[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody, JJ Cooper Jeff Ponce, Jacob Rudner, the Baseball America College podcast, and it's here.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's here.

[SPEAKER_02]: We are going to talk about we are going to review the Superraterials, but most importantly,

[SPEAKER_02]: I've been the time this week on the college podcast doing exactly what you all want us to do, which is we are going to talk about the 18th who are in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: We are going to look at those teams in a variety of ways and preview, get you ready for Friday and Saturday's games and beyond Jacob is getting ready to head to Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: Good to see you guys, but man,

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, not every series was great, but we did truly have some, some all-timers I felt like Jacob.

[SPEAKER_02]: There was some truly compelling drama this past weekend in the secretions.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was, and that was on the radio yesterday, today's Tuesday, June 9th.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was on the radio on Monday and somebody asked me, you know, does this super regional round prove that parity is dead?

[SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, hold on, hold on now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just pay attention to the entire tournament.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're catching yourself having some, some tunnel visions, some very recent, some, some recent sea biases to how you feel about this tournament,

[SPEAKER_00]: I do think that this is still a tournament that's proven that parity is alive and well.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at the end of the day, yes, this was a lopsided Super Regional Field and it is the lopsided Omaha field for the SEC.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the best showing ever by a single conference in College World Series history.

[SPEAKER_00]: They have five teams in the College World Series field.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a dominant showing.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was a dominant showing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's the theme of the Super Regional Round and we'll see, but I think it could be the theme of the College World Series 2.

[SPEAKER_02]: We had a piece up yesterday at baseball america.com.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, two days ago about the time you get or don't just relate about the time you get this, but that kind of amazing stat 11 of the 16 SC teams have now made it to Omaha in the past three years.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's a

[SPEAKER_02]: remarkable staff and I would say even maybe more remarkable is that we're looking at in addition to the fact that we know that we will have an SCC team playing in the title game to have a series, I should say, for the ninth straight college world series, but also on top of that 14 of the 16 SCC teams have made it Omaha this decade, like

[SPEAKER_02]: It is not something where it is, you know, we've had stretches in the past where you had a dominant LSU, you had a dominant Southern Cal from many years, Arizona State.

[SPEAKER_02]: You had these teams that were carrying kind of a conference, you know, a lot of times.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right now, like every single team in Omaha this year, obviously, since no one even made it to super close for last year's CWS, but every Omaha team this year for the SEC is a completely different team from last year's SEC teams and largely different from the teams from two years, but two years ago.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's something where it's a blender and it's spitting out different SEC teams, it feels like every year.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jeff, to you, is there anything that really jumped out watching the Super Regional's games?

[SPEAKER_02]: Anything that really surprised you or stood out like, oh, okay, that you're going to take into

[SPEAKER_01]: It felt in some ways like both of those teams.

[SPEAKER_01]: I know that obviously it was a two-o sweep, but it did feel a little bit like both of those teams should be in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_01]: But no, I don't know if there were necessarily any surprises.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think Southern Cal gave North Carolina more trouble than I expected.

[SPEAKER_01]: I know I'm not speaking for Jake up there.

[SPEAKER_01]: But overall, I think what we anticipated would happen would happen, maybe the biggest surprise of the weekend was oldness and taking down Auburn.

[SPEAKER_01]: But

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, this isn't this is an old misteen that we kind of had said throughout the season on this show was potentially built for Omaha because they they're an older line up their more experienced they have a tremendously experience but also talented pitching staff and ultimately I think that's what could lead to a lot of success and.

[SPEAKER_01]: We'll see what happens in Omaha, but you know, when you have two aces and a guy like Hunter Elliott who's, you know, had so much pro excuse me, college experience.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it does a lot of things really well in the mouth.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe not a great pro prospect, but a really good college player.

[SPEAKER_01]: And you look at that line up kind of one through nine.

[SPEAKER_01]: They can bang.

[SPEAKER_01]: They weren't the hottest team in the tournament.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, over the last month, but I really kind of hit their stride over the last couple of weeks and continue to be a

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think there were a lot of surprises and for me at least there weren't a ton of of huge takeaways.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of what we anticipated would happen happened and with a lot less drama outside of, you know, that's singular series.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would say those two, because I would say that those two series, George of Mississippi State and UNC, we're both exceptional.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, for Ole Miss, it is crazy that they have a, Kate Townsend could go in the first round.

[SPEAKER_02]: They didn't even need to pitch him because they wanted it in two games.

[SPEAKER_02]: They had him sitting there

[SPEAKER_02]: ready for game three, but before we kind of move looking ahead, Jacob, I didn't want to ask you about that UNC USC series as well, because that to me was a series that was absolutely back and forth.

[SPEAKER_02]: Plenty of expected, and I would also say plenty of unexpected, I didn't expect, if you were told me that Mason Edwards, who really has kind of struggled a little bit late in the season, but if you were to tell me that Mason Edwards would kind of get

[SPEAKER_02]: and then you say, but, but Southern Cal won that game.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then you would say, okay, DeCaro goes out and just shoves in game two sets up an all timer and I do feel like it, it really, that one lived up to every expectation we could hope for.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I think that series was aligned with a lot of the expectations for it that were set during the postseason, meaning I think that USC has never been, we actually, there's a, there's a second of last week's podcast where we effectively laid it out exactly as it happened USC was not a very prolific offense, not the regular season we saw in the college station regional that they were really good.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then they go to Chapel Hill, they show that off in the first game, but allows them to overcome, as you mentioned, the bad Mason Edward start.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then North Carolina gets rolling.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that there was a moment in our baseball America slack.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're all of us jumped in there after Jason DeCaro's complete game.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first elimination game, complete game, since Kumar Rocker threw an NCAA tournament no hitter in 2019.

[SPEAKER_00]: That felt like when UNC won the series and I know that it required a leap come back in a heroic Four doubles performance from Owen Hall just a third four double performance in the NTA tournament ever But it felt like UNC kind of won the series on Saturday.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that Jason DeCaro did a lot for the team's momentum I think that he did a lot for his personal momentum.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know that there are some evaluators who have had questions about

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the the gas tank on DeCaro on the velocity never really taking up over the last couple of years.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he was out there in the 9th inning pumping 95 and around the strike zone.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we look for the big performances in the college world series and in the road leading up to it.

[SPEAKER_00]: That to me felt like the most defining one so far this postseason.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that it gave North Carolina a lot of momentum.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was a fun series.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's one of my one other takeaway I wanted to add before to move on in the cultural series, which is this Owen holds a perfect example of this.

[SPEAKER_02]: I know that there are a lot of people who kind of decry the current modern environment with free transfers left and right.

[SPEAKER_02]: spent two years at George Mason, if I remember right, and but wanted to be a tar heal proved that he was like, you know, hey, this is the guy you you want on your team.

[SPEAKER_02]: We saw it, we see a lot of that in this, you know, obviously I would say that, you know, even North Carolina, which is kind of one of the lesser transfer heavy teams has players who it's like, they,

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think it's a bad thing if we could get into a world I've spoken about this on the podcast before I had people on the talk about this.

[SPEAKER_02]: If we get into a world where 15 and 16 year olds realize that it's not all about getting that offer from the school you want to go to on day one of your you know the availability going into your junior year but it's much more about

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, like if you develop into the player you want to be, those opportunities are going to arise and maybe that means that you play somewhere else for a year or two, but seeing players kind of

[SPEAKER_02]: get the opportunity and then take advantage of those opportunities to become stars, you know, Daniel Jackson, you know, Daniel Jackson we're talking about that, you know, did not begin his career at a power force school.

[SPEAKER_02]: We could go down the list of these, but that is something where it is cool for me to see to see these players kind of emerge and become stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I agree with that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I do think that it's worth mentioning and I'll speak for the mid major coaches who are listening to this podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know that there are a lot of coaches who are out there who rightfully believe that if those stars were to stay at home, then they would then have the firepower to go on running their own conferences and go and do something like what Troy is doing right now, where they're playing in the college world series.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've built a roster.

[SPEAKER_00]: In some part with their own transfers, they've done a really good job of kind of cleaning up with guys who have left high majors and bring them in and kind of giving them a new life.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, they've got guys like Jimmy Janaki who I guarantee you they're sitting there and talking about how great it is that that guy took a bet on Troy and didn't go and take his very clearly high major talents to an SEC school or something of the likes.

[SPEAKER_00]: To your point, yes, it is cool to go and see the Owen Hall success stories where they move up in the college baseball world and they become, you know, overnight stars because of a single performance.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: That being said, I do think that, you know, there is reason to give voice to some of the, the mid major coaches were doing a really good job out there and holding on to some of these guys and proving that that can go a long way to.

[SPEAKER_02]: But okay, so we've looked at the super regionals, but we're gonna spend the bulk of this.

[SPEAKER_02]: We wanna talk about the teams who are in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're gonna look at all eight teams.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're gonna look at who we think are the favorites to win it.

[SPEAKER_02]: What, each team's kind of secret weapon could be.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we'll do that right after this quick break.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we're back.

[SPEAKER_02]: So let's dive in.

[SPEAKER_02]: How we're going to do this is we're going to talk about each team, same categories for each team.

[SPEAKER_02]: We are going to focus on what it would mean for them to win.

[SPEAKER_02]: We are going to focus on kind of the stars to watch.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then we are also going to look at kind of a secret weapon for each team.

[SPEAKER_02]: Something to watch.

[SPEAKER_02]: You could be a player.

[SPEAKER_02]: You could be an aspect of how they play, but we're going to start.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're going to go in order of the games.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we will start speaking of Troy.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jacob, I'll probably tee off with you on each of these.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so let's just start with.

[SPEAKER_02]: I will save your Troy like this sounds even really fun to even consider.

[SPEAKER_02]: What would it mean to Troy if they're dogpiling at the end of the college rule series?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, kind of a needs no explanation one right there.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a house money situation and these are the most fun.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I will also say this is a tournament that has a real chance to produce a first time winner.

[SPEAKER_00]: There are four schools North Carolina included that are in the championship right now that are looking for a first title in the Super Regional Era.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that with Troy, this is the torch bearers here for the little guys, this is the team that will carry the flag for the smaller schools that made the tournament and when I'm runs, but also for when we've talked about this on the podcast and the past for the mercers of the war.

[SPEAKER_00]: for the teams that didn't make the tournament that we had been talking about for the entire season is maybe having a chance to be the underdog and to go on a run like this, I think that every time a school like Troy puts itself in pole position to be the representative for that group, it's a good thing for the game.

[SPEAKER_00]: It proved why, you know, better mid and low major representation on the At-Larves line is important.

[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, for every game that Troy can survive and continue

[SPEAKER_00]: remains and it's visible in the college world series.

[SPEAKER_00]: I also think it's important to recognize that if Troy goes to a queue in Omaha, a point proven nonetheless.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is an outstanding run.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll go back to the phrase that I started with this is a house money situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if Troy wins it, it's one of the all-time great underdog stories in college baseball right up there with the, you know, the Fresno states and whatnot.

[SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, lose and this is still a huge win.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, Jeff, star player, who's the player that if you haven't been following Troy this year?

[SPEAKER_02]: Who's the player that you need to know about?

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, Jacob already had mentioned him, but that is Jimmy Genickey.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the numbers were phenomenal throughout the year.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's the best hitter in the Troy lineup.

[SPEAKER_01]: Statistically, talent-wise hit 341, 413, 648 this year.

[SPEAKER_01]: Low strikeout rate makes contact, hits for some power.

[SPEAKER_01]: It was a 442 woeba.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think when you look at this destroy lineup, that's the guy that you're probably most scared of.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think a guy that in our circles, we know who this guy is.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think nationally, this profile could jump quite a bit, especially if Troy steals a couple of games here and he has some big performances.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we're talking about star players.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's the guy that you've got.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, Jacob, secret weapon, that can be a player or that can be something that you don't know that could really serve in Troy's favor here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I'll say two things then.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll give you a player and then just something that I think will serve them well.

[SPEAKER_00]: The player for me is Lefty Zach Crotchfeld.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is a senior.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is at his fourth school and he has been a major weapon for them out of the bullpen.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is a college podcast of old in which Peter and I were talking about some mid-major sleepers.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is late last year in 2025.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we mentioned Troy specifically because Zach Crotchfeld

[SPEAKER_00]: potential resurgence in the fall.

[SPEAKER_00]: He has a 3.5 ERA entering the College World Series over 61 and 2.3 Zinnings.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got 74 strikeouts at 22 walks and he has proven to be as I said a critical piece who can kind of give them some innings.

[SPEAKER_00]: He can miss some bats.

[SPEAKER_00]: pitch and leverage and in theory, and this sometimes becomes a factor in the college world series, it would not be a surprise to me if he ended up starting a game for them and provided some innings that way too.

[SPEAKER_00]: So super versatile picture of those kinds of guys are really important for the underdogs and got to have somebody with like loud stuff who can go out there and miss bats and I think that Zach Prash club is your your X factor individual weapon.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, moving on to West Virginia, the team that they will play, the Troy will play in their first game,

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like that this one, I'm gonna come to your way Jeff first on this.

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like that West Virginia is the team of all the teams here who there's probably maybe the most kind of separation between if you are a fan who follows your team or whatever and what you think this team is and what this team actually is.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like I feel like that this is a team that has a couple of,

[SPEAKER_02]: Stars who are already stars, again, if you really follow this, but who are really going to kind of open your eyes if you have no idea if you couldn't name a player on the West Virginia roster right now.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and we'll see.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it certainly helps when you have a super fan like Pat McAfee who's in the front row kind of promoting the sport and and your team.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I thought it just kind of an aside here.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the moment where you have everybody singing country roads, like what a phenomenal experience in that super regional for school like West Virginia.

[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, I think I was a doubter for a certain point to the season down the stretch here.

[SPEAKER_01]: They've continued to kind of pass every test.

[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a few names here, but I think the big one is obviously Gavin Kelly.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's arguably

[SPEAKER_01]: one of my favorite pro prospects on the position side in college baseball right now, had a phenomenal year.

[SPEAKER_01]: Let all of the vision one in total barrels.

[SPEAKER_01]: It just kind of gives you perspective of how good the hit tool is.

[SPEAKER_01]: Honestly, I think we talk about barrels more from a power perspective and that's how it's discussed, but this is a guy that makes a lot of contact.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's

[SPEAKER_01]: and part of hit tool for me is kind of having enough power to hit the ball hard enough, the ball actually drops, but also hitting the ball at good angles.

[SPEAKER_01]: That shows me barrel control.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think no one may have sort of the level of barrel control with all those other attributes within this profile like Kelly does can provide valuable defense at multiple positions,

[SPEAKER_01]: And then you look at the underlying numbers, hit 384, 484, 720 this year.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a 1204 OPS on the season, walked more than he struck out and, you know, is just one of the best players remaining, you know, in the college world series and one of the best guys that you're going to watch this week.

[SPEAKER_01]: The other guy I want to throw a shot out to here on the hitting side,

[SPEAKER_01]: is Sean Smith.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's had some really big hits down the stretch here for that team and I think maybe you know kind of gets a little overshadowed a little bit by Gavin Kelly but is also a really potent bat in that line up and somebody that has been producing you know some really big hits for them down the stretch here at the tournament.

[SPEAKER_02]: So Jacob, a star player we just hit Kevin Kelly, Kevin Kelly is our number one prospect he college prospect for the 2027 draft is Jeff just laid out.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's got a catcher and second base of the athletic catcher.

[SPEAKER_02]: He does a little bit of everything, but so secret weapon who comes to mind or what comes to mind from them.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think that this West Virginia team has a chance to do damage with its offense based on the way that it's playing.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to talk about that group in general.

[SPEAKER_00]: Omaha plays really big.

[SPEAKER_00]: That part keeps a lot of fly balls in.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is pitcher friendly, but it also requires teams to be very efficient.

[SPEAKER_00]: offensively and and that means moving guys over station to station being able to take your walks Not this is a really big one.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's an underrated one, but every coach in the college world series talks about it if you get the Daygame which try West Virginia is the shadows in that ballpark are really really tough and it creates strikeouts for pictures So teams that are going to be super disciplined

[SPEAKER_00]: that know what they're looking for, that are going to be able to play that station station game with a lot of contact, with a lot of good athletes, those are the teams that tend to fare pretty well.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when you combine West Virginia's provenability to do that, plus the fact that it's going to pitch the ball pretty well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Max Yel was a real picture of the year contender for us this year with a mid to low 2zr8 chance in coal was outstanding.

[SPEAKER_00]: against Cal Poly, despite being kind of a lower velocity, bigger pitchability, right and or low slot right hander.

[SPEAKER_00]: This to me is a team that's sneaky to go in the whole thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just think that the way that they play fits super well to what Omaha demands of you, both in terms of having the depth of pitching staff, but also the way that they play offense and kind of the ability that they have to avoid some of the pot holes that this specific venue

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that that will both well.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, West Virginia is ability to be disciplined offensively and to continue to play athletic, station, station, elites, you know, kind of execution baseball is going to be important.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that'll be the first game.

[SPEAKER_02]: Then we head over second game on Friday, the night game on Friday.

[SPEAKER_02]: We just talked earlier about North Carolina, how they dramatically advanced edged out.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm sorry, I forgot one thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: I want to finish with that Virginia.

[SPEAKER_02]: I skipped one thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jacob, what would it mean for West Virginia to win it all?

[SPEAKER_00]: same thing and we we don't have to spend too much time on it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's another first time winter potentially and and any of these teams that have a chance to do that is huge I think that Not necessarily in the same like Torchbearer for the little guy type way, but I do think that there is a selection Monday Trend that has been kind of you know against the big 12 if you will that is not a conference and has gotten the benefit of the doubt on selection Monday on the hostline

[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, West Virginia going on a run here will be good for the conference, especially after Kansas Bows out against an SEC team as a host.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that that probably reinforces the wrong message if you're about spreading out the tournament representation.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so West Virginia representing a conference here that could use a little bit of a boost.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that leads us in to North Carolina and I do want to bring up like I'll kind of kick it again to you, Jacob, but like I do feel like with North Carolina winning it all.

[SPEAKER_02]: would be the culmination of, it would basically cement North Carolina as one of the college baseball dynasties of the 21st century so far.

[SPEAKER_02]: They have it one at all.

[SPEAKER_02]: They've been there twice, you know, it's a two, you know, they've been runner-up twice, you know, back of six of seven, but also this is nine appearances in Omaha since those six.

[SPEAKER_02]: This team's kind of been a consistent power, they've done it now with multiple coaches, they've done it with producing star after star, but there's that one aspect of it that they haven't been able to do, how important would that be for North Carolina?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know, I think that for North Carolina there is

[SPEAKER_00]: I think in reality, that is a team that is widely viewed as one of the powers of this era of college baseball.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think to exclude them from that conversation would be borderline blasphemous.

[SPEAKER_00]: That being said, not having a championship is tough.

[SPEAKER_00]: not having an ACC champion in quite some time and only two of those ever is really tough for that conference.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so North Carolina carries that weight this process and they don't have a championship themselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's one of the two very high profile teams that doesn't have one Alabama being the other.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that, you know, that's that is the thing that you ultimately have to check off.

[SPEAKER_00]: And for Scott Forbes,

[SPEAKER_00]: there are a few coaches who have had more success.

[SPEAKER_00]: This isn't out there at the time of us recording it, but my very strong expectation.

[SPEAKER_00]: My, my inklink is that inklink is that Scott Forbes is going to get a little bit more money and maybe a couple more years tacked on to his deal, which was.

[SPEAKER_00]: Extended before the seasons started.

[SPEAKER_00]: So popular guy really good team really well coach team and this is now the the opportunity to go and check off that final really big tally and and that's the championship.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it means a lot I think that for a fan base that's a little bit tortured in terms of its success.

[SPEAKER_00]: This would be getting a big monkey off their back and you have to team that's capable of doing it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jeff, I'll come back to you.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is picking a star player for North Carolina.

[SPEAKER_02]: It is tough because I would say this is both a team that doesn't have one overwhelming star, but also has like seven or eight really good players.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think that's the thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: All throughout the season, you kind of look at their lineup.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I do a lot of our data breakdown stuff and I'm digging into barrel leaders and EVs and expected stats and all that nonsense that many Machado thinks that I just made up in my basement.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I think at the end of the day, I come back to Owen Hall.

[SPEAKER_01]: excellent season.

[SPEAKER_01]: We talked about him as somebody that North Carolina was able to get and transfer portal and is really kind of helped to transform that lineup.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, led the team in

[SPEAKER_01]: Any time I see a 500 base per 500 on base percentage, it just blows my mind.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's like little league numbers that he put up.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not crazy power.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's it's there.

[SPEAKER_01]: The raw EVs are there, but I wouldn't describe him as a home run header sub 200 just barely a 199.

[SPEAKER_01]: isolated, slugging.

[SPEAKER_01]: But he's a guy that walks more than he strikes out.

[SPEAKER_01]: He gives you good defense in the outfield, can make contact, can work deep into counts, really makes pictures work to get him out.

[SPEAKER_01]: So when I'm looking at all these names and guys that have had good seasons, you know, Shaftner, Winslow, Paulson, Gallagher, some of these guys, it's still hall that I kind of come back to.

[SPEAKER_01]: In my head, it's a conversation between him and I know what.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Decaro did this week.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's conversation between him and, you know, potential freshman pitcher of the year, Katie Glober, who's just been so important to this North Carolina team kind of has this piggyback starter, firemen kind of reliever, kind of hardening back to what, you know, relievers and your relief ace was like back in like the 70s or early 80s.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna go four or five innings that gave him the start this weekend.

[SPEAKER_01]: I know he gave up a couple of homers, but it was pretty phenomenal throughout that performance, especially when you think he is a freshman.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I would kind of throw out that he's kind of maybe one B when we're talking about who the stars are here, but I think you kind of encapsulated everything with North Carolina well saying that there's probably seven or eight guys that we could mention.

[SPEAKER_01]: within this conversation because they don't have that maybe shining guy, but there is deep of a roster of talented good players who are going to have pro futures is just about any team in college baseball and certainly just about any team that's remaining in Ola.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, Jacob, secret weapon or really the secret thing that could carry this team.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know, we've seen what North Carolina looks like when it's pitching is really at its best and there's a group at the top of that staff that I think is super important that is their entire rotation and keeping global those those four guys.

[SPEAKER_00]: If one of those, if one quarter of that pie doesn't show up, I think that the going gets really tough for them because there is a significant drop-off, just in quality of stuff and you know, efficacy and consistency beyond those top four names in their pitching group.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think that innings from those

[SPEAKER_00]: names, significant leverage innings will be critical to a deep North Carolina run.

[SPEAKER_00]: Without that, I think that you probably end up stretching your pitching staff a little bit thin, and it's just not an environment where you can have a significant step down.

[SPEAKER_00]: So either somebody is going to have to do some surprising work and really step up or the key to North Carolina success will be lengthy starts and kind of these heroic pitching preferences, I think.

[SPEAKER_02]: You can't, you cannot undersell how important these for this first game is, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: Like when the first game, especially when those first two pitching's never a problem until you, because you can just, because when the first two, you stay on schedule, your bullpen's rested, everything that you have to be built in.

[SPEAKER_02]: Lose that first game,

[SPEAKER_02]: And you better have one of the deepest pitching staffs we've seen to get out of it, or as you said, have heroic performances from players you don't expect, but if there is a team to kind of just take this to the next one, like we just talked about that old miss has three starting pictures who are really just.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would say, kind of, you feel very good with them on the map.

[SPEAKER_02]: But before we get to talk about that, we should lay it out.

[SPEAKER_02]: Again, this is an easy question.

[SPEAKER_02]: In every case, it's an all-timeer.

[SPEAKER_02]: But Ole Miss has won it already this decade.

[SPEAKER_02]: I do feel like for Ole Miss Jacob winning it again, takes them to a whole other level than where a very successful, very strong SEC program already is.

[SPEAKER_02]: But getting that second one, that, that puts you in a whole different category.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it absolutely does.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm trying to to call up the stats here.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have the, well, you'll come back before you move on from this from Ole Miss, but it's a very short list of coaches who have won multiple championships.

[SPEAKER_00]: In their career, it's an even shorter list of guys who have done it in a very short turnaround.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ole Miss, of course, won it in 2022, Mike Bianco going for a second title just in the last six years.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, this is a group.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna to my own horn here a little bit JJ in my in my 30 things 30 days before college baseball season I gave my first eight for Omaha of the year and I had Ole Miss in there

[SPEAKER_00]: pretty much because of everything that's gone on for this team.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's proof of concept.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is to say that this is proof of concept.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're Mike Bianco who I think after the championship in the years immediately after that, maybe kind of wandered a little bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just as the, you know, college baseball landscape was changing and how you put together a successful roster was evolving very rapidly.

[SPEAKER_00]: And there was a time after Ole Miss wanted all where.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and just for what it's worth, I think there were a lot of Ole Miss fans who will have to do some soul searching now who were calling for Mike Bianco to move on because it wasn't going well immediately.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so this to me is a show that what they're doing is working again and they're back on the right track in terms of who they're bringing in and how they're developing pictures and the style of roster that they want to put together.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's very validating plus of course, there is, and I'll find it here in a second when Jeff is a filibuster informed me.

[SPEAKER_00]: I will find that the historic level of achievement that this would be for coach B&K, I'm able to win it again.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, okay, Jeff, star player for Ole Miss.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jacob has been a filibuster, so I'm going to try while hoping that I pronounce words correctly.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think you have to go with old Mrs. pitching staff here and Taylor Rae and Kate Townsend have been phenomenal throughout the season.

[SPEAKER_01]: At different points it feels like Rae has kind of been the guy down the stretch here earlier in the season.

[SPEAKER_01]: It was Kate Townsend, they're both guys that are probably going to go.

[SPEAKER_01]: 30 to 50 picks in the draft and I just think when you can roll two players like that two starters like that out that are college ace level pitchers it is just it's just such a differentiator and it's hard for me to kind of pick one of the two because the numbers have been so similar the performance has been so similar.

[SPEAKER_01]: depending on who you talk to, among pro-evaluators, they might like one more than the other.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think you look at this old miss pitching staff and kind of what these guys can do, some of the depth that they have in the bullpen, with guys like Hooks and Calhoun, Robertson.

[SPEAKER_01]: Libert hasn't performed as well as some of those other guys, but has also, you know, pitched some big innings.

[SPEAKER_01]: they have some depth here, so I do think that's one area where they really stand out and because of how close and how equally talented these two pitchers are, it's very hard to pick one from the other.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, okay Jacob, to kick it back to you, to answer to your question, how many have one to he would be the 18th coach to in multiple

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, but also secret weapon.

[SPEAKER_02]: What is the other thing that something that you should watch for with this Ole Miss Club?

[SPEAKER_00]: This, it is no secret, but it is, it is the weapon.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is the biggest thing that will determine how far this Ole Miss team can go in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that is how much they're gonna strike out.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's that simple on offense.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are they gonna swing and miss a whole bunch and strike out a whole bunch?

[SPEAKER_00]: If they do, they could lose two games and go home.

[SPEAKER_00]: If they are going to put together some discipline.bats,

[SPEAKER_00]: and they're going to keep the whiffs to a minimum.

[SPEAKER_00]: As Jeff said, this is a team that can do a ton of damage quickly in the tournament and make a run.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that if you are a Ole Miss, nothing can save you more than...

[SPEAKER_00]: just taking some disciplined abes because this is a boomer bust line up.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a team that has lived and died all year by the home run.

[SPEAKER_00]: If they're going to do that, which it would be weird for them to change up all of a sudden.

[SPEAKER_00]: In Omaha, you're going to need a lot more boom than you can have bust.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is not the kind of ballpark that affords you many opportunities to survive games by swinging in missing a whole bunch.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was the downfall of Florida in that college world series against LSU, where a couple of record-breaking strikeout performances sunk them.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've seen many teams come through that field and sink because of strikeouts.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is the X-factor for Ole Miss is whether or not they're going to swing a miss a bunch.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think you are asking a dog to become a cat there to be honest because this is a team that is the second worst team in division one baseball during the regular season at contact rate when they swing they miss more than anyone else now you can get on a run but at the same time we know that they are going to swing and miss because that is part of what they do.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have loved Ole Miss from the jump, as I said, that is a team that I predicted to go to the college world series before the season even began.

[SPEAKER_00]: You cannot call me a hater.

[SPEAKER_00]: No hype video can include this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm safe this week when it comes to the rebels.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love this team.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I will now be on record to say this is not a style that wins well in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will see maybe as JJ said, a run is possible.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you get hot at the right time, make contact with the right pitch.

[SPEAKER_00]: You with on the right pitch will see what happens.

[SPEAKER_00]: But historically speaking, even a team that pitches this well has a very hard time keeping up in Omaha because it just does not provide enough home runs for this style to survive.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that is our look at the first bracket.

[SPEAKER_02]: After this break, we'll come back and take a look at the other bracket.

[SPEAKER_02]: and we're back.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we're moving over to the other side of the bracket and kind of already talked about this a little bit Jacob, but I feel like for Alabama has not been to the College World Series this century before this 1999.

[SPEAKER_02]: Alabama is the SEC team here who you're like, okay, this would

[SPEAKER_02]: This would be, again, it's big for any of these teams.

[SPEAKER_02]: But for Alabama, this would be, hey, welcome to the club.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've got your jacket here.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're a national champion.

[SPEAKER_02]: Sure would.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I also will take this time to,

[SPEAKER_00]: eat some crow on the podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the team I was the most wrong about this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're always B1.

[SPEAKER_00]: Somebody is usually good for a surprise.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this year that was Alabama.

[SPEAKER_00]: I did not have the Crimson Tide projected into the tournament, even in my initial field of 64.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were my, I believe, by 13th SEC team.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I projected lead to get 12 this year, which was true, but it turns out that Alabama did not have an issue of floating around that line.

[SPEAKER_00]: this is a team that has performed at the right times.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have seen it have some lower moments, but when it's mattered to most, this has been a very consistent group.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I got them wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: The pitching has been very good.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think some of the older names that they have on that roster have been a major benefit to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Kind of the same way that it has for Ole Miss that the experience is kind of shined through a little bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so yeah, no, this is it would be very meaningful,

[SPEAKER_00]: And a team that has consistently proven itself against the highest level competition.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this feels like I'm actually a pretty sure bet if you're into that kind of stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like if you're going to go and place a bet on a team that just is steady and easy to believe in, I think that Bama and North Carolina could be good examples of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've performed again in high moments and then this is one.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, just to just a really Effective group that has done enough at the right time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Is it the most powerful team in the field?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, is it the best offensive team in the field?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, are they prone to streakyness?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, but they are certainly capable of being very effective at the high end of those of those kind of EBS and flows and right now they are certainly a peak

[SPEAKER_02]: Jeff, star player for Alabama.

[SPEAKER_02]: Again, we have a couple of nice options, but there's a couple here, but I would say that obviously Justin LeBron has been the biggest name here, but is he the star to you, or is there someone else?

[SPEAKER_01]: No, I think if you're really looking at this from a college baseball perspective, what have guys done in season?

[SPEAKER_01]: LeBron is probably down as,

[SPEAKER_01]: 4, 5, maybe in terms of the guys that have been the most important this year, I'm going to go with Tyler Fay.

[SPEAKER_01]: who is sort of their Friday night guy, tall, right-hander, really deep pitch mix.

[SPEAKER_01]: He throws a four-seamer in like the 92 to 94 range.

[SPEAKER_01]: He throws a two-seamer in the same range.

[SPEAKER_01]: He mixes in the cotter, he mixes in the slider, he's got a pretty good change up as well.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a good vertical separation on his fastball.

[SPEAKER_01]: His big issues throughout the season has been home runs.

[SPEAKER_01]: home run in Omaha are not something that they are at a premium.

[SPEAKER_01]: It does not, it, the ball does not fly.

[SPEAKER_01]: They are the way that it's flying in a lot of these things.

[SPEAKER_01]: He parks particularly Georgia after watching that series this weekend.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that he's sort of the guy that can go really deep into a start.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe not the most exciting pro prospect, but in terms of a guy that you can put out there in your first start,

[SPEAKER_01]: And can really save your bullpen by being really efficient getting a ton of outs on the ground striking some guys out throwing strikes and getting deep into his starts I think that day is kind of the guy on the positional side I think it's another four year college player and one that had quite a bit of hype when he first came into college baseball and that's pretty Neil.

[SPEAKER_01]: the senior catcher.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's had a phenomenal season offensively.

[SPEAKER_01]: He has been the best hitter on this kind of underwhelming Alabama lineup and prepared to even, you know, the other 17s and Omaha.

[SPEAKER_01]: This, I believe, is the only team that was, there was maybe one other team that was West Virginia that was outside the top 50 in Wolpe team, Wolpe over the last month.

[SPEAKER_01]: And Alabama's the only team that's outside of the top 70, they're actually outside of the top 100 in terms of performance in Wova.

[SPEAKER_01]: So a lot of it has been pitching good defense, timely hitting, and that sort of thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's why I ended up going with faith, but I think kind of the runner-up here is Neil, because I can't just pick one player, JJ.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm really bad at that.

[SPEAKER_01]: decisions are not my strong point.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so you said, Jacob, this is a team that has surprised you, this is a team that you're like, okay, maybe I missed something here speaking of what other teams might miss what is a secret weapon something that Alabama could kind of do to ride to their first title.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm actually I'm going to cut against the the secretive grain here one more time and I'm going to give you the most obvious answer and that is just in the bronze performance is never been more critical than it will be over the next couple of weeks for him to have some really.

[SPEAKER_00]: strong, consistent, reliable performances for his team.

[SPEAKER_00]: And also for himself, I think that this is a huge weekend in terms a huge couple of weekends potentially to determine whether or not Justin LeBron is going to be a top pick.

[SPEAKER_00]: In this year's draft and by top pick I mean is he a top 10 guy is he a top 15 guys.

[SPEAKER_00]: He a top 20 guy I think that this college world series will go a very long ways in determining exactly what that looks like Because he is extremely talented, but how often that talent is a parent how often the at bats are great is scattered

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that for Alabama to even have a chance at winning a college roll series title, they will need their best player to be exactly that for best player.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is a dynamic threat on the bases.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is a dynamic threat in terms of putting pressure on defenses.

[SPEAKER_00]: He does have the kind of power that can leave that yard.

[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, when he's playing at his absolute best, he is a very capable strong arm shortstop that can make a difference for you defensively, just with the way that he moves.

[SPEAKER_00]: However,

[SPEAKER_00]: The inverse of all of these things is also equally true.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have seen Justin LeBron go very cold against high level pitching at times throughout the season.

[SPEAKER_00]: He struggled pretty much throughout his entire collegiate career against SEC pitching.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have seen Justin LeBron at shortstop have some weeks where it is just miserable defense.

[SPEAKER_00]: One of the most error prone short stops in the SEC if not the country all season this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Alabama needs good Justin LeBron.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is the X factor in my opinion for the Crimson Touch.

[SPEAKER_02]: they will face Oklahoma.

[SPEAKER_02]: Again, this is an all SCC bracket.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're going to talk a lot about SCC teams here.

[SPEAKER_02]: They will face Oklahoma.

[SPEAKER_02]: This would be for Oklahoma, not their first title, but it would be that they were first SCC title.

[SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, they're a recent uh, join team to join the SCC.

[SPEAKER_02]: But Jacob, what, what would the significance of a title for Oklahoma?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think Oklahoma is just kind of another option here for the SEC's historic aspirations.

[SPEAKER_00]: The SEC's looking for its seventh straight title.

[SPEAKER_00]: The SEC has five teams.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the most ever by a conference in the college world series field.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Oklahoma is one of its horses and arguably it's hottest horse.

[SPEAKER_00]: They have taken a very challenging path to this point, beating Georgia Tech, then surviving the Super Regional Act Kansas,

[SPEAKER_00]: Truth be told, expected, at least by me, expected to be an environment where Kansas was going to do a whole lot of damage in the air and leave the park a whole bunch and hit home runs, and it turns out that it was Oklahoma that did that for the second consecutive weekend.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a team that was not particularly powerful during the regular season and all of a sudden it has a,

[SPEAKER_00]: 90 plus average EV and 105 mile per hour, 90th percentile EV as a team over the last two weekends.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so the significance here is that it would be the first SEC title.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's further proof of concept, you know, for all of the good things that Skip Johnson has going on there, especially on the pitching side.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then of course for the SEC, this is one of your dogs in the fight and only one of them can survive this side of the bracket.

[SPEAKER_00]: It will be an SEC team guaranteed.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the question now is, you know, if Oklahoma does that, are they the strong and the the most strong team, the strongest team to go and beat somebody from the other side.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay Jeff, I'm not even going to ask for a star player now because you give me two every time.

[SPEAKER_02]: So star players for Oklahoma.

[SPEAKER_01]: Kick me on my toes.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe in terms of the numbers, it's not the top guy that you would throw out there.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think if we're going on just sort of pure performance this year, Dietin LaChance has probably been the star player.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it feels like in every big moment,

[SPEAKER_01]: Jacob and I are texting back and forth with Peter from, you know, beyond the grave and the all the folks inside of the B.A.

[SPEAKER_01]: Slack about Cam Johnson.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was a guy that I got firsthand, sort of looks at throughout the summer with Ketuit.

[SPEAKER_01]: And was a consistently clutch player.

[SPEAKER_01]: He seems to always come up with the biggest hits in the biggest moments.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's twitchy, he's explosive, he's a really heavy player as well, excellent bass runner, just little things like that that can make the difference for this team.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like I constantly go back to sort of Cam Johnson

[SPEAKER_01]: as the guy here who's really the star player to watch because I just think he's a joy to watch when he's out there and does a lot of things really well on the field even if he doesn't put up you know the highest numbers of all the guys in this lineup he is a really exceptional player and somebody I think could have some really big moments in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay Jacob secret weapon for Oklahoma.

[SPEAKER_00]: No question.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the offense.

[SPEAKER_00]: Is this group going to continue to hit the way that it's been hitting?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because one of the things that we talked about with Oklahoma going into the tournament and quite frankly, one of the reasons that we didn't think it would survive Atlanta was because this is just not a great offensive team.

[SPEAKER_00]: They don't hit home runs very often.

[SPEAKER_00]: They enter the NCAA tournament with 65 on the year, which was 94th in all of Division 1.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's also not a particularly great contact team.

[SPEAKER_00]: They strike out a pretty decent bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're not one of the, you know, heavier impact contact teams, but their strengths have always been that they're going to run super well throughout the roster, Jeff mentioned, Camden Johnson potential 80 runner.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, at the pro level, there are a couple of other guys who are plus if not double plus runners on this roster and now they're putting the ball over the wall.

[SPEAKER_00]: As we've talked about at Nazium already, you can't rely on the long ball in Omaha, but this is not a team that was lying on it in the first place.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's easy to feel good about a group that is athletic.

[SPEAKER_00]: and can hit the ball over the wall when needed and to kind of punish and mistake, but to also play station to station aggressive baseball.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe this is the kind of offense that is hard at the right time and it gets into an environment that's well suited for and an Oklahoma is able to hold on.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if it does, it will be because that's exactly what happens.

[SPEAKER_00]: The offenses are good fit for where they're going to go playing.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll just kind of long glance what you said for the season, for the regular season, Oklahoma by far had the highest ground ball rate of any of the teams going to Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: You can look at that two ways, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: You can look at that because they've been a little bit more home-run prone in recent weeks.

[SPEAKER_02]: They've been on the air more often.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's a good thing, but at the same time, you could also argue if you are playing in Omaha on a day where the ball is just not gonna leave the yard, then maybe there's some advantage to that as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: We will see.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to pre-judge our predictions or anything like that, but we got the Georgia Texas.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is the final game of the first games.

[SPEAKER_02]: But Jacob and I right to say as we kind of lead it to us, I feel like that this is the main event.

[SPEAKER_02]: These are, you know, two of the three highest rated teams that are remaining national seed wise.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I do feel like

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like it's on a very good path, but someone also has to lose it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that that's what's at stake here.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're the winner of this game, you are arguably, if not definitively, the best position to go in the college world series.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you are the loser, I will also add, I don't think that the path is that bleak, because these are teams that play stylistically, like you've seen before.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think both of these teams are strong enough to crawl out of the losers bracket if it comes to that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But,

[SPEAKER_00]: yes to your point.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the matchup that I think produces our favorite and it will require an upset slogan.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, okay, I'll start with storytelling.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're going to talk about Georgia and I'll start with very quick little digression, which is I can exactly tell you in the last time that Georgia won the National title is because that was 1990.

[SPEAKER_02]: And

[SPEAKER_02]: I then stepped on the campus at the University of Georgia as a fresh-faced freshman right after that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I got to cover the Georgia baseball team for these competing student paper as a freshman because they were desperate for anyone who could just basically was willing to do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm like, I can't believe it.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm getting to cover the defending national champions.

[SPEAKER_02]: I believe they record that year was 27 and 31.

[SPEAKER_02]: I learned a lot about how to cover a team where when you went down for post-gain quotes, everyone was angry to see you.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was a growing experience, but I digress.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we know that they've already won it once.

[SPEAKER_02]: But what would they've also come close because they obviously lost their president's state in the championship series in 2008, last time they made it to Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: But what would winning a national title mean

[SPEAKER_00]: It's been a long time coming.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think reputationally this is a big moment for Georgia just because there has been some slippage over the last couple of decades from a team that was equipped to compete for national titles and did win one to a group that has struggled to get back as JJ said.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, 2008 is the last Georgia Omaha appearance prior to this one.

[SPEAKER_00]: And for West Johnson, you know, I think that West

[SPEAKER_00]: has done a tremendous job of putting together these rosters that have massive upside, but he's done it in years past at the expense of proven production.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've brought in a lot of real headline transfer names.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've brought in guys who fit their ballpark factors, and he puts together these really analytically sound offenses with guys who lift the ball and who hit the ball hard and play to their style.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at the end of the day,

[SPEAKER_00]: on the mound, I think that, you know, the ugly side of that was that the stuff that he brought in wasn't always effective and it looked really good from like a computer standpoint, but didn't always translate to what they needed, you know, from a wins and losses standpoint, and then with the bats, you know, they have done a magnificent job.

[SPEAKER_00]: of recruiting to their ballpark and using kind of the science of baseball to put together a line up, but the second that team has traveled, it's been a real problem for them, plus they've kind of run out of gas in the postseason.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this is a team that's different and that I actually think that it is built to a, you know, really succeed, obviously.

[SPEAKER_00]: proved by the fact that they're in Omaha right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the stuff has translated to results, Joey Volcco has transformed into a reasonably reliable frontline SEC caliber starter, Matt Scott, who has been a real rollercoaster from

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, top prospect to falling star prospect at Stanford to somebody who's now a multi-inning reliable reliever Kate Nayoki is had a great postseason, it's an effective staff, and then we've seen this offense travel.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to go hit home runs everywhere.

[SPEAKER_00]: They are not solely reliant on putting the ball over the wall in the shoe box that is fully field.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can go in.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can get on base Daniel Jackson is a superstar at the center of their lineup.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this is a super well-rounded team

[SPEAKER_00]: to do platform, if you will, for West Johnson, roster construction and kind of will set the tone for how they go about things in the future.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, okay, Jeff, star player for Georgia.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's a couple you could go, but I think there's one that kind of stands a little bit of a caught above everyone else.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think, you know, Daniel Jackson, catcher for Georgia this year.

[SPEAKER_01]: We've talked about him a few times on the show already.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's top of the show that a few moments go.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, this is outside of land and harris, then you probably argue that from a performance standpoint,

[SPEAKER_01]: This might be the second best hit or in college baseball this year, and the fact that he's still playing, I mean, maybe one of the whole pressure element into it, they both have ball parks that obviously ball flies in so can't hold that against Harrison in that conversation, but I think you look at Jackson 396 492.

[SPEAKER_01]: 837's log yet 31 home runs this season 26 stolen bases I believe that he is the first college catcher ever to go 25 25 it wasn't even 2020 well yeah because I mean he's only basically he's won steal away from coming the second 30 30 player of all time him and JD Drew and he's a catcher yeah yeah so I think that kind of puts it all into perspective and it's been you know he's not

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not all world behind the plate, but good enough.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think it's an average to maybe a tick above when you're thinking about a college catcher.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's a big ex-factor for them.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you got branch, you got phelps, you got Lujo.

[SPEAKER_01]: There is a, oh, Shauna see.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of guys that can bang in this lineup, but Jackson is ultimately, who you're gonna throw out there as the star.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jacob will make come to secret weapon.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to preface this.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to ask a question to you.

[SPEAKER_02]: Could you just hit on it, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: Before you get to seek a weapon, and maybe this is what your seek a weapon is.

[SPEAKER_02]: But you just touched on that Georgia has a team.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, they have constructed this team.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would say extremely well because even if they will go to and cue in Omaha, the goal is to get to Omaha.

[SPEAKER_02]: They,

[SPEAKER_02]: Did all the work to ensure that they never left fully field during the postseason until they go to Omaha and you could say, oh, see, it doesn't work as well when they go to a park where the ball doesn't fly out as much like, okay, they just want to regional, they just want the SEC regular season, they want the SEC tournament, they want their regional, they want their super regional there in Omaha, how much though do you think that their approach is going to be challenged.

[SPEAKER_02]: by going to TD Ameritrade, where it flies better than it did in 2013 for doing going to Charles Schwab.

[SPEAKER_02]: Go to Charles Schwab.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, sorry.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, there's changed.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, look, I think that any team that is home run reliant in any way, like, let's just, we're going to remove the ability to just get on base, we're going to remove the ability to, you know, hit for contact, place station, station, any team that is reliant on hitting home runs of which Georgia is one, they are the, they are the, one of the, they are the best home run, hitting team in the country this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: that team will have a stylistic change to some degree in that ballpark because of how big it plays.

[SPEAKER_00]: They will get their home runs there.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's always a team that will get its home runs.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whether that's them, whether that's Ole Miss, whether it's both, somebody will do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: in this field.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will see big home runs hit.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I think that Georgia this year, and this was kind of my point, is not the same Georgia that we've seen offensively under West Johnson to this point.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a Georgia team that does do it multiple ways.

[SPEAKER_00]: They do get on base.

[SPEAKER_00]: They do challenge you with their ability to steal bases and create offense.

[SPEAKER_00]: they challenge you with their aggressiveness, offensively.

[SPEAKER_00]: They are not going to let you try and beat them in the zone.

[SPEAKER_00]: They will meet you at the point of contact and you're going to have to hope that your defense is in the right position.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that they will make the ballpark feel big for other teams.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that they are going to make defenses run around with how much you're going to put the ball in play and I also truly believe that they're going to put pressure on pitching staffs.

[SPEAKER_00]: to be pretty perfect.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just with the threat that they are on the bases will different yes because I just the volume of home runs that they get in some of their wins.

[SPEAKER_00]: They will not get in this field that is a fact, but I do think that a lot of the other things that they do well will kind of supplement you know whatever they lose in the home run department.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think you had on that the depth of their lineup.

[SPEAKER_02]: I do think that lineup depth is something that becomes even more important when you get to this point in the season because

[SPEAKER_02]: There is a line up where they just really aren't breaks.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's more like that big league kind of line up where you're like, okay, there is still a little bit of a lot of lineups where you can be like, okay, as a pitcher, you can be like, this is the inning where I can, I don't ramp it down, but you're like, I don't have to worry about these guys really hurting me.

[SPEAKER_02]: There really isn't that in that Georgia lineup.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be fascinating to see because they are facing, again, in game one, they're facing a Texas club that is also, I would say very well constructed to potentially win when it all here.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jacob, Texas is obviously one of the powers of college baseball and it has been for many, many, many years.

[SPEAKER_02]: Omaha, they know that they know the route,

[SPEAKER_02]: They're not like, oh wait, what do you do when you get to oh my, they're, if you're a long horned fan, these are all things that you are very well accustomed to, but what would it mean to win it again in the case of Texas?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, this is the 39th appearance, College World Series appearance and Texas history.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they are, as you said, no stranger.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were the runner up in 2009.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were last the winner in 2005.

[SPEAKER_00]: They have gotten their, that was their sixth championship.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this team has been there before.

[SPEAKER_00]: Different this year is, I think that there's some personal meeting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jim Schlausnabel has been around this game for a very long time of all of the accolades that he has.

[SPEAKER_00]: baseball America, coach of the year, SEC coach of the year, SEC champion, big 12 champion, mountain west champion.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's not a college real serious champion.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's never won a national championship and he has a lot of wins and a lot of college real serious appearances for somebody that has yet to win it.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I think that for Jim Schloss, Nagle, this is an opportunity to

[SPEAKER_00]: kind of get the last, the last ticket, when the last thing that needs to happen in the same way that we talked about it for North Carolina as a program, I think that Jim Shloss and it will kind of has that personal motivation now to go and get his title and check off one of very few remaining things that are left for a no doubt one of the greatest ever Hall of Fame resumes.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jeff, when we look at StarPlayer, again, multiple choices here.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the great thing about it is is multiple choices from different classes too.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you want to get your work in, get a head start on your 28 draft prep, this is a team to watch.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, man.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's so many options here with Texas.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's hard to honestly narrow it down to one,

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the big three from me in the lineup is Robbins, Tini, who are both drafts of draft eligible this year, she'd go on the top two rounds, potentially both in the first round, Tini probably less likely the Robbins.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then Anthony back to you and your who's just like one of my favorite players that I covered this year doing the

[SPEAKER_01]: the freshman five every week, struck out to me kind of the first weekend of the season and I'm kind of the leader of the Pac-Man fan club here, but I mean, he's been huge for this team down the stretch, but that said,

[SPEAKER_01]: I thought the second best picture in the country based on performance this year outside of Mason Edwards, Dax Whitney got hurt, look at Redmond got hurt.

[SPEAKER_01]: Was Dylan Valantis jumping from freshman to the year last year, Closer kind of filled the role that Sam Kozart has filled this year at times for Texas.

[SPEAKER_01]: Really made a great leap forward in terms of,

[SPEAKER_01]: being their ace.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I don't think at certain points that season early on, we thought it was Rubber, Rio, Haas, and others, I think he really cemented himself as their stopper.

[SPEAKER_01]: He barely, like his, I know it's ERA and people, whatever.

[SPEAKER_01]: That number rarely went up from what he was doing out of the goal.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he threw 88 and two thirds innings this year with 126 strikeouts to 27 walks.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a 2.03 ERA.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a 1.78 FIP, so he's actually underperformed some of the ERA estimators, just a tick over one on the whip.

[SPEAKER_01]: And this isn't the SEC.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's.

[SPEAKER_01]: the guy of of all these guys because I think he's the kind of player the kind of picture and he's twenty twenty seven eligible so he's not eligible this year.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's somebody that could come out and throw an adenning gem and strike out twelve and shut down and opposing lineup.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think if, you know, you're getting him as George in the first game and it's unfortunate that George keeps on facing the best team besides themselves.

[SPEAKER_01]: It feels like that they possibly couldn't ever round.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a guy that I think strikes a little fear into your heart because he doesn't just miss bats.

[SPEAKER_01]: He can also drive ground balls at a fairly high rate as well.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I think you sort of

[SPEAKER_01]: look at the lantus and despite the hitters that they have in this line up and some really big stars and guys that you know going to get paid millions and pro ball I think I still go back to the lantus the fact that you miss is the best he does and ran.

[SPEAKER_01]: 56.7% ground ball rate so a 57% ground ball rate that's the lead.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and there's just not a lot of guys that can generate outs and a variety of ways that the land does can.

[SPEAKER_01]: So for me, he's kind of the star that I'd be focusing on when watching this team.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, Jacob, secret weapon for Texas.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the secret weapon is going to be lineup depth.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a team that has some real stars at the top, Jeff mentioned, several of them, whether or not they are going to get some bottom of the lineup production in the college world series will be super critical.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think one thing with Texas is that for all of its statistical offensive success, a lot of that has been concentrated in the top half of their group, whereas the bottom half has struggled at times, when they're firing on all cylinders and the lineup is playing one through nine,

[SPEAKER_00]: This could be the team to beat.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, in the field, they are super good.

[SPEAKER_00]: They pitch the ball super well.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's depth in their staff.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Sam Kozark, arguably the best close around the field, which is really important in the college world series as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, finishing games is tough in this environment.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this is a, this is a very well rounded team if it's lineup is going to be consistent one through nine.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that leads us to this part.

[SPEAKER_02]: prediction time.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we have 18s, one will emerge as champion.

[SPEAKER_02]: We'll go around the room.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll start because I feel like I've got the least, you know, like I want to hear what you guys say.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll try to keep mine pretty tight.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm stuck with I said North Carolina last week.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll stick with that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Not because I think they're the best team here.

[SPEAKER_02]: Let me to be clear.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think that Georgia or Texas is those are the two top teams here.

[SPEAKER_02]: However,

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm playing the percentages here, which is, if I'm picking one team, if I pick Georgia and Texas wins that opener and then Georgia's got a beat Texas again twice at some point probably to emerge out of it, okay, that's that's that's hard to do flip the exact same conversation if Texas loses to Georgia then Texas has to be Georgia because again someone's got to come out of that bracket and you've got to throw an owl down and Oklahoma as well, that's to me the tougher bracket here.

[SPEAKER_02]: If I look at North Carolina, I feel like that they're a very good team that has a line up line up depth and has a line up that's very well suited for Omaha, because as Jacob noted, they're pitching staff, it's going to be great if they win that opener, got a pretty good chance I think to do that, but they need to stay on schedule, but I would say that they have this line up that is not station to station, but is more like their little less home run reliant.

[SPEAKER_02]: It could fit very well for Omaha, but the key thing being, they've got to get through old Miss West Virginia and Troy, which I just think is an easier path.

[SPEAKER_02]: And if you get to the best of three, you've got to get their first.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think they've got the best chance to get there.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I'm picking North Carolina.

[SPEAKER_02]: Even if I'm saying, there's a little bit of an asterisk to that Jeff, what about you?

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going with old Miss on that side of the bracket.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just don't, you know, I'm an ACC guy.

[SPEAKER_01]: I want to see the ACC do well.

[SPEAKER_01]: I grew up in a household where we're chair for Boston College, but follow as a double eagle.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I want ACC teams to do well.

[SPEAKER_01]: If they weren't historic, they an ACC team, but I have, you know, the last 20 years, I've transitioned to an ACC fan.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just don't buy it.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't buy that an ACC team's gonna come out of here.

[SPEAKER_01]: I like old misses.

[SPEAKER_01]: Ability for power.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think the lineup has been federally and then the pitching staff that I talked about.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, on that side, that's what I'm picking.

[SPEAKER_02]: What, what, what overall?

[SPEAKER_01]: Overall, I'm going to pivot a little bit.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think George has had two tough of a path.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had picked them prior to the tournament to kind of win the whole thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to back off that a little bit.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to go with Texas.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that Texas is going to win the whole thing.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think this team is hitting it all cylinders.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think when you look just kind of pound for pounds, player for player 1 through 9, and then the pitching staff and what they can roll out, kind of how these freshmen have come on.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's the best team in the country, and I think it's the best team in Omaha.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I guess, I don't know, go horns, so what they do is I'm off from Texas, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_02]: So Jacob, what about you?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, if you want my full reasoning, just go back in this podcast and listen to everything I said, but I think that the, I'll go up at winner overall first.

[SPEAKER_00]: The easy answer is the best answer in the situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that that's Georgia.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a team that has just been rolling.

[SPEAKER_00]: As I said, I think that they are able to do it in a versatile enough way offensively, where unlike Ole Miss, this is not a home run reliant team, but it's a team that hits a lot of home runs.

[SPEAKER_00]: And those two things are very different.

[SPEAKER_00]: play well in this ballpark from a pitching perspective because if it is going to be in the zone like Joey Voltsco for example and they aren't going to miss a whole bunch of bats which Joey Voltsco has not at all times he has not been a super high strike out player this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is this is the part to go pitch to contact for sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you have fielders that can go get it of which Georgia has no shortage, you can go win ball games and then I just don't know how

[SPEAKER_00]: that there's an offense in the field that's going to be able to keep up even in a place that likes to limit the score.

[SPEAKER_00]: So George would win the whole thing and I'll agree with you, JJ, with nothing really to add.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think North Carolina emerges from side A just has all the right things going for it.

[SPEAKER_02]: That is our College World Series preview.

[SPEAKER_02]: The next time we'll be talking on the podcast, schedule next week might be a little bit.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, go ahead, Jake.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so schedule let's talk about schedule.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you are looking for a college baseball podcast next week is untraditional we will not have a normal college podcast episode like you're listening to right now what we will do throughout the entire college world series is we will try to go live daily at the end of every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: So once game two concludes

[SPEAKER_00]: Some combination of the people you're seeing here, maybe we get some special guests throughout the college world series to jump on with us as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will jump on for about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the night to recap that day's action.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that will take the place of the college pod.

[SPEAKER_00]: The next traditional college pod that you will hear is after the college world series when I return home from Omaha.

[SPEAKER_00]: So next two weeks, basically daily podcasts, they will be live on YouTube.

[SPEAKER_00]: almost instantly as well, so you don't have to watch us live to catch us, but a little bit different format and a lot more frequently over the next couple of weeks.

[SPEAKER_02]: We got that coming up.

[SPEAKER_02]: So check out everything over at Baseball America.com.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have so much and we will keep you updated all through cultural series.

[SPEAKER_02]: And hey, if you're a college baseball fan and your team's not in it, we also have the transfer portal.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have the transfer portal rankings a lot there to also get you started looking ahead to 2027.