
• 1:18:16
  Speaker A: It's okay.
• 1:18:17
  Speaker B: Morehead State and UMass Lowell are kicking off at at noon.
• 1:18:21
  Speaker C: No, no, no. We got 9:30am Houston and week in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• 1:18:28
  Speaker B: There we go.
• 1:18:30
  Speaker A: There we go, baby.
• 1:18:31
  Speaker C: I don't know if that game will be televised, but.
• 1:18:35
  Speaker A: We'Ll find a way.
• 1:18:36
  Speaker C: I'll find it. Texas Tech, Oklahoma at noon. Yeah, we're seeing here early. Hold on, let's check here.
• 1:18:46
  Speaker A: Where can we watch the Puerto Rico series?
• 1:18:49
  Speaker C: That's The Holy Crossing VCU at 1:30. Yeah. St. John's Ball State. And that sets in tournaments at noon.
• 1:18:57
  Speaker A: All right.
• 1:18:59
  Speaker B: And then if you're gonna stay up late on Friday night, you've got the 11:35pm tilt east coast time between Gonzaga and Hawaii. Which if you're gonna stay up, that's got a chance to be a really good. That's got a chance to be a good series.
• 1:19:14
  Speaker C: You want to lock in on that? Yeah.
• 1:19:16
  Speaker B: At last, Murakami Stadium. Electric atmosphere. Seriously. Like they, they roll it out there. It's a pretty cool. If you can, if you can get that on TV and you're up at 11:30, tune into that for a couple innings.
• 1:19:28
  Speaker C: It'll be the atmosphere there may be the most underrated, like, best atmosphere in the country.
• 1:19:33
  Speaker B: Legit, super legit.
• 1:19:36
  Speaker C: Like, if you look at their crowd totals, like baseball in paradise. Sweet.
• 1:19:44
  Speaker B: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you everybody for listening. Jonathan, as always. Pleasure.
• 1:19:51
  Speaker C: Thank you guys for having me on as always.
• 1:19:53
  Speaker B: We'll have you. We'll have you back on here soon, I'm sure. All right. Hopefully we got something right. I'm sure we got a bunch of it wrong, but it was fun regardless. Thank you everybody for listening. Tune in next week. Enjoy some college baseball this week. Week. We'll talk to you soon. 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 em emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check 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.