Oxford Regional Preview
Baseball America will break down all 16 regionals, including Oxford, hosted by Ole Miss. Michael Lananna has the details.
| STAT PACK (National rank in parentheses) |
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| Avg. | Scoring (R/G) | HR | SB | ERA | K/9 | WHIP | Fielding %age | |
| 1. Mississippi | .279 (119) | 6.2 (78) | 43 (69) | 49 (167) | 3.47 (34) | 8.2 (40) | 1.38 (83) | .972 (75) |
| 2. Tulane | .267 (174) | 5.9 (104) | 60 (21) | 52 (158) | 3.20 (22) | 8.0 (54) | 1.24 (27) | .973 (65) |
| 3. Boston College | .266 (180) | 4.9 (207) | 18 (242) | 71 (62) | 3.65 (50) | 7.7 (87) | 1.33 (59) | .970 (114) |
| 4. Utah | .281 (113) | 5.4 (142) | 27 (173) | 55 (143) | 4.83 (165) | 7.2 (137) | 1.59 (198) | .967 (158) |
1. Mississippi (43-17, 18-12 in SEC West)
21st appearance (fifth straight), at-large, fourth place in SEC West
Top 300 Prospects: OF J.B. Woodman (171), SS Errol Robinson (182), C Henri Lartigue (241).
Season in a sentence: Ranked the preseason No. 24 team, the Rebels quickly established themselves as a national power, winning an early series against preseason No. 2 Louisville and finishing the season at No. 5 in the RPI.
Player to watch: J.B. Woodman, of: The SEC’s home run leader with 14, Woodman is a dynamic player who leads the Rebels in most offensive categories, including stolen bases. He should be in the thick of the action.
Best weekend: vs. Louisiana State, April 28-30. The Rebels didn’t have a marquee conference series win until their clash with the Tigers, in which Ole Miss took two of three games. The Rebels had lost five of six games against South Carolina and rival Mississippi State earlier in the conference season. Taking the LSU series showed Ole Miss could compete with the SEC’s elite.
Outlook: Ole Miss has one of the more difficult draws of any regional host, with a No. 2 seed in Tulane that finished first in the America Athletic Conference standings, a No. 3 in Boston College that boasts a top pitching prospect in Justin Dunn and a No. 4 seed in Utah that won the Pac-12 Conference. The Rebels had a case to be one of the eight national seeds; instead, they’re paired with No. 3 overall seed Miami.
2. Tulane (39-19, 15-7 in American Athletic)
21st appearance (second straight), at-large, first place in American Athletic
Top 300 Prospects: C Jake Rogers (90), SS Stephen Alemais (121)
Season in a sentence: Tulane was a model of consistency, losing just one series all season and winning an AAC that wasn’t as deep as last year’s but still tremendously tight at the top.
Player to watch: Jake Rogers, c: Tulane’s top prospect, Rogers can impact a game with his bat but is an even bigger threat behind the plate, where he can nullify an opposing team’s running game with his plus-plus arm.
Best weekend: at Houston, May 20-21. Tulane saved its best for last, winning an end-of-season series at Houston to clinch its first league title since 2005. And it wasn’t easy. The Green Wave and Cougars played for 13 innings in the opener and both teams had to sit through a three-and-a-half hour rain delay in the rubber game, which Tulane won to claim the conference crown.
Outlook: The Rebels and the Green Wave have a mutual opponent in LSU. The Rebels took two of three from the Tigers, and the Green Wave won both games of a home-and-home series against them. Whether the transitive property actually applies or not, Tulane has a fighting chance in this regional as a veteran club that won its conference.
3. Boston College (31-20, 13-15 in ACC)
11th appearance (first since 2009), at-large, fifth place in ACC Atlantic
Top 300 Prospects: RHP Justin Dunn (24).
Season in a sentence: The Eagles defied expectations from the very beginning, getting off to a program-best 8-0 start, winning a program-best six conference series and sneaking into the ACC tournament on the last day of the regular season by sweeping a doubleheader at Georgia Tech.
Player to watch: Justin Dunn, rhp: Whether as a reliever or as a starter, Dunn has been the man the Eagles have turned to in tight situations and big moments. Dunn has a mid-90s fastball and a legitimate four-pitch mix and is a tough assignment for any offense.
Best weekend: vs. Louisville, April 22-24: There are several to choose from, but Boston College’s loudest weekend was a series win against No. 2 overall seed Louisville. A massive RPI booster, the series also clearly displayed the strength of BC’s pitching, which held the Cardinals to just eight runs across three games—two runs combined in the first two games.
Outlook: The Eagles’ pitching staff is deep and talented enough to keep them in games, but how far Boston College goes in this regional will likely depend on its run scoring. Not an offensive juggernaut, the Eagles will need to continue to deal on the mound and cash in on their offensive opportunities. One factor working in their favor: The Eagles have played the underdog all year and played it well. They won’t be intimidated.
4. Utah (25-27, 19-11 in Pac-12)
Fifth appearance (first since 2009), automatic qualifier, first place in Pac-12
Top 300 Prospects: None.
Season in a sentence: Utah epitomizes the wackiness of the Pac-12 this year; the scrappy Utes went 6-16 in non-conference games yet found a way to win a Power Five conference with a No. 93 RPI.
Player to watch: Jayson Rose, rhp: The sophomore righthander tied the program’s single-season strikeout record with 102 in 103 innings. He’s the Utes’ Friday workhorse. At 8-5, 2.62 he was one of the better, most consistent weekend anchors in the Pac-12.
Best weekend: vs. Washington, May 27-29. As absolutely no one predicted in the preseason, the Pac-12 title came down to the final regular season series between Washington and the Utes. After losing the opener, Utah won the final two games, 12-8 and 21-7, to shock college baseball and win the conference outright.
Outlook: Who is the real Utah? The team that scorched the Pac-12—a conference that clearly had a down year? Or is it the team that went 6-16 in non-conference play and lost to teams with RPIs hovering around 200, such as Houston Baptist, Kansas and Kansas State? Like Boston College, the Utes are used to being the underdog and shouldn’t be overlooked, but they’ll have a hard time continuing the magic in what should be one of the most competitive regionals in the tournament.
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