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D1Baseball Weekly Chat: March 23
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WC_Drew
12:15
With the Big West looking like a one bid league, who would you bet on winning the Big West conference tournament?
Kendall Rogers
12:15
WC -- I would still bet on UC Santa Barbara. I know the Gauchos have looked a little more beatable as of late, but I'm still a believe in that weekend rotation and pitching staff as a whole. They would be dangerous not only in a conference tournament, but in a regional, too, IMO.
cool 1
frogs
12:17
Is there still time for the frogs to turn it around, if they even can?
Kendall Rogers
12:17
Frogs -- there is definitely still time, but there are some troubling signs from a pitching standpoint. The Frogs are just having some serious injury related issues on the mound, and the margin for error with the starting rotation is slim to none. After such a solid start against ASU two weekends ago, lefty Mason Brassfield went out this past weekend and allowed eight runs in 1.2 innings of work. The Frogs simply cannot afford to have starts like that, unfortunately. I think TCU has way too much talent to be 'all out' on a team in March, but it does feel like that Texas Tech series is massive for the conference pecking order -- especially with it taking place in FTW.
cool 1
Jeff
12:22
How concerned, if at all, are you with Georgia Tech’s pitching? Granted, Pitt has a good offense and walks a lot, but outside of Sunday’s game, GT’s pitching looked ROUGH.
Kendall Rogers
12:22
Jeff -- To be very honest, I think I'll continue to be a little concerned about Georgia Tech's pitching until I see that unit perform at a high level in postseason play. Might not be fair to the Jackets, but that's just where I'm at mentally right now. But I actually loved the way the Jackets finished the weekend on the mound. Sure, the first two days were ugly (give Pitt some credit, too), but I was pleased with Jackson Blakely's start on Sunday, while Brett Barfield tossed 1.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen. We will see how this unit progresses.
The hot seat
12:26
Is A&Ms Michael Early the next coach toget the axe
Kendall Rogers
12:26
I saw a lot of A&M fans already saying over the weekend that Michael Earley should be fired, and my take on this would be let the season play out. Goodness gracious guys. Yes, the Aggies were dominated the first two games of the weekend, but I was actually pretty encouraged by the way the Aggies finished the weekend by run-ruling UGA. I think yesterday was a good day to "find out" a lot of things about the Ags, and if you are Earley and Co., you've got to love that response. A&M will be heavily favored to win the next two series, and then you'll have the return of Schloss and Texas in three weekends.
tommy
12:30
Thoughts on the sunbelt standings thus far in conference play?  Biggest statement or understatement so far (I know only 2 weeks in but...)
Kendall Rogers
12:30
Kind of a wild start to the conference season, isn't it? Marshall has a solid weekend rotation, but it has also played two of the lower level teams in the league thus far. We will find out a lot more about the Herd this weekend with Coastal Carolina going up to WV. Outside of Coastal Carolina, I would say my biggest surprise would still be Arkansas State, while my biggest disappointment is easily Georgia Southern at 6-17. That is not an awful roster on paper, so not sure what's going on with Rodney Hennon's club.
Jack
12:38
While I thought the pitching might be better this year (and I think it is a little better than last year), the story is the same for Texas Tech. Elite hitting and shaky at best pitching. On the bright side they’ve been able to slug their way to two series wins to open big 12 play. A real test coming for the red raiders this weekend when they head to For Worth. Can they hit their way into a regional or do you think the pitching will catch up to them and be too much to overcome?
Kendall Rogers
12:38
Jack -- The Red Raiders definitely need to get better on the mound, but at least the offense appears to be pretty scary, which I didn't really think was the case last season. Robin Villanueve is off to a torrid start in Big 12 play, as is Caden Ferraro. I've also been super encouraged by Connor Shouse's continues improvements, while superstars Linkin Garcia and Logan Hughes have been very solid as well. The thing I like about this Tech lineup is that it seems to have length this season. They aren't just relying on 2-3 guys to do a majority of the damage. But yes, for Tech to make the NCAA tournament, and potentially make a move, the pitching will need to improve. I do think TT is catching TCU at the right time this weekend, FWIW.
Matt
12:40
Kendall and crew,

More of a general question for you. I’m curious about your thoughts about how conference realignment is impacting college baseball as a whole. For example, with many of the teams from the west coast now playing conference games outside of the region, do you feel it is helping the brand of college baseball, enhancing fan interest…pushing the game forward? Or is it the opposite – with Cal and Stanford, for example, not playing Oregon State and Washington within the conference setting? Is it helpful to gauge how good a USC team is, for example, now that they are playing teams like Iowa or Nebraska? Thanks!
Kendall Rogers
12:40
That's an excellent question. I know people don't like to hear this answer, but I actually think realignment has really helped college baseball. It's allowed the Sun Belt, for instance, to get stronger, and it's allowed leagues like the Big Ten to acquire more 'baseball talented' programs. That in return causes people in a region like the Midwest to be more engaged with baseball. I can tell you the Big Ten front office is a lot more engaged in baseball right now than at any other time I've covered college baseball. That's progress. On the flip side, I do think realignment/consolidation/NIL changes has somewhat hurt leagues like the Big West and WCC. I don't think that's even debatable at this point.
cool 2
Tyler
12:45
Should Texas fans have any concerns really with them having mediocre week but still winning on the road against a a top 5 team and the only loss being a dream error type of one.
Kendall Rogers
12:45
If you are a Texas fan, that was a fantastic week. I'll be really honest, and I'm consistent with this, I don't really care about a random midweek loss to Tarleton. I just don't, given you take care of business on the weekend. I was impressed with how Texas handled the rest of the weekend after losing that heartbreaker in the series opener. That shows a lot of resiliency in the dugout. Feel great about the offense, feel great about the starting pitching, but the bullpen has to settled down. Yes, the Longhorns' bullpen did a great job of working out of jams the final two games of the series, but at some point, those little things catch up with you. I think I'd be pretty surprised if Max doesn't figure out that part, though. Texas looks very good.
Andy
12:48
Does ECU have an RPI problem?  There do not appear to be many opportunities to gain ground.
Kendall Rogers
12:48
Way too early to speculate on RPI right now, but at 63 in the RPI and with series still remaining at UTSA and South Florida at home, among others, there's still plenty of pathways for ECU. I've learned over the years to never doubt ECU until the very end. I'll be interested to see how that UTSA series goes on the road this weekend. UTSA is still very solid, but not playing quite the way it was when I saw it in Houston a few weeks ago.
Taylor
12:51
Is your concern meter higher for A&M or LSU at this point in the season? I know A&M is still ranked and LSU is not, but vibes don't seem very high at either place.
Kendall Rogers
12:51
Taylor -- that is an excellent question, and a tough one. Maybe more concerned about LSU at this point? That's three-straight weekends where the Tigers looked pretty iffy, whereas the Aggies lost two games to Georgia, then blew out the Bulldogs. They also were in position to very much win that series against Oklahoma two weekends ago. As for LSU, that's now three-straight losses for the Tigers with a series coming up against a solid Kentucky team at home this weekend. My money would be on Jay Johnson to figuring it out, but as of today, I feel better about A&M.
Eric Simmons
12:53
Is Vanderbilt's streak of 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in jeopardy? I think they better start winning real soon
Kendall Rogers
12:53
It's definitely in jeopardy. Yes, the Commodores have that series win over LSU, but that isn't looking that special right now. Right now, the 'Dores are 175 in the RPI (again, too early to look at the RPI, but it at least gives you a starting point) -- and they went 0-3 in Las Vegas in non-conference and went 1-2 in Arlington opening weekend. With such a poor non-conf resume, the Commodores need to do well in league play. And right now? That seems unlikely.
PMA
12:57
Great piece on 2026 Breakout candidates prior to the season. Any that you have seen that are  producing as expected or better than expected?
Kendall Rogers
12:57
That was a fun feature and a good one to look back on. For me, I picked Aiden Sims at A&M as one of my guys, and that has worked out well. Mark Etheridge picked Grayden Harris at USM, and that was an excellent selection, and Bradley Smart picking Hudson Barrett at Oklahoma State stands out as well. He threw well in a short stint over the weekend.
Jacob G
12:59
Stanford & Cal appear headed for another season in the ACC basement: what are the options for these two programs and how soon until the conferences realign again? Is ACC baseball that much better or have the Bears & Card just fallen off?
Kendall Rogers
12:59
I think California is always a program that is going to be very up and down. First, the Golden Bears are consistently losing some of their players to the Transfer Portal, and they just don't have the funding that some other programs have from an NIL standpoint. Stanford, albeit a bigger brand, has similar issues. It's incredibly difficult to get transfers into school at Stanford, and the Cardinal isn't exactly rolling around in NIL cash. Recently, they've lost Braden Montgomery, Joey Volchko, Matt Scott, etc. Both programs are in a pretty tough spot right now, if I'm being honest.
DDawg
1:02
Are the USC Trojans Capable of winning a national title?
Kendall Rogers
1:02
From a pitching standpoint, most certainly. Andrew Johnson, Grant Govel and Mason Edwards are elite arms, and the Trojans have some quality arms in the bullpen, too. But I think the Trojans are just OK at best offensively. Adrian Lopez and Maximo Martinez have been solid in conference play thus far, and Kevin Takeuchi has been decent as well. But outside of those guys? It has been a mixed bag. I want to see more production form the offense.
Tim T
1:07
Do you think Arizona’s shortcomings this year are due to injuries , roster/coaching turnover, poor roster construction?
Kendall Rogers
1:07
A lot of things going against Arizona this year. First, you have a never-ending carousel of coaches controlling the pitching staff, then you have Tony Pluta's injury, and then you have a plethora of turnover/injuries with the offense. It has pretty much been a perfect storm for the Wildcats thus far. I think Chip Hale is an excellent head coach, so that is what makes the most sense in my head.
goldeneglz
1:08
Is there a world where 3 MS teams host a regional? SM, OM, and State all in top 10 RPI and now all in top 20 rankings.
cool 1
Kendall Rogers
1:08
Most definitely possible, especially if Ole Miss gets Cade Townsend back soon as expected. USM built itself such a strong cushion in non-conference play, it has plenty of room for error the rest of the way.
trophy 2
DDawg
1:10
What conferences outside the power 4 and sunbelt get multiple bids into the field of 64?
Kendall Rogers
1:10
If the season ended today, the Big West and Conference USA would most certainly be a two-bid league. The American probably would with USF and UTSA, but both of those teams now have RPIs in the 40s. That is dangerous territory for a mid-major at-large.
DDawg
1:11
How many regional hosts on the west coast?
Kendall Rogers
1:11
I'll go with Oregon State, USC and UCLA as of today, with Arizona State and Oregon as other options. I'm curious to see if Oregon can get within RPI range, while the RPI is a friend to ASU right now.
DaAggies
1:13
What is one team that has struggled to meet expectations to this point, but you are convinced will bounce back?
Kendall Rogers
1:13
Out of the teams in our Preseason Top 25 that have been busts thus far, I'd probably have the most conviction. Given what the Tigers have on the mound and some of the core offensive players, surely they figure it out at some point, right?
Will A.
1:15
Does Georgia have the pitching to get to Omaha this year? It looks like they have the power again like last year (as they are leading the NCAA in home runs as a team), but it was the lack of elite pitching that did them in last year.
Kendall Rogers
1:15
Will, I wrote about this in my latest feature, but I do think Georgia has enough arms to get to Omaha. I'd like to see Volchko be better, but I thought Dylan Vigue was impressive, and Matt Scott and Justin Byrd were both very good out of the bullpen. Kenny Ishikawa just didn't have in the series finale, and judging by the quick hook, it's abundantly clear that Wes Johnson figured that out as well. UGA's pitching can be a little hit or miss, but the good news is the talent is there to get hot on the bump.
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