The 2020 College Baseball season is just a few months away, and we're getting you up to speed on teams from around the country. Check back here as we continue to update the list of team previews! Arkansas: Will the OmaHogs live up to their name and stretch the College World Series appearances to three straight? Find out here. Arizona State: Are the Sun Devils on pace to return to prominence in 2020? Find out here. Auburn: Is another trip to Omaha in store for Auburn? Find out here. Baylor: Can Baylor survive the gauntlet of Big XII play? Find out here. Duke: Is 2020 the year Duke makes the College World Series for the first time since the 1960s? Find out here. Dallas Baptist: Are the Patriots en route to another Regional appearance? Find out here. ECU: Will ECU repeat as American Champs? Find out here. Florida State: What's in store for the Seminoles without Mike Martin? Find out here. Georgia: Can Georgia challenge Vanderbilt in the SEC East? Find out here. Illinois State: Will the Redbirds make it to a Regional in back-to-back years? Find out here. Indiana: Are the Hoosiers in store for a run in the Big Ten? Find out here. Miami: Is 2020 the year the Hurricanes bounce back? Find out here. Michigan: Does Michigan have another deep postseason run coming in 2020? Find out here. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have made back-to-back College World Series. Can they make a third? Find out here. North Carolina: Does North Carolina have the best slugger in the country? Find out here. Ole Miss: Will the Rebels return to a Super Regional in 2020? Find out here. Oregon State: How will the Beavers handle the loss of phenom, Adley Rutschman? Find out here. Sacramento State: How did Sacramento State win six games in four days to make the NCAA Tournament in 2019, and will they be back in a Regional in 2020? Find out here. TCU: Can the Horned Frogs build on a 2019 run to the Fayetteville Regional Final? Find out here. Texas A&M: Can the Aggies continue their 13 year streak of Regional appearances? Find out here. Texas Tech: Is another Big XII title in the cards for the Red Raiders? Find out here. Tulane: Will the Green Wave be back in a Regional in 2020? Find out here. UCLA: Can the Bruins survive losing 13 picks to the MLB Draft? Find out here. UCSB: Will the Gauchos win the Big West again? Find out here. UNCW: The Seahawks are one of the best mid-major programs in the country. Will their streak of Regional appearance extend to three years in 2020? Find out here. Vanderbilt: Are the Commodores on pace to repeat as National Champs? Find out here. For more College Baseball coverage: Check out the full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments Head over to our forums to discuss these teams and more! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Want us to preview your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Mississippi State Bulldogs! There are few places where baseball matters more than it does in Starkville, Mississippi. The hallowed Dudy Noble Field housed an elite Mississippi State team in 2019, and Head Coach Chris Lemonis and staff will look to continue the Bulldogs' dominance in 2020. A Look Back at 2019 Sporting a 52-15 (20-10 SEC) record in 2019, Mississippi State had their winningest season in 30 years. Highlighted by series wins against Auburn, Georgia, and Ole Miss (in fact, the Bulldogs finished the year 4-0 against the Rebels), Mississippi State ended the season tied atop the SEC West Standings. The Bulldogs' impressive resumé earned them the #6 national seed and the right to host a Regional. After Mississippi State dispatched Southern University, the Bulldogs promptly took down Central Michigan for a spot in the Regional final. In the process, the Diamond Dawgs ended Central Michigan's 19-game winning streak. Miami survived the losers bracket but was no match for Mississippi State who defeated the Hurricanes, 5-2, en route to a Regional Championship. Mississippi State matched up against #11 Stanford in the Starkville Super Regional. Despite their #11 seeding, Stanford spent most of the season in the top five, and brought an elite pitching staff to town. However, Mississippi State quickly eliminated Stanford in two games. The Super Regional was capped off with a send off for seniors Jake Mangum and Elijah MacNamee that no Bulldogs fan will soon forget. The MacNamee bomb that drove in Mangum was voted as one of the top ten moments from the 2019 NCAA Tournament (see a full list here). Mississippi State's trip to Omaha started off with a bang. A four-run explosion in the ninth prompted a walk-off win over SEC West foe, Auburn (also good for one of the best moments from the NCAA Tournament). A tight loss to Vanderbilt and a gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of Louisville ended the Bulldogs' season, but not before they further entrenched themselves as a national power. Mississippi State offered a balanced diet of elite pitching and offense in 2019. The Bulldogs outscored their opponents by an average of 3.9 runs per game, good for third in the country. This talent was well-reflected in the MLB draft which saw 11 Diamond Dawgs drafted, tying a program record set in 2016. LHP Ethan Small (1st round), OF Jake Mangum (4th round), and RHP Colby White (6th round) all were selected within the first ten rounds of the draft. Of all of the Bulldogs' draft selections, only IF/OF Tanner Allen elected to return. In addition to their drafts picks, Mississippi State also saw four players earn All-American honors. Small earned All-American accolades from multiple sources and was also named the the National Pitcher of the year by Collegiate Baseball. Sophomore Justin Foscue earned All-American for his play at second base, and RHP JT Ginn scored Freshman All-American recognition from multiple sources. Not only did Mangum produce another All-American year, but the senior outfielder also set the Mississippi State and SEC career hits record with 383 hits. He left an indelible mark on the Mississippi State program and will not soon be forgotten. A Look Ahead at 2020 Despite being hard hit by the draft, there is reason for optimism in Starkville; Mississippi State brought in the seventh best recruiting class in the country in the fall. The Bulldogs will be hoping for some immediate contributions including from freshman RHP Will Bednar whose fastball touches 95 mph. (See the top ten recruiting classes here.) Mississippi State will start the season on a nine-game homestand. After hosting Wright State for their first weekend series, the Bulldogs will welcome 2018 National Champion, Oregon State, to the Dude. The following weekend, the Bulldogs will take their first road trip of the year when they head out to southern California to play Long Beach State. The next nine games will test Mississippi State as the Bulldogs will face off against four teams who made a Regional in 2019, including two teams who made the College World Series. A midweek against Southern Miss will prepare Mississippi State for a series with Quinnipiac, the 2019 MAAC Champion and a squad that defeated ECU in the opening round of the Greenville Regional. (Read more about Quinnipiac here.) A last-minute addition to the schedule, Texas Tech will visit Biloxi and MGM Park for two midweek games with Mississippi State. The nine-game gauntlet ends with Arkansas coming to town for the Bulldogs' first SEC series in a matchup that will set the tone early in the SEC West race. A trip to Baton Rouge will offer a challenging start to SEC road play. Mississippi State will be looking to avenge a 2019 series loss in Starkville at the hands of LSU. From the SEC East, Kentucky will close out Mississippi State's March weekends. Conference play continues with a trip to Auburn which will precedes Super Bulldog Weekend (April 9th-11th) when Mississippi State will take on rival, Ole Miss. The Rebels will be looking for revenge after getting swept last year by the Bulldogs. Series at South Carolina, versus Texas A&M, and at Alabama will follow. Mississippi State will finish conference play against two SEC East squads: Missouri and Vanderbilt. Ending the year against the 2019 National Champion will give the Bulldogs one more shot at boosting their resume before the regular season ends. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: Mississippi State will host a Regional and compete for Omaha. It's a little hard not to imagine some growing pains for Mississippi State in 2020. Losing leaders like Mangum and MacNamee is hard for a team to recover from. Also, the departure of Small leaves a large hole in the rotation. Ginn will provide some stability to the rotation, but the Bulldogs will need freshmen and JUCO transfers to fill in the back end of the rotation and the bullpen. The talent but maybe not the experience is there. I anticipate a slower start to the year for the Bulldogs, but ultimately, they should be clicking on all cylinders come Regionals. This team should host a Regional and should be in contention for Omaha. Head over to our forums to discuss Mississippi State and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. 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We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the UNCW Seahawks! The Seahawks are one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the country. In 2020, they will look to make their third straight Regional. A Look Back at 2019 Heading into the Colonial Tournament at an even .500, 28-28 (12-12), the Seahawks knew that a tournament win would be necessary to secure a Regional bid. UNCW entered the Colonial Tournament with confidence, as they had won three of their last four conference series, including series wins over the top two teams in the conference (Elon and Charleston). After a dramatic 11-inning win over Northeastern in the first round of the conference tournament, UNCW knocked off two more wins, one against top seed, Elon, and another against William & Mary (avenging a series sweep from earlier in the season). A 4-1 loss to Elon set up a winner-take-all game on Sunday morning. The Seahawks clinched the conference championship and a Regional berth with a 6-5 win in ten innings. UNCW earned a trip to Chapel Hill where they opened up the Regional against host North Carolina. The Tar Heels walked off UNCW, and ultimately, the Seahawks were eliminated by Tennessee. The Regional appearance marked the tenth time in the last 17 seasons that UNCW had earned that honor. UNCW's roster was littered with talent in 2019, highlighted by shortstop phenom, Greg Jones, who was honored as an All-American by multiple sources. Jones was one of four Seahawks that was drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was joined by LHP Zarion Sharpe, RHP Justin Crump, and INF Cole Weiss. Sharpe and Weiss elected to return to UNCW in 2020. A Look Ahead at 2020 The most notable change for UNCW in 2020 is the departure of their long-time head coach, Mark Scalf. Scalf retired after the 2019 season, ending his career as the winningest coach in both UNCW and Colonial history. Stepping up from his associate head coaching role in 2019, Randy Hood was named the 2020 head coach. Hood is entering his 19th year with the program. The Seahawks bring back several key arms from a very good pitching staff, including RHP Luke Gesell, RHP Landen Roupp, and the aforementioned Sharpe. These three pitchers hold 76 combined career starts at UNCW and help form one of the most experienced starting rotations in all of college baseball. Coach Hood has high hopes for his 2020 pitching rotation. "Sharpe, Roupp, and Gesell give us one of the best rotations returning in the country. [I'm] really excited to see their body of work this coming spring." Jones' departure to professional baseball leaves a hole in the middle of the infield. Two-way player Adam Smith will look to fill that role. Smith enters the year as one of the most intriguing two-way players in the country. In limited work in 2019 (11.0 IP), Smith notched a 1.64 ERA. Coach Hood believes that Smith will both be important for his defense but "could also have a vital role on the mound." The Seahawks bring in two fascinating transfers that will be eligible for the 2020 season, Kip Brandenburg and Tanner Wells, who Coach Hood think will be a "big boost" to the team. Brandenburg batted .298 at North Carolina two season ago, and Wells, a transfer from High Point, batted .329 with good power as a freshman. Both will likely have an immediate impact on the lineup. UNCW has scheduled ambitiously for the 2020 season. After hosting the annual Hughes Bros. Challenge in mid-February, the Seahawks will hit the road for a four-game stretch against NC State and Kentucky. (Check out a full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments here) An eight-game home stand will follow, including a series with Memphis and a midweek against ECU. The Seahawks will then go back on the road on a stretch that includes a midweek at North Carolina, their first conference series at William & Mary, and a midweek at Campbell. UNCW has the benefit of hosting Elon and Charleston beginning in late April. These two conference series may go a long way in determining the regular season champion in the Colonial. The Seahawks will finish conference play on the road with back-to-back series at Northeastern and at James Madison. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: UNCW will be improved from 2019 and will finish in the top three of the Colonial standings. Of course, losing one of the best players in the country and in program history in Greg Jones will be tough to replace, but I like the experience coming back on the pitching staff. I'm curious if guys like Weiss, OF Kep Brown, and OF Noah Bridges will continue to produce and develop. With four, eight, and four home runs respectively, this trio was all in the top five on team in home runs in 2019. They'll want to see an improvement in power as a team if they hope to be a major offensive threat. The good news for the Seahawks is that after a sluggish freshman year, sophomore catcher Matt Suggs may be a major offensive factor in 2020. Said Coach Hood, "Suggs has made big strides and has been our best bat this fall." Hood identified several freshmen to watch as well. "Freshmen Trevor Marsh, Jac Croom, Ronald Evans, Kevin Pitarra, and Matt Yip have a great chance to contribute early." All-in-all, I like this squad to compete for a conference title and have a shot at winning a few games in a Regional. Head over to our forums to discuss UNCW and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Vanderbilt Commodores! You’d be hard-pressed to find a better season in college baseball than national champion Vanderbilt’s 2019 season. Not only did they win the national championship, but they also won the SEC Regular Season and the SEC Tournament title. A Look Back at 2019 Statistically, the Vanderbilt offense was crucial to their 2019 success. The Commodores finished 2nd in the SEC and 8th in the country in batting average, 1st in wOBA*, 1st/7th in on-base percentage, and 1st/5th in slugging percentage. Vanderbilt, 59-12 (23-7 SEC), slugged their way to Omaha hitting 1.41 home runs per game, which was good for 10th in the country and 1st in the SEC. The key to their offense was fourth overall pick, JJ Bleday (Marlins). Not to be outdone by the offense, the pitching and defense also had a fantastic year. Led by Junior righty Drake Fellows, the Commodore starters were feared all year long. Freshman right-hander, Kumar Rocker had a dominant year and likely sky-rocketed up draft boards after being drafted in the 38th round in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Rockies out of high school. He decided to go to Vanderbilt and Commodores fans are glad he did. The 2019 CWS Most Outstanding Player became the first pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter during the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament, striking out 19 Duke batters. The defense also played lights-out all season, finishing 1st in the SEC and 10th in the country in fielding percentage. Vanderbilt cruised through their Regional outscoring their opponents 28-8 in three games. They were met with a rude awakening in the form of the Duke Blue Devils, who won the first game 18-5. As already mentioned, Rocker’s no-hitter in game two saved the Commodores' bullpen, which helped propel them to Omaha. Their pitching was the saving grace in Omaha before the finals, where they held their three opponents to six total runs. Michigan surprised Vanderbilt by getting to Drake Fellows early in game one, but the vaunted Commodore offense kept up the pressure on Michigan pitching to bring home the title. With 13 players taken in the MLB Draft, Vanderbilt tied the SEC record and set the program record for number of players selected. Headlined by the 4th overall pick, JJ Bleday, four other players were taken in the first ten rounds, including, Drake Fellows (6th round), Philip Clarke (9th round), Ethan Paul (9th round), and Stephen Scott (10th round). A Look Ahead at 2020 With the departure of all that talent, one would think that Vanderbilt should expect a regression. While some regression from the excellent season they had may be expected, Vanderbilt will reload with more talent. The Commodores finished with the number one recruiting class in 2019. One of their recruits, Jack Leiter, son of Al Leiter, was taken in the 20th round of the MLB Draft this summer but decided to sign with Vanderbilt anyway. (See the top ten classes here) Vanderbilt will have a tough path to win back-to-back championships. The Commodores open their season in the MLB4 Tournament, where their opponents will be national runner-up Michigan, Cal Poly, and a tough AAC team in UConn. The Southern California College Classic in Los Angeles will play host to USC, UCLA, TCU, and Vanderbilt in early March. (Check out a full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments here) Those tournaments are sandwiched around hosting perennial Horizon League champion Illinois-Chicago and Hawaii in Nashville. Louisville also comes to town for some midweek action late in the season. The SEC slate is always tough, but Vanderbilt will have two season-defining streaks of series in conference. The first one starts in the second weekend of conference play on the road against Tennessee, hosting Georgia, and in Alex Box against LSU. The last three weeks of the season are in Columbia against Missouri, at Florida, and hosting Mississippi State. They’ll have their work cut out for them if they hope to repeat as SEC Champions. Kyle's 2020 Prediction: Vanderbilt will make it back to Omaha. Vanderbilt returns two starting pitchers from last season: right-handers Mason Hickman and Kumar Rocker. They will also return players who accounted for about 73% of the non-starter innings pitched. Quite a bit of their offense left last season, most notably JJ Bleday who single-handedly accounted for 27% of the home runs from 2019. I think they’ll be able to reload with their star-studded recruiting class and great coaching staff, ending their season in Omaha once again. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: Vanderbilt will make it to Omaha and is the preseason favorite for the National Championship. Even with the loss of some offensive weapons, the Commodores should be stabilized by their dominant arms. Georgia and Florida will pose a challenge in the SEC East, but the Commodores will be the favorites heading into 2020. All signs point to the Commodores entering 2020 as the number one team in the country and the favorite to win the National Championship. *wOBA is weighted On Base Average. The College Baseball Nation staff has worked this offseason to create a player wOBA database for the 2019 season. The data is based on the 2019 Fangraphs factors for singles, doubles, triples, home runs, unintentional walks, and hits by pitch. Their formula and method can be found here. Head over to our forums to discuss Vanderbilt and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the ECU Pirates! Even if you don’t follow college baseball closely, you know that the ECU Pirates have earned a spot among the upper echelon of college baseball in recent years. Will 2020 be the year they finally break through to Omaha? A Look Back at 2019 The 2019 season marked another successful venture for ECU. Posting a 47-18 overall record and a staggering 20-4 conference record, the Pirates finished seven games ahead of the second-place team in the American Conference standings—easily the largest margin in conference history. ECU’s historic 2019 included four sweeps of conference opponents and wins in all of their other conference series. In total, wins in 11 of their 12 series (their only series loss was to #1 UCLA) and midweek wins over Ole Miss, Duke, and North Carolina further boosted the Pirates’ resume earning ECU the right to host a Regional. The rain-soaked affair in Greenville was not without drama for ECU, but after losing to Quinnipiac, the Pirates stormed through the rest of the Regional in convincing fashion, defeating the other three teams in the Regional along the way. With the Regional win, the Pirates made the fifth Super Regional in program history. After two tough games, the Pirates' season was cut short in the Louisville Super Regional, leaving ECU fans hungry for more. ECU was led by some elite talent, including three All-Americans—junior Jake Agnos, sophomore and two-way player Alec Burleson, and junior Spencer Brickhouse. The trio marks the most All-Americans in Head Coach Cliff Godwin's tenure at ECU. A crew of seven Pirates were drafted in the 2019 MLB draft including Agnos (third round), Bryant Packard (fifth round), and Brickhouse (seventh round) all within the first ten rounds. A Look Ahead at 2020 ECU will look to build upon their sustained success in the 2020 season. The return of key contributors like Burleson and Jake Kuchmaner should give the Pirates stability in the pitching rotation, but the losses of Packard and Brickhouse in the lineup may prove difficult to overcome. The Pirates start the 2020 season with two series against solid mid-major teams in William & Mary and Georgia Southern. In the third weekend of the year, ECU will host the 17th-Annual Keith LeClair Classic (Check out a full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments here). Indiana, Ole Miss, and High Point will visit Greenville for a round-robin tournament in what may be the highlight of the Pirates' non-conference play. Smattered throughout conference play the Pirates have scheduled ambitious midweek games, including home-and-homes with North Carolina, UNCW, and Campbell. ECU will also invite Duke for a midweek game. ECU's American Conference schedule features several challenging road series including at UCF to start conference play. April will bring a difficult stretch for the Pirates as they face off with Houston in Greenville before traveling to play UCONN. The Pirates travel to Tulane for their second-to-last conference series before hosting USF to end the season. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: The Pirates will make a Regional. It's hard to find one single team that will seriously challenge ECU in the American, and I expect the Pirates to repeat as conference champs. I wouldn't be surprised if the standings are a little closer than last year with Houston, UCONN, Tulane, and a few other contenders chasing ECU down, but I would take ECU over the field. Winning the American Conference could set ECU up to host, but right now I project Pirates will end up as a competitive two-seed in a Regional with the potential to host. Midweeks will prove important for boosting ECU's RPI. Head over to our forums to discuss ECU and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

The postseason brings out the best in athletes and teams, and the 2019 NCAA College Baseball Tournament did not disappoint. The road to Omaha was marked by astounding individual performances, thrilling team victories, and unforgettable moments. We asked fans to vote on their favorite moments of the 2019 postseason, and with thousands of votes, here is what y'all decided. Decorating the list are special players like Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker, who mowed down 19 Duke batters in an elimination game in the Nashville Super Regional en route to a no-hitter and the top moment in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan's Tommy Henry also made the top ten for his complete game shutout against Florida State in the College World Series. Henry was 5-0 in his starts in the postseason for the Wolverines. Shea Langeliers of Baylor exploded in his game against Omaha for three home runs and 11 RBI in the Los Angeles Regional, good for a spot in the top ten. Some players made the top ten with just a swing of the bat. Texas A&M's Bryce Blaum sent a 3-2 pitch out of the park capping off the Aggies' miraculous comeback over West Virginia with a walk-off grand slam (full story on his at-bat here). Jake Mangum and Elijah MacNamee put the exclamation point on their Mississippi State legacy with big hits in the ninth at the Starkville Super Regional. The tournament was full of special team performances too, like Quinnipiac earning their first NCAA Tournament win in program history (full story on Quinnipiac here) or Michigan taking down #1 UCLA in the Los Angeles Super Regional (full story on Michigan here). Florida State's walk off against LSU to win the Baton Rouge Super Regional will forever be entrenched in college baseball history as it sent the Seminoles and Mike Martin back to Omaha one last time together. Mississippi State checks in a second time in the top ten with some Omaha heroics, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off Auburn (full story on the walk-off here). And who could forget the guy who caught a foul ball and chugged his beer without spilling a drop? That was a special individual performance. Thanks for stopping by! Head over to our forums to discuss this and more! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

Hits were hard to come by in Sunday's David Williams Fall Classic scrimmage between last year's College World Series Finalists, Vanderbilt and Michigan. The two teams combined for just eight hits and five runs in a game that ended 3-2 in Michigan's favor. Dominant pitching was the theme of the day. Michigan starter, freshman LHP Steven Hajjar, struck out five in just 2.2 innings. His counterpart, Vanderbilt freshman RHP Jack Leiter, also displayed strike out stuff with four strikeouts in 2.0 IP. Leiter struggled with command of his fastball and gave three free passes to Michigan batters. In relief for Vanderbilt, Freshman RHP Sam Hliboki impressed, striking out five of the six batters he faced in his 2.0 innings of work. Vanderbilt tied the game at two in the bottom of the eighth off of Spencer Jones' RBI single, but Michigan tacked on an unearned run in the top of the ninth to retake the lead. The game featured Michigan Head Coach Erik Bakich facing off against his once mentor, Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin. The two came together for the inaugural David Williams Fall Classic in recognition of the impact of the Negro League on baseball and on the country as a whole. Michigan and Vanderbilt will face off in February at the MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Check out a full list of the 2020 College Baseball Tournaments here) Head over to our forums to discuss this game and more! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the TCU Horned Frogs! With five trips to the College World Series this decade, TCU has become one of the dominant forces in college baseball. After missing a Regional in 2018, TCU entered 2019 with a return trip to the NCAA Tournament on their minds. A Look Back at 2019 2019 was a season marked by big wins and tough losses for the Horned Frogs. Wins over Virginia and Vanderbilt at the MLB4 Tournament and a series win over Texas in their first Big XII series of the year suggested a good year for TCU. However, a late season sweep at the hands of Baylor put TCU behind the 8-ball when it came to returning to a Regional. Entering the Big XII Tournament, TCU was in need of some late-season marquee wins. Wins over Oklahoma, Baylor, and Oklahoma State on a run to the Big XII Championship game earned TCU one of the last spots in a Regional. The Horned Frogs earned the right to travel to Fayetteville where #5 Arkansas was hosting. While in Fayetteville, TCU scored wins over Cal and Central Connecticut State en route to the Regional Final where the Horned Frogs ultimately lost to the Razorbacks. While finishing the year 34-28 (11-13) did not quite reach the standard TCU has set for themselves in recent years, 2019 marked a distinct improvement from 2018. The 2019 TCU team was loaded with talent as evidenced by their nine selections in the 2019 MLB Draft (a program record). LHP Nick Lodolo highlighted the group for the Horned Frogs as the 7th overall pick and highest pick in program history. LHP Brandon Williamson (2nd round), OF Johnny Rizer (7th round), and INF Jake Guenther (7th round) were also selected within the first ten rounds of the draft. A Look Ahead at 2020 The departure of so much talent from the 2019 team leaves some holes in the 2020 TCU roster. Fortunately for the Horned Frogs, they have the fourth best recruiting class in the country coming to Fort Worth, including five pitchers. (See the top ten classes here) The production of the pitching staff will go a long way in determining the success of the 2020 team. Only RHP Charles King returns from the 2019 rotation. He pitched 85.2 innings to the tune of a 3.36 ERA and may be the Friday starter for the Horned Frogs in 2020. RHP Marcelo Perez may move from the bullpen to a starting role after holding a 4.30 ERA on 23.0 IP in 2019. The biggest wildcards for TCU in 2020 will be LHP Russell Smith and RHP Caleb Sloan, who will both returning from Tommy John surgery. Smith threw 37.2 innings with a 3.35 ERA in 2018 before being injured in the fall, while Sloan threw 31.1 innings in relief with a 4.60 ERA in 2018. Both are ahead of schedule for their recoveries and on track to return for the 2020 season when they could be key contributors. Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle will not have to worry about the other half of the battery as the Horned Frogs return C Zach Humphreys who elected not to move on to professional baseball after being selected in the 26th round. TCU has a challenging schedule lined up for 2020 including non-conference series vs. Kentucky, at Minnesota, and vs. Cal to start the season. The Horned Frogs will travel to Los Angeles for the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic where they face off against USC, UCLA, and Vanderbilt. (Check out a full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments here) TCU will also play series vs. Maryland and at Stetson along with their eight series of Big XII play. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: TCU will make a Regional in 2020. TCU is an extremely challenging team to predict. On one hand, there are too many question marks in their starting pitching rotation. Losing an ace like Lodolo can be difficult to recover from. On the other hand, Smith and Sloan are coming back from Tommy John and a host of talented arms in the recruiting class could immediately contribute. I see TCU as a high risk, high ceiling team. I think they’ll be able to piece together enough of a rotation to make a Regional. If they can find two consistent starters, they may make a run in the postseason. Head over to our forums to discuss TCU and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Arkansas Razorbacks! In an era where teams around the country are investing in college baseball, the Arkansas Razorbacks have set themselves apart with their excellent facilities, passionate fanbase, and consistent winning ways. A Look Back at 2019 2019 was another successful season for the Razorbacks, as the team returned to the College World Series. Entering the year at #16 in the preseason poll, Arkansas defied the expectation that 2019 would be a rebuilding year and finished the season ten spots higher than where they started. Arkansas finished the year 46-20 (20-10) and hosted a Regional, which they swept in convincing fashion, and a Super Regional, where they took down Ole Miss in three games. The Razorbacks’ run eventually ended in Omaha where they ran up against tough Florida State and Texas Tech teams; however, the 2019 season further entrenched Arkansas as one of the modern blue bloods in college baseball. Bolstered by their always deep roster, Arkansas consistently sends talent to the next level. Seven Razorbacks were drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft, including three in the first five rounds: Dominic Fletcher (75th overall), Isaiah Campbell (76th overall), and Matt Cronin (123rd overall). It will be interesting to see how the departure of talented arms affects the Razorbacks in 2020. A Look Ahead at 2020 Fan excitement is at an all-time high in Fayetteville—even the Razorbacks’ fall game against Oklahoma drew over 6,000 fans. After coming off back-to-back College World Series appearances, Arkansas will look to stretch that Omaha run to three straight seasons in 2020. Arkansas will start the season with a seven-game homestand, featuring Eastern Illinois, and a scrappy Gonzaga team before they head to Houston for the Shriners College Classic where they will take on three Big XII foes—Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor—in the confines of Minute Maid Park. (Check out the full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments) SEC play will start with a bang as the Razorbacks travel to Starkville for an SEC West showdown with Mississippi State. This series could go a long way in determining who wins the West. The first cross-divisional series comes in April when Arkansas will welcome the Florida Gators to Baum-Walker Stadium. Mid-April will bring an intriguing five-game road trip for the Razorbacks. First Arkansas will head over to the Box to take on LSU before heading up to East Lansing for two midweek games against Michigan State. Arkansas will finish the season with nine straight games against SEC East opponents as the Razorbacks draw South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee from the East. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: The Razorbacks will end 2020 in Omaha. It’s going to be hard to replace Isaiah Campbell and Matt Cronin, two of the Razorbacks’ best arms from a year ago, but Arkansas has a lot of talented young arms. Sophomores Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander should compete for rotation spots once again. Noland won the first game of the Fayetteville Regional and amassed a 4.02 ERA over the year. The Razorbacks also have a few guys returning from Tommy John surgery, including Caleb Bolden who Razorback Head Coach, Dave Van Horn, says will “be one of our best guys next year.” Arkansas returns the heart of their lineup with talented hitters including Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad, and even going up against SEC pitching, Arkansas shouldn’t have issues scoring runs. Once again, it looks like the Razorbacks should be a National Championship contender in 2020 and should enter the year in the top ten. Kyle's (@kylemckelv) 2020 Prediction: The Razorbacks will make it back-to-back-to-back trips to Omaha. Going further, I think they’ll be one of the last four alive in Omaha. Their offense returns six starters and they return two starting pitchers, among other strong bullpen arms that accounted for 66% of the bullpen innings pitched last year. That would be enough for a team to be competitive anywhere but if you combine it with the fact that these players have loads of post-season experience, it makes this team quite dangerous. They should also compete with 2019 National Champ, Vanderbilt, for the SEC Regular Season crown. Head over to our forums to discuss Arkansas and more! Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Sacramento State Hornets! If you don't know the Sacramento State Hornets, you should. They are one of the most consistent teams on the West Coast, and 2020 is setting up to be another good year for the Hornets. A Look Back at 2019 For Sacramento State, 2019 was a year that won’t soon be forgotten. With marquee wins throughout the year including on the road at UCLA, blanking California, 6-0, and a 21 run offensive explosion at California Baptist, a quiet end to the year could have been enough for some teams. However, the Hornets had other plans in store and wrote one of the most memorable and thrilling chapters of the 2019 college baseball season. After losing first round of the WAC Tournament to Utah Valley, Sacramento State was just one loss away from ending their season. Six games and four days later, and the Hornets would be WAC Champions. Scoring five runs in the top of the ninth, Sacramento State staved off elimination by first taking down CSU Bakersfield, 7-3. The next day the Hornets would win two more elimination games, defeating UTRGV, 6-2, and coming from behind to take out Utah Valley, 6-4, avenging their loss from earlier in the tournament. Saturday brought more heroics for the Hornets as Sacramento State eliminated New Mexico State, 6-4, in ten innings. This earned them the right to play once more that day. In an intense 11 inning affair, Sacramento State walked off Grand Canyon, 4-3, to set up a winner-take-all final on Sunday. In the Hornets’ second straight one-run game, they defeated Grand Canyon 5-4 and won the WAC Championship. Adding to their historic run, Sacramento State managed to eliminate every other team in the tournament on their way to winning the Championship. The miraculous WAC Championship for Sacramento State earned them a spot in the Stanford Regional. After dropping their first game to the host, Stanford, Sacramento State earned their second NCAA Tournament win in program history by defeating UC Santa Barbara. Impressively, the win secured a 40-win season for the Hornets in what was one of the most memorable seasons ever for Sacramento State. Sacramento State had three players selected in the MLB Draft including Austin Roberts (8th round), Tanner Dalton (17th round), and Parker Brahms (27th round). All three were pitchers from the Hornets' excellent 2019 pitching staff which put up a 3.88 team ERA. Brahms elected to return and will be a key part of the 2020 pitching staff. A Look Ahead at 2020 The Hornets will open 2020 with a marquee matchup against UC Santa Barbara in what promises to be one of the best Opening Weekend series. This rematch from the 2019 Stanford Regional will set the tone early for the Hornets. After starting the season off with ten straight home games, the Hornets will be on the road for the next 12 games, including non-conference series against UC Irvine and Nevada and a WAC series at New Mexico State where the Hornets will go up against phenom, Nick Gonzales. Late March and early April will bring exciting midweeks against Stanford, St Mary’s, and Cal along with WAC series against CSU Bakersfield, Chicago State, and UTRGV. Upstart California Baptist will come to town in late April in what will likely be a great conference series. May will offer series with Northern Colorado, Grand Canyon, and Utah Valley along with a midweek game against Arizona before the Hornets will travel to Mesa, Arizona for the WAC Tournament. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: The Hornets will compete for the WAC Championship. As of right now, the path to a Regional is fairly narrow in the WAC. The Hornets schedule shapes up so that it would be possible to earn an at-large bid, but the only sure way into a Regional will be winning the WAC Tournament. The good news for Sacramento State is that they should once again finish near the top of the WAC. The Hornets return RHP Scott Randall who threw 93.2 innings and put up a 2.59 ERA in 2019, but Sacramento State did lose two important arms to the draft. With a guy like Randall, no team would want to see Sacramento State in their Regional. Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Texas A&M Aggies! Texas A&M's 2019 season was up-and-down, but they proved to be competitive in arguably the toughest division in baseball, the SEC West. A Look Back at 2019 Texas A&M had an up-and-down 2019 season, culminating in a dream-like walk-off win over Regional host, West Virginia and a disappointing loss to Regional Champ, Duke, who lost to NCAA Champion, Vanderbilt in Nashville. A&M finished 39-23-1 (16-13-1 in SEC play), and was ranked as high as 9th in the College Baseball Nation Composite Top 25. Aggie pitching, coached by Rob Childress, who will be going into his 13th year as head coach in College Station, had a stellar year in 2019. The staff finished with a 3.21 ERA, which was good for 3rd in the NCAA and 1st in the conference, as well as a 1.21 WHIP (2nd SEC) and 10.91 K/9 (1st SEC). While the offense did not have a great season, to put it lightly, there are positive signs for the future as A&M hired Southern Miss hitting coach Chad Caillet in the offseason. Four Aggies were drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft, including Braden Shewmake (1st round), John Doxakis, (2nd round), and Kasey Kalich (4th round). A Look Ahead at 2020 Even though Texas A&M lost Friday starter, John Doxakis, they will look to reload with another dominant lefty, Asa Lacy. They will also return starter Jonathan Childress (no relation to the head coach), who underwent Tommy John surgery last year. Continuing their rotation with the beginning of season tournaments, the Aggies will return to the Frisco College Classic after going 3-0 in the 2019 Shriners College Classic. Their foes in the tournament will be Illinois, Oklahoma State, and UCLA. (Check out the full list of 2020 College Baseball Tournaments) In midweek games, the Aggies will also play several in-state teams, including Rice, Texas, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Aggies initially had a trip to Cal State Fullerton planned for their marquee non-conference matchup; however, a scheduling conflict saw Cal State Fullerton replaced by New Mexico State. Though both Texas A&M and New Mexico State are Aggies, the two teams could not have been more different last year. New Mexico State led the country in scoring (11.1 runs/game), while Texas A&M was third in the country in runs given up (3.7 runs/game). The SEC conference schedule is a gauntlet, as always, and A&M starts off playing at Auburn and home against Ole Miss, a 2019 CWS team and a Super Regional team, respectively. Then, after visiting the always-tough Florida, April’s schedule starts by hosting Georgia, who was a Regional host, and Dallas Baptist; next, the Aggies visit Arkansas, who is coming off back-to-back Omaha appearances. The next key stretch for the Aggies comes just two weeks later when they visit the New Dude to play Mississippi State and then head home to face LSU. With the talent of the SEC West, these series will likely be pivotal in deciding the winner of the division and conference. Kyle's (@kylemckelv) 2020 Prediction: The Aggies will make a Super Regional. Texas A&M's pitching in 2019 was elite, but the offense left something to be desired. They return the dominant lefty Asa Lacy to figures to be the Friday night starter. When they get Jonathan Childress back, their rotation will be solidified with three solid starters, including Christian Roa, from last year. Aggie pitching returns players who accounted for 72% of the innings pitched from last season, and with Rob Childress' track record of developing pitching talent, I believe they will be about as good as last year on the mound. We'll see how the offense comes around with new hitting coach, Chad Caillet, but since talented pitching depth helps teams advance in the post season, I'm optimistic about their chances. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: The Aggies will return to a Regional. For the Aggies, their offense is a liability until proven otherwise. Perhaps Caillet can turn things around for Texas A&M, but if the 2019 Aggies taught us anything, you can’t solely rely upon pitching to advance in the NCAA Tournament. That being said, Asa Lacy should be one of the top arms in the country, and the Aggies will likely continue their streak of 13 straight Regionals. As of now, I would project them as a two seed in a Regional. Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

We're taking a look back and a look ahead at college baseball teams from around the country. Next up are the Duke Blue Devils! “I’ve said ever since I’ve got here, and I feel even more strongly about it now than I did then. For us, getting to the College World Series is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” -Duke Baseball Head Coach Chris Pollard A Look Back at 2019 From 1962 to 2015, Duke suffered from an NCAA Tournament appearance drought. In 2013 Pollard took over as head coach and quickly changed the direction of the program. After returning to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 for the first time in over five decades and earning a Super Regional appearance in 2018, the Blue Devils entered 2019 looking to ride that momentum back to the postseason. A 35-27 (15-15) record earned the Blue Devils the three seed in the Morgantown Regional. Duke swept through the Regional in convincing fashion, defeating Texas A&M twice and blanking host, West Virginia, en route to the Super Regional where they matched up with Vanderbilt. After dominating game one of the series, Duke ran up against Vanderbilt phenom, P Kumar Rocker, in game two and would go on to lose the series in three games. In spite of this, 2019 was a successful for the Blue Devils who have officially returned to national relevance for the first time since the 1960s. On top of their team successes, Duke also saw individual success with SS Ethan Murray who was tabbed as a Freshman All-American by several sources. Murray led the Blue Devils in on-base percentage (.391) and was second on the team in several other offensive categories including batting average (.305), RBI (40), and runs (48). A Look Ahead at 2020 Expectations are high in Durham as the team returns most of its corps from a year ago. With seven of the nine players from Duke’s starting lineup and 72% of innings pitched returning, Duke will be bringing back a squad with talent and experience. Pollard is especially excited for the return of P Bryce Jarvis: “[He] looks like a bona fide Friday night stud. Candidly, he looks like a first rounder.” The Blue Devils will kick off the year on an eight-game homestand (including weekend series against Army and Cornell) before heading to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Duke will then return home for a ten-game homestand and the start of ACC play. The Blue Devils will be tested early as they face off against Florida State and North Carolina. Wins in these series could set the tone for an extremely successful 2020 campaign. April will offer Duke its longest road stretch of the season (seven straight games) when the Blue Devils will take on NC State, ECU, and Virginia Tech. Duke also finishes the season on the road for seven of its last eight games, which could prove crucial in determining NCAA Tournament seeding. John’s (@johnny_omaha_) 2020 Prediction: Duke will make a Super Regional and is a legitimate contender for Omaha. The pieces are there for Duke in 2020. The team is returning most of their key contributors including three of their four starting pitchers from last year and their most important bullpen guys. Duke went 4-2 in the NCAA Tournament last year, beating several ranked teams (West Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M x2), and the Blue Devils were just one game away from Omaha. Pollard has his team trending in the right direction, and I expect them to have a legitimate shot at hosting a Regional and advancing deep in the NCAA Tournament. Read all of our 2020 team previews here! Thanks for reading! Want to submit a fan perspective for your team? Message us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or email us at collegeballnat@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patron. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!