Road to Omaha: Ranking Mid-Majors Who Could Make a Run
Oregon State’s Dax Whitney delivers a pitch against the Baylor Bears. (Photo by Eddie Kelly/ProLook Photos)
We are just over six weeks from Selection Monday, and in the spirit of the brand I’ll be highlighting my top five mid-major squads that I believe have the best chances of making a deep run into the postseason, as well as some honorable mentions. The season has not disappointed so far and is shaping up to be cinema in Omaha yet again. Keep an eye on these teams, some of them may not be traditional Division 1 powerhouses but they all have the formula to make something special happen on the diamond.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
UTSA (25-11, 8-4 American)
Jacksonville State (29-8, 13-2 Conference USA)
East Carolina (22-14-1, 7-5 American)
#5.) Missouri State Bears (24-10, 12-3 Conference USA)
This is a lineup no Division I pitcher wants to see that they’re facing next. The Bears have been getting on base at an incredible rate all season long, and the numbers back it up. As of the writing of this article on April 13th, there are six Bears with at least 100 plate appearances carrying a .400 OBP or higher. Four of those six also have an OPS of at least 1.000, furthermore two of those four (C Carter Bergman & 3B Curry Sutherland) have double digit home runs. They also took two out of three in a series at Liberty earlier this season, who is ranked ahead of Missouri St. in this very article (spoiler alert). So why are they fifth, might you ask? The pitching is this team’s Achilles heel. The Bears rank just sixth in the conference in ERA and can also be prone to walks, averaging just under five a game to date. With one of the scariest lineups in the nation however, the Bears really might just outslug everybody in their path.
#4.) Liberty Flames (25-10, 11-4 Conference USA)
Liberty may have come into the year flying somewhat under the radar, but make no mistake; the Flames have been SCORCHING hot lately. After turning the program around coming off consecutive losing seasons and finishing 30-27 last season, second year head coach Bradley LeCroy’s squad has the makeup to get hot and stay hot. With a dominant pitching staff led by Ben Blair and Bradley Zayac boasting ERA’s of 2.44 and 1.97 respectively, the 1-2 starting rotation punch is there to win series; not to mention a solid bullpen headlined by closer Cooper Harrington, notching six saves to date. The question is, can the bats stay hot? Shortstop Tanner Marsh has been incredible lately (.350 BA, .987 OPS) and this is certainly a team that is capable of manufacturing runs in the clutch. Liberty has all the tools to make their deepest run to the CWS in years: if they can continue to string together series wins and fully hit their stride in terms of hitting for power, this may be a team everyone is scared of come Regionals.
#3.) 10 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (25-11, 8-7 Sun Belt)
Don’t be fooled by the Golden Eagles’ recent skid. They are still an extremely well-rounded bunch led by pitching guru Christian Ostrander, who has shown success in his first two seasons down in Hattiesburg. Coming off two straight regional appearances, this is another team that can hit the seams off of the ball. CF Joey Urban, LF Davis Gillespie, and 2B Kyle Morrison all have an OPS well above 1.000 in at least 160 plate appearances. Morrison himself is currently up at 1.143. The Golden Eagles also have an incredible weekend rotation with solid pitching depth and an excellent bullpen duo of Josh Och and Cameron Clark. It is worth mentioning this team has been somewhat cold lately; after winning 17 of their first 21 Southern Miss barely remained over .500 since beginning conference play. The Golden Eagles will definitely need to get back on track and regain some momentum after a series loss at Louisiana (avoiding Coastal on the schedule helps), but if they do and can maintain consistency the rest of the way then this is one of my dark horses to make a run in the CWS.
#2.) 11 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (26-9, 13-2 Sun Belt)
As avoiding the Chanticleers will certainly be a cause of relief for Southern Miss, I would bet those feelings are mutual among the boys in teal. Coastal was just two wins away from winning it all last year, and are primed to make another run one year later. On paper, this is arguably a top 3-5 team in the nation. This team is loaded, but that is not to say there haven’t been any bumps along the way. The pitching staff has been banged up, with star starting pitcher and MLB draft prospect Cameron Flukey only having thrown 5.2 innings all season due to a rib injury. This lineup is incredibly deep and the Chanticleers have been winning series’ consistently all year long, as they often do. A player to watch on the diamond for Coastal Carolina has been sophomore RF Rex Watson, who as of this article’s writing is slugging .625 with 41 RBI’s already. Coach Kevin Schnall (who is also the program’s first ever All-American back in the 1990s) will look to build off a historic year one and take his group to the promise land. Watch out if Flukey gets healthy and hits his stride; he is a bona fide ace who teams will not be looking forward to facing. This team absolutely has the tools to put it all together at the right time, and are a team to watch in Omaha.
#1.) 7 Oregon State Beavers (28-7, Independent)
Who needs a conference? Oregon State has played beautiful baseball all season long and many (myself included) believe this could be their year. Led by head coach Mitch Canham, who won back to back championships as a catcher at Oregon State in 2006-2007 this team has all the makings of one who can play late into June. I’ll give you two words to start: Dax Whitney. The Beavers’ ace, top 2027 MLB draft prospect, and cover photo of this article has pitched to a 1.64 ERA with a mind-boggling 90(!!!) strikeouts over 49.1 innings. Oh, and Oregon State’s second weekend starter, Eric Segura, is rolling with an even lower 1.54 ERA over 41 innings. Whitney’s batting average against is currently well below the Mendoza line at .177, and the bullpen is rock solid. The Beavers also know how to get on base and manufacture runs, despite not being the most power-happy lineup. Multiple regulars for the Beavers have drawn more walks than they have strikeouts, which speaks volumes of Oregon State’s patience in the box as a team. Overall, this team plays an incredibly smart brand of baseball. Combine that with the nastiness of their pitching staff and a coach who has quite literally been there before, and there might be something special brewing in Corvallis. The Beavers are not only my pick amongst the mid-majors with the best shot of making a deep run, as of now they are one of my favorites in the entire country to go deep into Omaha.
