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I had a chance to catch up to a couple of coaches across the country for their thoughts on the NCAA Tournament. One of the biggest stories from them is how wide open the field is this season. The tournament kicks off in another 45 minutes as Miami (FL) plays Jacksonville to open up the Gainesville Regional. Check out their thoughts on some teams below.
UCLA
- Set up better for a Super Regional then a Regional.
- Bauer and Cole are the best 1-2 punch in the country and if they can get through a Regional, they will be in Omaha.
Florida State
- The Seminoles will not beat themselves and run the bases extremely well.
- James Ramsey is the Noles top hitter but need to pay attention to Sherman Johnson who can do some major damage if you are not careful.
- Sean Gilmartin has returned to his freshman level and has the best command in the ACC even better then Danny Hultzen.
- The biggest weakness for the Noles is the bullpen with an unimpressive Mike McGee and Brian Busch.
Oregon State
- The Beavers have a belief that they are going to win every game.
- Sam Gaviglio and Josh Osich are beasts which helps out during the Regionals.
- If they can get to the 8th inning, they have the bullpen to shut down your offense with Matt Boyd at the backend.
- This season is the best coaching job that Pat Casey has done including his back to back national championship season.
Central Florida
- The best two players on the Knights squad are Ronnie Richardson and Travis Shreve as both of them are solid players.
- Stunned that Central Florida got a bid with a 12-12 conference record with an overall record of 38-21.
Arizona
- A real “sleeper” team as Kyle Simon pounds the zone especially in hot weather when he gets his downward sinker going.
- The Wildcat sophomores are really starting to gel which makes them dangerous in the Regional.
Bethune-Cookman
- If you leave a fastball up in the zone, they will be able to crush it as they have 53 on the season.
- 6-7 guys have the ability to hit a ball out of the ballpark while swinging for the fences.
Arizona State
- The most susceptible part of the Sun Devils team is the pitching staff as they were unimpressive.
- Riccio Torrez is their best hitter and dangerous at the plate too.
Coastal Carolina
- This is not the same Coastal team as we have seen in past seasons but both Woodward and LaStella can cause problems on the basepaths/defense.
Fresno State
- Best offensive team we faced all season. They will give UCLA fits in LA this weekend.
Cal
- Great pitching with four quality starters and a closer which could potentially start if needed in a Regional round.
- Tony Renda is the bat to watch for them as he was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year.
