2017 Baseball Season Thread

[TCUdirtbag]

Historically, how many pre season #1 in this poll made it to the CWS and/or win it all?

 
​Recent History of Preseason #1s:
(Using 4 major polls: Coaches, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA)
 
Summary: ​Every year since 2010 at least one of the preseason #1s has made it to Omaha.  More specifically, in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011, 6 of 10 preseason #1s advanced to the CWS (including all unanimous #1s and at least one #1 each year). 0 won the national championship. Several were runners up.  
 
Fun fact: the last time a unanimous preseason #1 didn't make it to Omaha was in 2010, when TCU knocked off preseason #1 Texas in the Austin Super Regional to advance to Omaha. 
 
The last time a preseason #1 team won the title was 2009 (LSU).
 
2016:
​​Unanimous preseason #1 ​Florida​
- 2nd place SEC East
- 3-2 in SEC Tournament
- #1 National Seed
- Advanced to CWS (0-2)
National champion: Coastal Carolina:
- 23rd in 2 of 4 preseason polls, unranked in the other 2
- Did not host regional or super regional
 
2015:
Unanimous preseason #1: ​Vanderbilt
- SEC East Champ
- 3-2 in SEC Tournament
- Regional host / won Super at Illinois
- Advanced to CWS (swept bracket play 3-0, 1-2 in CWS Finals)
National champion: Virginia:
- Preseason #2/2/3/4
- 2nd in ACC Coastal Division (.500 in conference play)
- 1-3 in ACC Tournament
- Swept regional in CA and hosted/swept Super vs. Maryland
- Advanced to CWS (3-1 in bracket play, 2-1 in CWS Finals)
 
​2014:
​Preseason #1: Cal State Fullerton ​(3 of 4 polls)
- 4th place in conference
- Eliminated in OK State/Stillwater Regional (2-2)
​Preseason #1: Virginia ​(1 of 4 polls)
- 2nd place in ACC Coastal
- 1-2 in ACC Tournament
- #3 National Seed, swept regional, won super
- Advanced to CWS (3-0 bracket play, 1-2 in CWS Finals)
​​National champion: Vanderbilt:
- Preseason rankings: 8/9/10/10
- 3rd place SEC East
- 1-2 in SEC Tournament
- Hosted regional (3-0), hosted Super (2-1)
- Advanced to CWS (3-1 bracket play, 2-1 in CWS Finals)
 
​2013:
​Preseason #1: Arkansas ​(3 of 4 polls)
- 2nd place in SEC West
- Lost Manhattan Regional (2-2)
Preseason #1: UNC ​(1 of 4 polls)
- ACC regular season and tournament champ
- #1 National Seed
- Advanced to CWS (2-2 in bracket play)
National champion: UCLA
​- Preseason #2/5/5/12
- 3rd place in Pac-12 (no Tournament)
- Swept UCLA Regional and Fullerton Super
- Advanced and swept through CWS 5-0
 
2012:
Unanimous preseason #1: Florida
- 2nd place SEC East
- 2-2 in SEC Tournament
- #1 National Seed
- Swept Regional and Super
- Advanced to CWS (0-2)
National champion: Arizona
- Preseason #5/18/20/20
- Pac-12 Champion
- Swept Regional and Super
- Swept through Omaha (5-0)
 
​Prior Years:
​2011: ​
- Preseason #1s: Florida / TCU  / UCLA
- Preseason #1s in Omaha: Florida
- National Champ: South Carolina (preseason 7/8/8/14)
2010:
- Preseason #1: Texas (unanimous, did not advance to Omaha)
- National Champ: South Carolina (preseason 10/21/28/UR)
2009:
- Preseason #1s: LSU / A&M / UNC
- Preseason #1s in Omaha: LSU & UNC
- National Champ:  LSU
2008:
- Preseason #1s: ​Arizona St / UCLA / Arizona
- Preseason #1s in Omaha: None
- National Champ: Fresno St (preseason 18/21/29)
2007:
- Preseason #1: Rice ​(unanimous)
- Preseason #1 in Omaha: Rice (did what TCU did in 2016...2-0, then 0-2)
- National Champ: Oregon St (preseason 16/17/UR)
 
2005 Texas was a preseason #1 that went on to win the title.

 

[jake102]

Thanks for that. 
 
Since you are on top of it, how many of the four polls have been released? And are we #1 in all of them? And when will the others be released?

 

[boonecountyman]

WVU is still an "under the radar" team but I believe we will be much better than many expect.Most of the team returns from last year and some good recruits coming.
 
http://www.wvusports.com/page.cfm?story=31270&cat=exclusives

 

[Purp]

WVU is still an "under the radar" team but I believe we will be much better than many expect.Most of the team returns from last year and some good recruits coming.
 
http://www.wvusports.com/page.cfm?story=31270&cat=exclusives

I agree with this.  They hit their stride about a week too late last year, but were as hot as anybody going into the postseason.  Had they picked it up just a little bit sooner I think they would have been a very dangerous 3 seed in somebody's regional.  I see them making more noise early this year and breaking through to the tourney.  I would also not be surprised in the least if they finished 2nd in the conference.

 

[Frogged]

Here's the official CBN Poll. 
Frogs are preseason #1:
http://baseballnews.com/collegiate-baseball-2017-pre-season-poll-12-19-16/

Is that good?

 

[Moose Stuff]

I think WVU should maybe be picked #2 in the conference and I agree that the Pokes and rAIDers should be good again.  Hopefully our conference slate won't be a drag on our RPI as it has been in recent years. 

UT has the talent to be a real solid team.

 

[CountryFrog]

WVU is still an "under the radar" team but I believe we will be much better than many expect.Most of the team returns from last year and some good recruits coming.
 
http://www.wvusports.com/page.cfm?story=31270&cat=exclusives

If only you guys hadn't pitched to Baker in the conference title game. Then you MIGHT have won that game, made the tourney and who knows what happens after you get in.

Either way, I'm definitely expecting WVU to be a very tough out.

 

[Purp]

UT has the talent to be a real solid team.

I agree.  And they may improve markedly after Augie too.  We'll see.  I just feel like they've got a lot farther to go than WVU, OSU, or TT.  And I felt like WVU was probably even better than us to finish the regular season last year.  I think they're going to be for real.

 

[CountryFrog]

Impressive research from Dirtbag as usual. As a fan of TCU baseball but only a very casual observer of the sport nationally I always appreciate the insight you bring.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

Thanks for that. 
 
Since you are on top of it, how many of the four polls have been released? And are we #1 in all of them? And when will the others be released?

1 of 4. See OP for approximate release dates.

I expect we'll be a unanimous #1 in the 4 majors. NCBWA and BA for sure. Maybe a surprise from Coaches, but LSU and UF will split the SEC hype machine. On the other 2, I could see PG or D1 hopping on the SECSECSEC bandwagon and going with LSU or UF.

 

[Gary's Shirtless Revenge]

I think WVU should maybe be picked #2 in the conference and I agree that the Pokes and rAIDers should be good again.  Hopefully our conference slate won't be a drag on our RPI as it has been in recent years. 

 

Surprised we're the only big 12 team to crack the top 25. Okie state and tech should be competitive once again, and that WVU team that got hot at the end last year is mostly, if not all, coming back. Texas has talent once again but that hasn't meant anything the past few years

 
Texas is probably garbage.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

I agree.  And they may improve markedly after Augie too.  We'll see.  I just feel like they've got a lot farther to go than WVU, OSU, or TT.  And I felt like WVU was probably even better than us to finish the regular season last year.  I think they're going to be for real.

 
The preseason Big 12 poll in mid-February will be interesting.  TCU will be the clear #1.  I have no clue how to project out 2-4 with Tech, OK State and WVU, but I would tend to put them in that order. I suspect Texas will be #5.  But I could see brand bumping them above WVU (though I think you can make a reasonable argument that UT may have more talent than WVU). Baylor is probably at #6 and honestly keep an eye on them--they've picked up some good recruits.

 

[boonecountyman]

 
The preseason Big 12 poll in mid-February will be interesting.  TCU will be the clear #1.  I have no clue how to project out 2-4 with Tech, OK State and WVU, but I would tend to put them in that order. I suspect Texas will be #5.  But I could see brand bumping them above WVU (though I think you can make a reasonable argument that UT may have more talent than WVU). Baylor is probably at #6 and honestly keep an eye on them--they've picked up some good recruits.

Wvu is an outlier school compared to the rest of the B12.Until we perform better on the field consistently,were probably pissing in the wind seeking respect.If they keep grinding they will get there some day.........I hope. 

 

[Purp]

 
The preseason Big 12 poll in mid-February will be interesting.  TCU will be the clear #1.  I have no clue how to project out 2-4 with Tech, OK State and WVU, but I would tend to put them in that order. I suspect Texas will be #5.  But I could see brand bumping them above WVU (though I think you can make a reasonable argument that UT may have more talent than WVU). Baylor is probably at #6 and honestly keep an eye on them--they've picked up some good recruits.

I expect Baylor to improve a lot, but I think they're still going to be outside of the postseason. Texas may well be more talented than WVU, but I still expect WVU to be a much better team. I agree that there isn't a lot that separates 2-5, though.

 

[French Frog]

2016:
​​Unanimous preseason #1 ​Florida​
- 2nd place SEC East
 
2015:
Unanimous preseason #1: ​Vanderbilt
- SEC East Champ
 
2013:
​Preseason #1: Arkansas ​(3 of 4 polls)
- 2nd place in SEC West
 
2012: 
Unanimous preseason #1: Florida
- 2nd place SEC East
 
I think I see one of the problems with the pre-season #1 not winning it all in Omaha, SECSECSEC!

 

[TCUdirtbag]

2016:
​​Unanimous preseason #1 ​Florida​
- 2nd place SEC East
 
2015:
Unanimous preseason #1: ​Vanderbilt
- SEC East Champ
 
2013:
​Preseason #1: Arkansas ​(3 of 4 polls)
- 2nd place in SEC West
 
2012: 
Unanimous preseason #1: Florida
- 2nd place SEC East
 
I think I see one of the problems with the pre-season #1 not winning it all in Omaha, SECSECSEC!

 
I hate SECSECSEC as much as anyone. But this is just naive. They get hype because they have a track record. 
 
SEC preseason #1s in the past 10 years:  10 of 17 (.588)
SEC national champions in the past 10 years:  4/10 (.400)
That's not a crazy disparity
 
National titles in 1990 (Georgia), 1991 (LSU), 1993 (LSU), 1996 (LSU), 1997 (LSU), 2000 (LSU), 2009 (LSU), 2010 (South Carolina), 2011 (South Carolina), 2014 (Vanderbilt)
 
And runners up in 1997 (Alabama), 2002 (South Carolina), 2005 (Florida), 2008 (Georgia), 2011 (Florida), 2012 (South Carolina), 2013 (Mississippi State), and 2015 (Vanderbilt)
 
They've had a champ or runner up in 8 of the past 10 years. So, yeah, SECSECSEC sucks. But maybe beat them before complaining. Nitpicking about conference standings is silly.  How many Big 12 regular season titles has TCU won it the last 3 years, where we reached the CWS each season? 1. How many recent national champs won their regular season title? Very few. 

 

[Peacefrog]

2011- Purke Winkler Maxwell all got hurt by seasons end

A thousand things have to go well to make it to Omaha and win...mainly health & playing well at the right time of year.

Stay realistic

Purke Winkler Maxwell sounds like a character from School Ties or Dead Poets Society.

 

[Punter1]

Purke Winkler Maxwell sounds like a character from School Ties or Dead Poets Society.

Or Highland Park's Valedictorian.

 

[cdsfrog]

Purke Winkler Maxwell sounds like a character from School Ties or Dead Poets Society.

 
School Ties what a good movie. DPS as well but so depressing.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

I expect Baylor to improve a lot, but I think they're still going to be outside of the postseason. Texas may well be more talented than WVU, but I still expect WVU to be a much better team. I agree that there isn't a lot that separates 2-5, though.

 
Agree with all of this. WVU is very well coached.