NCAA Baseball Tournament 2024: One Stat For Every Team In The Field

Image credit: Florida State LHP Jamie Arnold (Photo courtesy of Florida State Athletics)

There is no shortage of storylines entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Can No. 1 Tennessee redeem itself after bowing out in Super Regionals as the top seed back in 2022? Will the SEC maintain its dominance, particularly with a record 11 teams in the field? Or will another conference, like the ACC with its five hosts, snap the title streak?

With all that in mind, here’s a quick and easy way to impress your friends and family with your college baseball knowledge: One noteworthy stat for each and every NCAA Tournament team before the action gets going.

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Knoxville Regional

1. Tennessee (1)

12 — Number of series wins for the Volunteers out of 13 weekends. Tennessee dropped just one series all year, to Alabama, and logged six sweeps. The Vols enter the tournament as the only team in the country with 50 wins and haven’t lost back-to-back games since mid-March.

2. Southern Miss

32 — Consecutive games with a hit for DH Slade Wilks, the longest such streak in Division I this season. Wilks extended it in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game with a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning. He’s hitting .328 with 19 doubles and 14 home runs this season.

3. Indiana

1-5 — The Hoosiers record against tournament teams in the second half of the year. Indiana dropped four of five to Nebraska, the eventual Big Ten champion, and fell in a midweek game to Evansville. As a whole, Indiana went just 6-12 against teams that made their way into the Field of 64.

4. Northern Kentucky

9.5 — Runs per game, good for fourth nationally. The Norse slugged their way to a Horizon League Tournament crown by knocking off top-seed Wright State in the semifinals before putting up 23 runs in a rout of Youngstown State. Northern Kentucky is sixth in batting average (.320), fourth in on-base percentage (.436), and 13th in slugging (.546).

Lexington Regional

1. Kentucky (2)

2 — Number of consecutive years hosting a regional for the Wildcats. It’s the first time in program history that they’ve done that—and the first time that they’ve made the postseason in consecutive seasons. Kentucky won a share of the SEC regular season title for the first time since 2006 as well.

2. Indiana State

11 — Number of home runs hit in the last month by Luis Hernandez. The Sycamores’ first baseman slashed .388/.453/.955 in 16 games and finished the year with 22 long balls. Indiana State finished 29th nationally in home runs (101).

3. Illinois

20 — Number of games in a row that the Fightin’ Illini have used the same batting order. The old adage is if it’s not broken, don’t fix it and that’s what coach Dan Hartleb has leaned into as they’ve gone 14-6. Illinois has used some of the fewest lineup combinations across the country (20 total in 53 games).

4. Western Michigan

29-3 — Aggregate scoreline of three MAC tournament games for the Broncos. Western Michigan rolled over the competition for its second MAC title and logged 32 wins, the most since its 1993 team. The Broncos were paced by Dylan Nevar, who hit .462 in three games with five RBIs.

Bryan-College Station Regional

1. Texas A&M (3)

10 — Number of shutouts thrown by the Aggies’ pitching staff, most in the country. Texas A&M ranks ninth in overall ERA (4.02) and has a bullpen that is tied for fourth (3.82). The Aggies have four relievers with 15-plus appearances and sub-3.00 ERAs, headlined by closer Evan Ashenbeck with seven saves and a 1.78 ERA.

2. Louisiana

7-5 — Louisiana’s record in the month of May after going 28-10 in the previous two. The Ragin’ Cajuns won the Sun Belt regular season crown, but aren’t playing their best baseball as of late. Louisiana lost three of its last four, including a surprising two-and-out at the SBC Tournament with losses to Old Dominion and James Madison.

3. Texas

6 — Consecutive weekend series wins for the Longhorns to close the year, including victories over tournament teams in Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Texas went 0-2 at the Big 12 Tournament but still enters with 35 wins against the No. 31 strength of schedule.

4. Grambling

18.5% — Win probability in the ninth inning of the SWAC Championship game against Jackson State. The Tigers trailed, 5-4, before Trevor Hatton’s RBI single tied it up and a throwing error on the play brought in the winning run.

Chapel Hill Regional

1. North Carolina (4)

20-20 — Home run and stolen base club that center fielder Vance Honeycutt belongs to, one of just two players in Division I this year. Honeycutt reached that mark as a freshman and returned to it this year, hitting 22 home runs and swiping 28 bags, both numbers that pace the Tar Heels.

2. LSU

3rd — ELO ranking, per WarrenNolan.com. ELO is a method adopted from Chess leaderboards to calculate relative skill. The Tigers, who closed the year with wins in seven of eight games (the lone loss in the SEC Tournament championship game), are one of the more dangerous teams in the field.

3. Wofford

88.3% — Stolen base success rate, highest among tourney teams (min. 100 attempts) and second-best in Division I. The Southern Conference Tournament champions, the Terriers’ went 144-for-163 on the basepaths and were paced by Marshall Toole. The center fielder and leadoff hitter went 42-for-45 while six others swiped double-digit bases.

4. Long Island

7 — Number of runs the Sharks scored in the ninth inning of the NEC Tournament championship game, which they won 11-6. Sacred Heart held a slim 5-4 lead and was two outs away from earning the auto-bid before LIU tied it and promptly pulled away.

Fayetteville Regional

1. Arkansas (5)

47.9% — Whiff % on all pitches thrown by Hagen Smith this year, per Synergy Sports. That’s second only to Wake Forest’s Chase Burns and has led to a remarkable 50 K% and a 1.48 ERA with a 0.85 WHIP across 79 innings and 15 starts.

2. Louisiana Tech

17 — Nation-leading number of saves for Ethan Bates this season. Not only does Bates have a team-high 35 relief appearances alongside a 3.50 ERA, but he’s also second on the team in batting average (.341) and paces the team in RBIs (74).

3. Kansas State

-2 — Run differential for the Wildcats, who are the only team in the field that scored fewer runs than they allowed. Utilizing Bill James’ Pythagorean Expectation, which estimates a team’s record based on run differential, Kansas State won nearly five more games than it was expected to.

4. Southeast Missouri

1.7 — Home runs per game for the Redhawks, a top-40 mark in the country. Southeast Missouri averaged almost eight runs per game behind double-digit home runs from four players, including leader Ben Palmer (17 HR).

Clemson Regional

1. Clemson (6)

7 — Number of hitters in its most common lineup over the last five games that are hitting at least .300 on the year. The Tigers rank higher in pitching stats, but feature the likes of Cam Cannarella (.342), Blake Wright (.341), and Jacob Hinderleider (.316) atop its lineup — and all three had double-digit home runs.

2. Vanderbilt

19-18 — Commodores record after their 14-game win streak was snapped on March 23. Vanderbilt had the 12th-toughest strength of schedule but still nearly slipped out of tournament contention. The Commodores won three games at the SEC Tournament to ensure a bid.

3. Coastal Carolina

1,116 — Wins at Coastal Carolina for Gary Gilmore, fourth among active head coaches. Gilmore is retiring at the end of the season and the Chanticleers will be looking to send him out in style after making the field as one of the last four in. Gilmore guided Coastal Carolina to the 2016 national championship.

4. High Point

24 — Number of years at the Division I level before High Point earned its first NCAA Tournament bid. The Panthers arrived in the Big South conference in 2000 and reached the finals in 2018 before finally breaking through this season. The Panthers were previously at the NAIA and Division II levels.

Athens Regional

1. Georgia (7)

234 — wRC+ for star Charlie Condon, which paces the country. Condon’s mark would be a full 15 points higher than last year’s leader (FAU’s Nolan Schanuel) and is unmatched in the last five years. The junior has a .443 batting average and 35 home runs, both first in the country.

2. UNC Wilmington

311 — Combined total bases for center fielder Trevor Marsh and first baseman Tanner Thach, who both posted OPS over 1.000 with a combined 41 home runs and 123 RBIs. Thach was the CAA co-player of the year, while Marsh earned first team honors. The duo also posted wRC+ of 150 and 143, respectively.

3. Georgia Tech

0.86 — Walk to strikeout ratio for the Yellow Jackets, tops among tourney teams. Freshman sensation Drew Burress posted a 19.5 BB% to a 12.5 K%, indicative of Georgia Tech’s patient approach at the plate.

4. Army

6 — Consecutive Patriot League Tournament titles for the Black Knights, the longest active streak of conference championships by any team. Over that span, Army has gone 24-8 in Patriot League Tournament action and 103-46 (.691) in the regular season.

Tallahassee Regional

1. Florida State (8)

134 — Strikeouts for Seminoles’ ace Jamie Arnold, sixth-most in Division I. Arnold was a revelation for FSU as he more than halved his ERA in 2024, lowering it to 2.45 across 16 appearances. Arnold posted a 5.4 BB% while striking out over a third of the batters he faced.

2. Alabama

-4.7 — Difference in runs scored in away games vs. home games this season. The Tide went 22-8 at home and scored over 11 runs per game, but struggled outside of Sewell-Thomas Stadium. They went just 8-12 and averaged less than seven runs per game. They gave up similar numbers on the mound, just struggled offensively.

3. UCF

4.10 — Bullpen ERA for the Knights, the eighth-best among tourney teams. UCF’s corps of relievers includes four different pitchers that have logged at least two saves and four that have averaged more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Dominic Castellano has a 2.77 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP across 52 relief outings.

4. Stetson

2-2 — The Hatters’ record against the rest of the regional field, having split midweek series with host Florida State and UCF. Stetson won the second matchup in both cases, beating the Knights on April 10 (5-3) and the Seminoles on May 14 (10-5).

Norman Regional

1. Oklahoma (9)

6 — Number of Big 12 series sweeps for the Sooners en route to winning the regular season title by a commanding three games. Oklahoma swept Baylor, Texas Tech, BYU, Kansas State, TCU and UCF over the course of the regular season. Worth noting: The Sooners dropped four series all year — three to tournament teams in West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Texas.

2. Duke

6 — Number of hitters with double-digit home runs this season, second-most in the country. The Blue Devils lineup features Zac Morris (18 home runs), Logan Bravo (17), Ben Miller (15), Devin Obee (15), Alex Stone (13) and AJ Gracia (13).

3. UConn

4 — Consecutive Big East regular season titles for the Huskies. That’s four in four years for UConn since returning to the conference after a seven-year stint in the American. The Huskies have appeared in six straight NCAA Tournaments and 10 of the last 14.

4. Oral Roberts

12 — Straight starts of at least six innings from ace Jakob Hall, who paced the Summit League with 10 quality starts. The Golden Eagles went 12-3 in Hall’s 15 starts as he posted a gaudy 105:19 K/BB ratio and went 10-2 with a 3.71 ERA.

Raleigh Regional

1. NC State (10)

16 — Number of one-run games that the Wolfpack played this season, winning 11 of them. Twenty of NC State’s 33 wins were decided by five or fewer runs while 36 of its 53 games were within five runs. Long story short: The Wolfpack have played no shortage of “close and late” games over the course of the season.

2. South Carolina

594 — Number of strikeouts as a lineup across 59 games, most in the nation. The Gamecocks were a top-70 team in scoring at nearly eight runs per game, but have a tremendous amount of swing-and-miss in their offensive approach. South Carolina averaged double-digit strikeouts per game at the dish.

3. James Madison

13 — Years since the Dukes last NCAA Tournament appearance, which came when they were still a member of the CAA. Fittingly, JMU won the 2011 CAA Tournament by beating Old Dominion, a team they beat in their last win of the Sun Belt Tournament this year before falling in the semifinals.

4. Bryant

2 — Number of seasons in the America East before the Bulldogs won the regular season crown and the conference tournament. Bryant had won seven regular season titles in the Northeast Conference (in a span of 12 years) before making the move and quickly finding success.

Stillwater Regional

1. Oklahoma State (11)

1.759 — Nolan Schubart’s OPS over the last month, highest among qualified hitters. Schubart hit 10 home runs in that span and drove in 29 runs, bringing his season totals to 20 and 63 with a slash line of .355/.510/.813.

2. Nebraska

12 — Number of quality starts for Brett Sears, tied for the national lead and the sole leader among pitchers in the tournament. Sears posted an average game score of 65 and finished the year 9-3 with a 2.02 ERA across 98 innings.

3. Florida

1st — Overall strength of schedule ranking for the Gators. Florida played 31 quadrant 1 games this season, going 13-18 in them. The bulk of that strength of schedule comes from the SEC slate while the Gators played 13 NCAA Tournament teams in total.

4. Niagara

23 — Number of road wins for the Purple Eagles, most in D1. Niagara went 23-12 away from home this season and has won six straight on the road. The .657 road winning percentage is the ninth-best mark.

Charlottesville Regional

1. Virginia (12)

0.39 — ERA over Evan Blanco’s last four starts, the lowest among qualified pitchers. Blanco has established himself as the Cavaliers’ ace and allowed just a single earned run in his last 23 innings. Two of the four starts came against tournament teams.

2. Mississippi State

3.56 — Weekend rotation ERA for the Bulldogs, good for eighth nationally. Mississippi State has the duo of Khal Stephen (8-3, 3.38 ERA) and Jurrangelo Cijntje (8-2, 3.55 ERA), both with 80-plus innings and eight wins on the year, and Opening Day starter Nate Dohm has been working his way back form injury while Brooks Auger impressed at the SEC Tournament.

3. St. John’s

38 — Appearances in the NCAA Tournament for the Johnnies, who are tied with Texas A&M for third all-time in the most appearances without a national championship. St. John’s has made six College World Series appearances, all before 1980, and finished as high as fourth.

4. Penn

54 — Career home runs for third baseman Wyatt Henseler, who set the Ivy League single-season record with 22 long balls this year. Henseler has rewritten the Quakers’ record books and is a career .358 hitter with 50 doubles and 188 RBIs.

Tucson Regional

1. Arizona (13)

2 — Number of starters with an average game score in the top 50 nationally among qualified starters. That duo is Clark Candiotti (7-3, 3.11 ERA) and Cam Walty (6-1, 2.90 ERA), while Jackson Kent (3-4, 4.08 ERA) paced the conference in quality starts. They combine to average nearly six innings per start.

2. Dallas Baptist

3% — Walk rate for Patriots’ ace Ryan Johnson, lowest among qualified tournament starters. Johnson is a big weapon for DBU as he struck out 147 while walking just 12 across 100 innings and 15 starts. The junior turned in 10 quality starts and has a miniscule 1.98 ERA.

3. West Virginia

31 — Number of games that projected top-10 pick JJ Wetherholt played during the regular season due to injury. Wetherholt managed just four games to start the year before missing a large chunk of time and the Mountaineers’ went 14-10 without him before he returned and paced them to a 17-10 mark to close the year.

4. Grand Canyon

5 — Number of games by which the Lopes’ won the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title. Grand Canyon earned the conference’s automatic bid due to Tarleton State, the WAC Tournament champion, being ineligible due to reclassification. The Lopes have won the regular season title four years running and gone 99-26 (.792) in conference play.

Santa Barbara Regional

1. UC Santa Barbara (14)

14 — Current winning streak for the Gauchos, the longest active streak in the country and fifth-longest in the 2024 season. UCSB has outscored its opponents by 80 runs over that stretch, winning games by an average of just under six runs.

2. San Diego

0.906 — Winning percentage across the last 32 games for the Toreros, tops in Division I. The Toreros were 11-10 on March 22nd before going on an absolute tear to close the year and win the WCC title. San Diego has won 10 straight games and 29 of 32 entering the tournament.

3. Oregon

4 — Straight years with 35-plus wins under coach Mark Wasikowski after hitting that mark just once in the previous five seasons. The Ducks have made the tournament in four consecutive seasons, matching a program record set from 2012-2015.

4. Fresno State

6 — Straight losses before the Bulldogs awoke and rattled off four wins in a row (all while facing elimination) to earn the Mountain West crown. Fresno State had dropped four straight to top-seeded Air Force, including the first game of the conference tourney, before scoring 40 runs in four games.

Corvallis Regional

1. Oregon State (15)

9 — Number of main stat categories that second baseman Travis Bazzana, the Pac-12 player of the year, ranks in the top 10 nationally. Bazzana has had a phenomenal season and is fourth in batting average (.418), second in slugging percentage (.939), second in walks (71), eighth in home runs (26), sixth in runs scored(80) and fifth in total bases (184).

2. UC Irvine

61 — Number of career starts for Anteaters’ ace Nick Pinto, the most by any active pitcher. Pinto went 9-2 with a 3.44 ERA across 15 appearances for the Anteaters this season, turning in eight quality starts and averaging six innings per outing.

3. Nicholls

2 — Tournament appearances in two years for the Colonels after going 25 years without an NCAA bid. Nicholls has won the Southland in back-to-back years under coach Mike Silva, who is off to an impressive 98-69 (.587) record in three years at the program’s helm.

4. Tulane

8-1 — The Green Wave’s record at the last two American Athletic Conference tournaments, which it won both. Tulane won the 2023 edition as a surprise seventh-seed before sweeping through it this season as the No. 3 seed. They became the first team to win back-to-back American tournament crowns.

Greenville Regional

1. East Carolina (16)

14% — Strikeout rate for Pirates’ hitters, second-lowest nationally and best in the tournament field. Three of the first four hitters in the East Carolina lineup have more walks than strikeouts as the team works at bats and consistently puts the ball in play.

2. Wake Forest

69.1 — Average Game Score for ace Chase Burns, tops among qualified pitchers. Burns closed the year with double-digit strikeouts in five consecutive starts and went 10-1 with a 2.46 ERA. He fanned 184 in 95 innings, resetting the Demon Deacons’ record books.

3. VCU

+12 — Change in total wins in Bradley LeCroy’s second year in charge of the Rams. After eight straight 30-plus win seasons under Shawn Stiffler, VCU slipped backwards in 2023 and finished five games under .500 but quickly returned to form this year, going 37-21.

4. Evansville

18 — Years since the Purple Aces were last in the NCAA Tournament, the longest drought among 2024 teams excluding those making their first appearance. Evansville appeared in the 2006 Tournament as a No. 3 seed and nearly climbed out of the loser’s bracket to beat South Carolina in the regional final.