(Editor's note: The following was first published on d1baseball.com. Use code Save30 for a discount on an annual subscription.)
We’re past the midseason mark of the 2023 Division I Baseball season, and as you might imagine, there are a lot of changes to our postseason projections even since our first in-season edition two weeks ago.
LSU, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt once again headline the latest postseason projections, while there are two changes in terms of the top eight national seeds. Oklahoma State and Boston College are out of the mix for a top eight, and Arkansas and East Carolina entered the group at No’s 4 and 8. The Hogs continue to defy the odds despite injuries and have an SEC record of 11-4 to go with a 30-7 overall mark and an RPI of 5. As for the Pirates, they’re in clear control of the American and have an RPI of 9.
As for the rest of the Top 16 hosts, Boston College and Oklahoma State dropped completely out of the mix for those as well, while three teams entered as hosts this week: Coastal Carolina, Connecticut and Indiana. Coastal currently leads a top-five RPI league in the Sun Belt, and has an RPI of 11 to go with an 11-8 mark vs. RPI Top 100. UConn is an impressive 13-6 on the road, is 10-7 vs. RPI Top 100 and has an RPI of 16, and Indiana has surged to 14 in the RPI with a 26-11 overall mark and 9-3 Big Ten record. For those wondering, BC is still in the mix for a host as of now with an RPI of 17, while Oklahoma State is all the way down to 32 in the RPI after scuffling as of late. Other teams considered for hosts include Southern Miss, NC State, Dallas Baptist, Louisville, UCLA, Campbell and Indiana State.
In terms of overall bids to the postseason, the SEC leads all conferences with 10 bids, while the ACC is close behind with nine bids. The Big 12 and Pac-12 each have five bids in our projections, while four come from the Sun Belt and three from the Big Ten. Finally, at least two bids come from the Big West, Conference USA and Colonial Athletic Association.
🔮: 2023 Men's College World Series picks, just over a month from selections
Mark Etheridge, Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt assembled the postseason projections.
LAST FIVE IN: Mississippi State, Troy, Iowa, Texas State, USC
FIRST FIVE OUT: Auburn, Xavier, Rutgers, Long Beach State, Louisiana
RANKINGS: See the latest DI baseball rankings
|
||
---|---|---|
BATON ROUGE | BLOOMINGTON | |
1 LSU* (1) | 1 Indiana* (16) | |
4 Incarnate Word* | 4 Kent State* | |
2 Oregon State | 2 Louisville | |
3 UTSA* | 3 Tennessee | |
WINSTON-SALEM | STORRS | |
1 Wake Forest* (2) | 1 Connecticut* (15) | |
4 Rider* | 4 Central Connecticut State* | |
2 Elon* | 2 Boston College | |
3 Mississippi State | 3 Northeastern | |
NASHVILLE | CORAL GABLES | |
1 Vanderbilt (3) | 1 Miami (14) | |
4 Alabama State* | 4 Florida Gulf Coast* | |
2 Arizona State | 2 UCLA | |
3 Troy | 3 Iowa | |
FAYETTEVILLE | AUSTIN | |
1 Arkansas (4) | 1 Texas* (13) | |
4 Sam Houston* | 4 Oral Roberts* | |
2 Dallas Baptist | 2 Texas A&M | |
3 Texas Tech | 3 Texas State | |
COLUMBIA | EUGENE | |
1 South Carolina (5) | 1 Oregon (12) | |
4 Davidson* | 4 Army* | |
2 NC State | 2 Oklahoma State | |
3 Wofford* | 3 Cal State Fullerton* | |
CHARLOTTESVILLE | CONWAY | |
1 Virginia (6) | 1 Coastal Carolina* (11) | |
4 Wright State* | 4 Columbia* | |
2 Campbell* | 2 North Carolina | |
3 Maryland | 3 Southern California | |
GAINESVILLE | LEXINGTON | |
1 Florida (7) | 1 Kentucky (10) | |
4 Maine* | 4 SE Missouri State* | |
2 Southern Miss | 2 Indiana State* | |
3 Virginia Tech | 3 West Virginia | |
GREENVILLE | STANFORD | |
1 East Carolina* (8) | 1 Stanford* (9) | |
4 Loyola Marymount* | 4 San Jose State* | |
2 Duke | 2 TCU | |
3 Alabama | 3 UC Santa Barbara |