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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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Conference USA Baseball Tournament 2021 Preview, schedule, how to watch

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The Conference USA Baseball Tournament is headed to Ruston, Louisiana. Here’s how to watch and what to be looking for this week.

It took every weekend of the regular season to solidify the eight-team field that will hit the diamond for a busy week of Conference USA Baseball Tournament action. Multiple nationally ranked teams will jockey for postseason position while others hope to play spoiler and punch an at-large bid for their shot at the College World Series.

All games will be streamed on ESPN+ with the exception of the tournament championship, available on CBS Sports Network. The tournament runs from Wednesday, May 26 to Sunday, May 30. The full schedule and updated bracket are available on the Conference USA Baseball Tournament website.

Assessing the field

The favorites | Four teams separated themselves from the rest of the conference during the regular season. Charlotte enters as the No. 1 seed, but Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss and Old Dominion were just two games behind them in the win column this year. All four have spent at least a portion of the season ranked inside the Top 25.

The darkhorse | Pitching is the backbone for a postseason run. Middle Tennessee was the last team to make the field, but the Blue Raiders own the second-best team ERA in the conference. If the offense can do just enough in key moments, MTSU could make things interesting.

The wild card | UTSA is going to try and win every game they play 15-11. That’s a hard feat to replicate in a tournament setting where every game counts, but if the stars align, they could put one of the favorites into a perilous position.

The bracket

Game 1 – 9:00 AM | (4) Old Dominion vs (5) Florida Atlantic

How they got here | Old Dominion leveraged a white-hot start to conference play to lock up their spot in the tournament. After dropping their C-USA opener, the Monarchs won 10 in a row to pull ahead of the pack. Florida Atlantic rallied late, winning three of their final four series to clinch a spot.

The matchup | These teams met in a four-game series in mid-April with Old Dominion winning three of four in rather resounding fashion, outscoring FAU 25-11.

Game 2 – 12:30 PM | (1) Charlotte vs (8) Middle Tennessee

How they got here | Charlotte was the runaway leader in Conference USA this season, losing just one conference series all year. Middle Tennessee snuck in on the final weekend with a series split against an FIU team that did not make the tournament.

The matchup | Although MTSU plays in the East Division in other sports, they’re a West Division team for baseball and did not cross over to play Charlotte this season. This will be the first matchup between these two clubs this year.

Game 3 – 4:00 PM | (2) Louisiana Tech vs (7) UTSA

How they get here | Louisana Tech ruffled some feathers along the way, posting wins over Top 25 Arkansas and Ole Miss before they got into the thick of conference play. The host of this year’s tournament, the Bulldogs are 19-8 at home this season. UTSA’s success came in waves, with just one series win over another C-USA Tournament team.

The matchup | This is a rematch of the final weekend of the regular season. UTSA took the series opener on Friday before Louisiana Tech came roaring back to beat UTSA in three straight games, including a decisive 17-7 victory in the finale.

Game 4 – 7:30 PM | (3) Southern Miss vs (6) WKU

How they get here | Southern Miss lost back-to-back conference games just twice all season long and only once did the same opponent get the better of them in consecutive games. Western Kentucky’s ride was a bit more choppy, including losses in the final series of the regular season.

The matchup | Southern Miss took three of four from Western Kentucky at Pete Taylor Park earlier this season, with all three wins coming by three of fewer runs. WKU won 9-4 in the final game of that four-game set.

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