Ahhhh, the things you do while waiting nearly three full days for baseball to be played at the College World Series again.
Virginia is well-stocked for a return with helmet-clackers like Tyler Cannon and Stephen Proscia back.
I know, these Eight For Omaha lists usually don’t come out until after the current CWS is done, but I thought it’d be fun to beat everyone to the punch here.
Keep in mind, once again, this is NOT my pre-season top eight teams nor is it who I predict will get the national seeds for next year’s NCAA baseball tournament. It’s merely a fun projection that I can look back on and say “See?” if I get a couple of them right. And every time you read one of my teams and snicker “Pffft! No Way!!” Don’t forget about teams like Fresno State, Southern Miss, Louisville, San Jose State, Oregon State and Missouri State.
Besides, as we’ve discussed here before, these Eight for Omaha lists done 350 - er, make mine 354 - days in advance, are usually woefully wrong, no matter who it is. But fun none-the-less.
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EIGHT FOR OMAHA…
Here’s who I think will make it to the final CWS in Rosenblatt Stadium in June 2010.
- Virginia.
With “95% of our team coming back” according to coach Brian O’Connor, this one could be a no brainer. And you know how teams new to the CWS tend to do better once they return. With names like Hultzen, Morey, Arico, Gosselin, Parker and Proscia returning, I can’t wait to see what this program does next.
- LSU.
Anthony Ranaudo must be more consistent and Matty Ott must not fall to Soph slump. If it’s positive signs on both fronts, this team will be heavy favorites to make it back. Especially ‘coz you know how playing at home in the post-season is almost a given W.
- UCLA.
Yeah, I know, we see this team’s name creep up in the pre-season Top 10 every few years but the Bruins tend to fall far short. Well, with Frosh All American’s like Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole, 2009 is the season Coach Savage has been pointing to.
- Cal State Fullerton.
For all the reasons I like the Bruins, the Titans have even more (a trio of frosh All American pitchers in Noe Ramirez, Nick Ramirez and Tyler Pill). But unlike UCLA, Fullerton has the Omaha experience thrown in, and you know how that can pay big dividends the following June.
- Clemson.
It was a Jekyl & Hyde season for the Tigers, but plenty of building blocks return, including hurler Casey Harman and high-potential guys like Jeff Schaus and Brad Miller in the batting order. And all things considered, it was probably just the tough draw of going to ASU that kept the Tigers from Omaha in ‘09.
- Stanford.
The Cardinal are never far out of the national spotlight and with Brett Mooneyham and Jordan Pries as frosh weekend starters, the rotation will be solid. Now, is it true that All Pac 10 running back Toby Gerhart has indeed given up football for baseball? If so, that’s huge.
- Vanderbilt
Tim Corbin is on a list with coaches like Mike Bianco, Rob Childress and John Savage that need to bust through to Omaha or be labeled an underachiever by other media hacks. But he’ll have a trio of studs in Aaron Westlake, Jason Esposito and Sonny Gray to build a good base around.
And the wildcard pick:
- Minnesota
Yeah I hear ya’ laughing. But think of it this way, if The U was sent as a No. 3 to Atlanta and USM was sent to the more-logical Baton Rouge Regional as its No. 3 this year, we could’ve been seeing the Gophers pull the post-season upsets. Three frosh All Americans return to campus next year.
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A HALF-DOZEN OTHERS TO WATCH
… just in case they stay injury-free, perform to expectations and get a good post-season draw in 2010:
- Arizona State.
Lots of youth, but will miss Leake and Spence the most. Kipnis and Calhoun should be pro ball bound too. But Reloading is ASU’s yearly ritual.
- Florida.
If the Gators get six or seven of their 11 draftees to make it to campus, jaw-dropper Preston Tucker will have some mates to win titles with.
- Texas A&M.
If Barret Loux returns to first-year form and Ross Hales continues to deal, some of the losses won’t be as big a problem.
- Texas.
The post-season “Augie Factor” from the early 2000s returned in ‘09, and good young arms will take them far again.
- Florida State
Must get more quality pitching beyond super-Freshman Sean Gilmartin, otherwise, they stay on the “others to watch” list.
- San Diego.
What if, just what if, all those voluminous rash of injuries don’t happen again next year? USD in The O? Maybe so.
Great blog. I am surprised that Texas didn’t make your eight for Omaha. They return a ton of players, including all but one of their pitching staff. They lose only three position players. Most were pointing to next year as the year for them, not this year.
Keep up the great work.
It’s only fun if we can find last year’s picks. Where’s your list from last year? And, how did you do?
Two out of eight ain’t bad:
- North Carolina: Check
- Miami
- Texas A&M: Everyone missed on these guys.
- Cal State Fullerton: Check
- Missouri.
- Rice: This is the one that hurts. Best team that LSU has played so far…just saying that the selection committee set it up so only one of Rice/LSU could be in Omaha. After seeing the play here, the Owls belonged. They’ll be stronger next year all round.
- USC
- Baylor.
I will be shocked if Texas doesn’t make it to Omaha next year.
Pontificating about next year is great, but let’s focus on what’s about to unfold in front of us: one terrific championship series between 2 of the greatest programs in college baseball history. This has the potential to be one for the ages. I feel sorry for anybody who doesn’t watch these games.
Florida State is just a weird program. 0-19 at Omaha. Second fiddle to Miami whenever it’s on the line, so it seems. But the one thing Mike Martin seems to want to come out on top… is win count. Therefore… schedule year in, year out a bunch of pasties on the NC schedule… and then be truly NOT battle tested come playoff time. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
UCLA, MN, and SD are bold picks. But then we’d dump on you if you didn’t go bold… so way to go. Programs that have got to break thru one of these years if for nothing else than shear good luck finding them… given the luckless nature of how things have been going for them.
“And if Texas doesn’t win a national championship this year and next… his head might roll!” Texas chest thumping wisdom for you, if Augie is to be believed about expectations down there. Must be their recent memories of 1949, 50, 75, and 83 championships that have led to that.
How can you leave out Rice, you’ve lost all credibility. Kind of like the NCAA Selection Committee sending 8 teams from Big 12 & only UT making it to Super Regionals & Omaha, while Conf USA had 3 teams in Super Reg and S Miss reach Omaha. This forced Rice to play LSU at Alex Box vs hosting Super Regional. If our pitching is standard Rice, we go to Omaha. I believe Rice beat UT 4 times this year.
I love the UCLA pick, Eric! Cole and Bauer will be awfully tough to beat on Fridays and Saturdays. If Max Stassi bypasses the pros and comes to campus we’ll have a very good catcher to go with an improved lineup. The bullpen should be very strong too, giving the Bruins as deep of a bullpen to go behind Bauer and Cole. I sat down for an interview with Savage last week and he seemed awfully excited about next year.
Rice and Texas played twice this season, once in Houston and once in Austin, with Rice winning both.
Losing credibility? How about being THANKFUL that I didn’t include Rice with that ultimate jinx? You guys don’t appreciate anything I do for you.
So far Gus, you’re abso-freakin-lutely right about it being a classic. Can’t wait to see how UT will tie things up tomorrow. Then, get ready for an epic Wednesday night game. Yowza!
Actually, two outta eight is a steaming pile of dung Guy, my guess is you are just being kind. But that’s the nature of these predictions. And keep in mind, my prediction for the eight for Omaha can change, especially after August 15th deadline where drafted players have to sign with the pro teams or return to school.
See above Joanna. Sorry about not posting them already.
After seeing their gutty performance in Omaha this week, I’m already having second thoughts about adding UT. But remember, it’s a Stitch-heads prerogative to change his mind. So you never know.