College Baseball Nation
College Baseball News, Stats, and Trends
May 2nd, 2019
5/2 Bubble Watch
May is here and we're just a few weeks away from Selection Monday. We are going through all of the potential multi-bid conferences and predicting who's in and who still has work to do.
ACC
Locks: Louisville, Georgia Tech, North Carolina
Should be in: Miami, NC State
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Duke
Bubble about to burst: Wake Forest, Virginia
The ACC has looked strong down the stretch with the conference hoping to earn four Regional host sites. Even though NC State has slumped lately, they are still a solid Regional team. Clemson, Florida State, and Duke are all bunched on the bubble and will need to play over .500 for the rest of the season to preserve their Regional chances. Wake Forest and Virginia still have outside shots at earning at-large bids, but their window of opportunity is shrinking.
American
Locks: East Carolina
Work left to do: Connecticut, Houston, Tulane
Bubble about to burst: UCF
East Carolina continues to play like a top-eight seed and should have a good shot at earning one should they continue their pace. UConn and Houston could easily move into the "Should be in" category if they get their conference records over .500. Tulane has a good record but needs an RPI boost. The Green Wave finish the year with UCF, Houston, and UConn, and may shoot up the RPI rankings with a few series wins. UCF, at 7-11 in conference, may have to run the table to earn an at-large bid.
Big East
Work left to do: Creighton, Xavier
The Big East will likely be a one-bid league, but Creighton could potentially earn an at-large bid. Xavier currently sits atop the Big East standings, but Creighton, with their 20 RPI, would have a solid postseason resume should they fail to win the conference.
Big Ten
Should be in: Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa
If the season ended today, it's possible that all five of these teams would make it in. The RPI likes Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska, but none of these teams have much room to falter. The RPI is less kind to Michigan and Iowa, but both are still top 60 teams and have chances to improve their standings. Michigan is currently in first in the Big Ten and may earn the conference's auto-bid in the Big Ten Tournament.
Big West
Locks: UCSB
Work left to do: UC Irvine, Cal Poly
Despite losing their first series of the year, UCSB should be a lock barring a disastrous finish to the year. UC Irvine slipped from "Should be in" to "Work left to do" as their RPI took a 10-spot hit after losing to Cal State Fullerton. Even though Cal Poly is below .500 on the year, they are in first place in the Big West. The league doesn't have a conference tournament, so should they hold their conference lead, they would earn an auto-bid.
Big XII
Locks: Texas Tech, Baylor
Should be in: West Virginia
Work left to do: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Bubble about to burst: Texas, TCU
Texas Tech and Baylor are looking like host teams with West Virginia knocking on the door. Both Oklahoma schools have good postseason resumes but will need to make sure they stay above .500 in conference. Despite Texas being tied for last in the Big XII, they have an outside shot at a Regional bid. If they get their conference record close to .500, they have a good RPI (48) and twelve top 50 wins.
C-USA
Should be in: Southern Miss
Work left to do: Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech
After winning nine straight games, Southern Miss has nearly solidified their tournament spot. Florida Atlantic and Louisiana Tech are both on the bubble with Florida Atlantic just in and Louisiana Tech just out as of now.
Missouri Valley
Should be in: Dallas Baptist
Work left to do: Indiana State, Illinois State
Bubble about to burst: Evansville, Bradley
It is difficult to imagine a path where the Missouri Valley gets more than two teams in, but currently, they have four top 50 RPI teams in Dallas Baptist, Indiana State, Illinois State, and Evansville. Indiana State and Illinois State face off in a pivotal series this weekend.
Mountain West
Work left to do: Fresno State, San Diego State
Both Fresno State and San Diego State have top 75 RPIs and are competing for the Mountain West title. They have yet to play each other this year, and the winner of that series will be the conference favorite.
Pac-12
Locks: UCLA, Oregon State, Stanford
Should be in: Arizona State
Work left to do: Cal, Oregon
Bubble about to burst: Washington
UCLA, Oregon State, and Stanford should all host a Regional. Arizona State could be in that conversation, and a series with UCLA this weekend should give them a much needed RPI boost. Cal and Oregon both continue to teeter on and off the bubble and will need to play over .500 to have a shot an at-large bid. Washington's biggest resume hole is their 7-11 Pac-12 record. With their next six conference games being against Washington State and Utah, they have an opportunity to move onto the bubble.
SEC
Locks: Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Georgia
Should be in: LSU, Ole Miss
Work left to do: Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Tennessee
Bubble about to burst: Florida
The biggest challenge for all of the bubble SEC teams is maintaining a .500 conference record. All of these teams have the RPI to make a Regional, but teams like Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida will have to battle to stay within shouting distance of .500 in conference or else they'll find themselves watching the postseason from home.
Sun Belt
Should be in: Texas State
Work left to do: Coastal Carolina
Bubble about to burst: UT Arlington, Georgia Southern
The Sun Belt may be a one-bid league this year, but Coastal Carolina, UT Arlington, and Georgia Southern still have a chance to make it in. Coastal Carolina and UT Arlington have yet to play and the winner of that series will be the front runner to earn the second Sun Belt bid.
WCC
Should be in: BYU
Work left to do: Gonzaga
Bubble about to burst: Loyola-Marymount, Saint Mary's, Pepperdine
BYU is putting together an impressive season and will likely make the tournament. Gonzaga strengthened their resume with a win at Oregon State this week. Several middle-of-the-road teams still have yet to play each other, and any one of them may move up onto the bubble with a winning streak.
One-bid leagues
Some of these leagues have an outside shot of sending two teams to a Regional, but for the most part, the winner of the conference tournament will be the league's representative. Here are the likely tournament winners:
American East: Stony Brook
Atlantic 10: VCU
Atlantic Sun: FGCU
Big South: Campbell
Colonial: Elon
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy: Harvard
MAAC: Canisius
MAC: Ball State
MEAC: Coppin State
Northeast: Bryant
Ohio Valley: Austin Peay
Patriot: Navy
Southern: Samford
Southland: Sam Houston State
SWAC: Alabama State
Summit: Omaha
WAC: New Mexico State
To keep up with our Bubble Watch, follow us on Twitter! For more on this week's rankings, check out our Composite Top 25 and our Conference Power Rankings. If you like what you're seeing from us, consider becoming a Patron.