NCAA Baseball 2022 Regionals: Five Things to Watch for the Big 12 Conference
Conference tournaments are over and the field of 64 has been announced for college baseball. We have a total of five Big 12 teams in the postseason and two of them will be hosting a regional this upcoming weekend. Here are my five things to watch this weekend for Big 12 teams in the postseason.
1. Can Oklahoma State Dominate?
The Cowboys are just one of two Big 12 teams who are hosting a regional. That means they have an easier matchup than most other schools and that is the case this weekend. While they do have Grand Canyon and Arkansas coming to Stillwater, the Cowboys will get Missouri State to start off the weekend. The Bears have been wildly inconsistent this season but ended up winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to get in. I know Justin Campbell will be the anchor of that pitching staff, but I am curious to see Bryce Osmond play as well. If those two are on, watch out. Plus, they have the offense to back up their solid pitching staff with Jake Thompson Zach Ehrhard, and a few others. If Oklahoma State can take game one, then I really like their chances of going 3-0 this weekend to advance and I look forward to seeing O’Brate Stadium host its first regional.
2. Which Texas team will show up?
I have said here over a hundred times that Texas has the talent to be the best team in the Big 12 but was just too inconsistent this year. The bats were always there with Ivan Melendez and Murphy Stehly, but I want to see how this starting rotation looks. Pete Hansen and Lucas Gorgon looked fantastic in the Big 12 tournament and if they play like that then Texas should get by Air Force and anyone else that stands in their way this weekend. The question is, which Texas team will we see?
3. Whoever Wins the Texas Tech/Notre Dame Game Will Win the Statesboro Regional.
No disrespect to Georgia Southern but they aren’t even the best team in the Sun Belt Conference but since they won their tournament, they are in and due to the RPI are hosting. The focus of this regional is going to be on the Notre Dame/Texas Tech game. We all know about the bats of Texas Tech, and I want to see Big 12 pitcher of the year Brandon Birdsell dominant like he has throughout the season. But Notre Dame is a really good team and honestly, they could have easily been a top sixteen seed and hosting their own regional. Whoever wins this matchup will find themselves in the Supers.
4. The College Station Regional Will be Crazy
First off, we have a potential TCU/Texas A&M postseason matchup on the horizon and that itself is a juicy story. These two schools have plenty of recent history on the diamond and I look forward to them possibly meeting once again. Outside of that, how about the meeting between two former staff members? Jim Schlossnagle was the TCU head coach from 2004 to 2021. This is his first season with the Aggies and while he has done an excellent job in College Station, how ironic is it that he is going to potentially meet his former school in the postseason? Also keep in mind that TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos is going to be serving his final game suspension on Friday against Louisiana due to him getting ejected in TCU’s last game in the Big 12 tournament.
5. Can Oklahoma Stay Hot?
If there was any Big 12 school that got snubbed from hosting a regional it was Oklahoma. They came into the Big 12 tournament winning five straight series and then went a perfect 4-0 to win the tournament. They should have been hosting a regional and instead they are traveling to Gainesville to take on Liberty in game one.
The trio of Peyton Graham, Tanner Tredaway, and Blake Robertson have been dominant at the plate and Jake Bennett has been a stud on the mound. Plus, I also like what I saw from Cade Horton in the Big 12 tournament as well. I said it after they won the tournament, but this may be the hottest team in college baseball only behind Tennessee. I know they have a tough regional with Florida, Liberty, and Central Michigan but I don’t see how this Oklahoma team gets beat with the way they have been playing lately.
