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Conference USA Baseball sends four to 2021 NCAA Regionals

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The Road to Omaha begins now. Conference USA Baseball is sending four teams to NCAA Regionals where they’ll vie for a trip to the 2021 College World Series.

Conference USA Baseball had four ranked teams entering its conference tournament. After a thrilling week of postseason play in Ruston, Old Dominion punched its automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, but each of the other three teams earned an at-large bid as expected. The four bids are the most from Conference USA since 2016 and more than all but three conferences.

Here’s when are where C-USA teams will see action this week with all opening round games taking place on Friday, June 4:

Ruston Regional hosted by Louisiana Tech

  • No. 2 NC State (30-17) vs. No. 3 Alabama (31-24), 3 p.m., ESPN3
  • No. 1 Louisiana Tech (40-18) vs. No. 4 Rider (23-16), 7 p.m., ESPN3

One of the conference’s two No. 1 seeds, Louisiana Tech is the only C-USA program hosting in their own ballpark. NC State, the No. 2 seed in their regional, was one of the hotter teams in the country down the stretch. With Tech being the lowest-seeded host, that would have made NC State next in line in the pecking order. Alabama is right alongside NC State in RPI (No. 35 compared to NC State’s No. 33).

Columbia Regional hosted by South Carolina

  • No. 2 South Carolina (33-21) vs. No. 3 Virginia (29-23), 12 p.m., ESPN2
  • No. 1 Old Dominion (42-14) vs. No. 4 Jacksonville (16-32), 7 p.m., ESPN3

Although they’ll be the top seed in name, Old Dominion will visit South Carolina for the regional debut. The Gamecocks scuttled in the final weeks of the regular season whereas their first round opponent, Virginia, was white-hot down the stretch.

Oxford Regional hosted by Ole Miss

  • No. 2 Southern Miss (37-19) vs. No. 3 Florida State (30-22), 3 p.m., ESPNU
  • No. 1 Ole Miss (41-19) vs. No. 4 Southeast Missouri State (30-20), 8 p.m., ESPN3

This regional is going to be phenomenal. Southern Miss might have the most impactful pitching corps of these four teams, but they’ll be tested by two top-flight clubs in Ole Miss and South Carolina. For a team as talented as the Golden Eagles, the seeding committee did them no favors.

Greenville Regional hosted by East Carolina

  • No. 1 East Carolina (41-15) vs. No. 4 Norfolk State (25-26), 12 p.m., ESPN3
  • No. 2 Charlotte (39-19) vs. No. 3 Maryland (28-16), 6 p.m., ESPN3

Charlotte was bounced quickly from the conference tournament, but their body of work was enough to secure a No. 2 seed where they’ll be paired with East Carolina. The pirates were upset by UCF in their conference tournament, but both squads will be ready to bounce back with the stakes elevated even further.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – May 29

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The 2021 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls from this week.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon was somewhat quiet at the plate this week, collecting a pair of doubles and two RBI over the last six games. That didn’t stop him from adding value elsewhere. Rendon’s range and head’s up baseball smarts led to a rather peculiar double play combination against the A’s.

Through May 29, Rendon is hitting .228 with seven extra-base hits, 14 walks and 24 strikeouts. His OPS is .657 and he’s collected 14 RBI.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Roughly a week and a half removed from a stint on the injured list, Holt started four of six games for the Rangers this week while also making one pinch-hit appearance.

Through May 29, Holt is hitting .238 with three extra-base hits, 11 walks and 15 strikeouts. His OPS is .693 and he’s collected seven RBI.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was nearly spotless in three outings this week. He faced 10 batters over 3.0 innings, striking out seven, walking two while allowing no hits. He lowered his ERA by nearly a full point over that time period.

Through May 29, Duffey has a 4.66 ERA with a 1.309 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lucas Luetege – New York Yankees

Luetege made two appearances this week, both in Yankee losses to the Blue Jays. He allowed a pair of unearned runs in the first outing on Tuesday but bounced back in the second, striking out three batters in 1.1 innings on Thursday.

Through May 29, Luetege has a 2.66 ERA with a 1.014 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

J.T. Chargois – Seattle Mariners

Chargois earned a pair of holds this week, his first of the season. He’s settled in quite nicely in his return to the major leagues. He’s also been one of the Mariner’s toughest to hit pitchers, ranking highly among the staff in whiff rate, the ratio of pitches that produce swings and misses.

Through May 29, Chargois has a 2.45 ERA with a 0.727 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

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Rice Baseball: Names to watch in Owls’ coaching search

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After relieving Matt Bragga of his duties, Rice baseball is looking for a new head coach. Here are five potential names the Owls might consider.

Early reports have begun to emerge regarding potential candidates for the now opener Rice baseball head coaching position. Here are five names that could be in the mix over the next several weeks, linked either through a previous report or by their previous connection with the school.

Pat Hallmark

An All-Southwestern Conference catcher at Rice who returned to South Main as an assistant coach from 2006 to 2016.  From there he spent one year at Missouri as an assistant before being named the head coach at Incarnate Word. Hallmark was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 2019, springboarding him to the UTSA head coaching job, where he’s accrued a 32-31 record over the past two seasons.

Jake Gautreau

A prominent assistant that’ll be in the running for several jobs this offseason, Gautreau currently serves as the hitting coach for Mississippi State. Prior to arriving in Starkville, he spent time as an assistant at Tulane, where he’d been named a two-time Conference USA Player of the Year during his playing days. He and the next name on this list were both tabbed as candidates to watch by D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.

Sean Allen

Like Gautreau, Allen also has a Tulane connection. The well-traveled assistant spent two seasons as an assistant with the Green Wave, with other stops at Houston, Sam Houston and FIU. He’s been with the Longhorns for the past nine seasons. For what it’s worth, he follows The Roost on Twitter shortly after the news of Bragga’s dismissal was released.

Rob Childress

The longtime Texas A&M head coach was not offered a new contract following the 2021 season which saw his team miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. During his time in College Station he led the Aggies to six conference titles and two College World Series appearances. He wouldn’t have to travel far were he to relocate to Houston, which he reportedly would have interest in doing.

Lance Berkman

This list wouldn’t be complete without a nod to the Rice great Lance Berkman. His proximity and to the school and his name-brand cache might warrant attention, but no reports have directly linked him to the job just yet. Rogers actually tabbed Berkman as a name to keep an eye on in a coaching search across town. Houston Baptist is also looking for a new skipper and Berkman is expected to be a candidate in that search.

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Rice Baseball moves on from Matt Bragga after three seasons

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Rice baseball has parted ways with head coach Matt Bragga after three seasons, the school announced on Monday.

When it comes to the coaching profession, there’s a saying that rings particularly true today. “You don’t want to be the guy who follows a legend, you want to be the guy who follows the guy who follows the legend.” Three seasons removed from the end of the Wayne Graham era, Rice baseball has announced they are moving on from his successor, Matt Bragga.

Bragga took over the program prior to the 2019 season after a successful run at Tennessee Tech that ended one win shy of a trip to the College World Series in 2018. He then arrived at South Main where he went 51-76-1 over the three years that followed, including a 23-29-1 record in 2021. The Owls missed the Conference USA Tournament this season for the first time since 1993.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard issue this statement on the decision:

“Matt Bragga is a dedicated coach who brought a track record of success with him to Rice,” Karlgaard said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen enough improvement in our program for us to move forward together. We thank him for his efforts to bring Rice baseball back to the postseason and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

In his media session following the announcement, Karlgaard detailed further why the decision to move on from Bragga had been made. “It has more to do with the approach that we think we need to take,” Karlgaard said, “We just felt like we needed to make that decision now so that we could change the trajectory and get things headed in the right direction as quickly as possible.”

Karlgaard indicated the beginnings of a search had not yet begun but estimated the hunt for the Owls’ next skipper will be swift. “It’s certainly possible we could be done in 10 days” Karlgaard divulged, setting the longer, and more probable bound, at three or so weeks “depending on who emerges from our candidate pool and whether or not they’re still playing.”

Bragga was hired in the midst of the 2018 postseason in between the Super Regional round and the College World Series. Hiring someone in the midst of a postseason run would be well within the realm of possibilities. But, as indicated by the lower bound Karlgaard himself gauged, those currently free to interview would also be on the table.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – May 22

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The 2021 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls from this week.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon finished his first week back from the injured list this week, returning to everyday action against the Red Sox and Indians. Although he did some good work with his bat, this play with his glove at the hot corner might have been the most impressive.

Through May 22, Rendon is hitting .239 with five extra-base hits, 11 walks and 21 strikeouts. His OPS is .683 and he’s collected 12 RBI.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt saw his first action since May 2 this week after spending almost three weeks on the injured list.

Through May 22, Holt is hitting .250 with three extra-base hits, nine walks and 12 strikeouts. His OPS is .733 and he’s collected six RBI.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey saw action on a few occasions this week. He went two innings against the A’s, striking out three and allowing no runs. He also entered to face one batter against the White Sox, inducing a ground out from Yuan Moncada. He was later ejected from the game for throwing behind Yermin Mercedes which later earned him a three-game suspension.

Through May 22, Duffey has a 5.51 ERA with a 1.653 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lucas Luetege – New York Yankees

Luetege had a workmanlike set of appearances this week. He pitched single innings in back-to-back games against the Orioles, facing three batters in each frame and retiring all three on each occasion.

Through May 22, Luetege has a 2.95 ERA with a 0.938 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

J.T. Chargois – Seattle Mariners

Chargois threw two innings against Detroit on Monday, his longest of his four outings to date this season. He allowed two hits, struck out a pair of batters and did not allow any runs. He followed that up with two additional scoreless outings later in the week, cutting his ERA in half.

Through May 22, Chargois has a 2.35 ERA with a 0.783 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

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