Last Eight In: Arizona, Tulane, UNC-Wilmington, Alabama, Dallas Baptist, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Duke
First Eight Out: Minnesota, Cal State Fullerton, Washington, West Virginia, Maryland, Boston College, Fresno State, High Point
Past the midseason point of the season, the state of baseball on the West Coast does not look good. UCLA dominated last season, and after losing some key pieces from last year’s team, they have fallen below .500 this season. In their absence, no team has stepped up. UC Santa Barbara is off to a great start at 21-7-1, sitting at seven in the RPI, but playing in the Big West could hinder their ability to be a national seed. Oregon State and California had great chances to step into that top team role, but both have faltered. Oregon State lost ace Drew Rasmussen for the season with an arm injury and sit at 5-4 in Pac-12 play. Cal is sitting at first place in the Pac-12, but just lost their series to a struggling Oregon team. The two teams sit at 38 and 39 respectively in the RPI, which really hurts their case to host. One of the two should end up in a host spot, but they need to improve their play down the stretch to get back in the mix. With the west really wide open, a lot of teams have good chances down the stretch. Oregon, fresh off their series win over Cal, has the chance to rebound big time from their slump. They have series wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal and should they improve their hitting, the Ducks have the tools to be a dangerous team in a regional. Sitting at 87 in the RPI, if Oregon can build off the Cal win, they can play their way back into the field down the stretch. Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton haven’t looked great in the past couple weeks, but they are also in good position to secure spots in the field in the second half of the season. Long Beach State is in good shape now, while Fullerton is right on the bubble. With the west really wide open, finishing well in the second half will be key, presenting a good opportunity for a lot of teams.
ACC: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Virginia
American: Houston, Tulane, East Carolina
Big East: Creighton
Big 12: Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech
Big Ten: Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska
Pac-12: Arizona, California, Oregon State, Stanford
SEC: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
A-10: St. Louis
America East: Hartford
A-Sun: Kennesaw State
Big South: Coastal Carolina
Big West: Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara
CAA: Charleston, UNC-Wilmington
C-USA: Florida Atlantic, Rice, Southern Miss
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy: Princeton
MAAC: Monmouth
MAC: Ball State
MEAC: Florida A&M
MVC: Dallas Baptist, Missouri State
MWC: New Mexico
NEC: Bryant
OVC: Southeast Missouri
Patriot: Navy
Southern: UNC Greensboro
Southland: Southeastern Louisiana
Summit: Oral Roberts
Sun Belt: South Alabama, Louisiana
SWAC: Alabama State
WAC: Seattle
WCC: BYU
