The 2019 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala. begins this week and as usual, there is plenty to watch for in terms of NCAA Tournament hopefuls and seedings.
I’ve been attending the SEC Baseball Tournament for over a decade and I’ve been covering it for College Baseball Daily for nearly five years.
This is by far the deepest the SEC has ever been, and that’s saying something. They could honestly send 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament this year.
There will be plenty of storylines to watch at this year’s SEC Baseball Tournament, and one of them will not be who wins it all.
1. Teams on the bubble
As I mentioned, there are 11 teams who legitimately could be in this year’s NCAA Tournament. At least seven teams are a lock entering this week’s SEC Baseball Tournament, and you can include Auburn and Tennessee in that list as well despite their losing conference records.
Still, both teams would feel a lot better with a win on Tuesday. But with a top 20 RPIs it would be a crying shame if they didn’t get in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s nine teams who are a near lock, and two teams who are on the bubble.
Missouri seemed like a lock before this past weekend, but after getting swept by Florida that puts both of those teams on the bubble.
Florida comes into the SEC Tournament with an RPI of 25, while Missouri is at 26. Last year the committee made a statement by leaving out Kentucky with a 13-17 SEC record despite a top 30 RPI.
Florida and Missouri will most likely need to make it past Tuesday to feel good about their chances. The Gators get Texas A&M in the first game of the SEC Tournament, while the Tigers get Ole Miss in game two.
2. Top 8 seeds
The SEC currently has four teams ranked in the top eight in Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Those four teams have a very good chance of earning a top-eight seed and having home-field advantage in the regionals and super regionals.
At this point, I feel safe assuming that Arkansas and Mississippi State are locks for a top eight spot. And it’s hard for me to see anyone jumping Arkansas as well, but I’m sure the Razorbacks would feel much better with at least one win.
Georiga is right there on the edge and they have not had a lot of success in Hoover. They probably need at least one win this week to lock up a top-eight seed.
3. Regional Hosts
The top 16 teams will get to hose a regional in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and there are several teams looking to lock up those spots this week at the SEC Baseball Tournament.
The four teams mentioned above are definitely locks to host a regional. But three other teams have a chance of hosting as well.
Texas A&M is ranked around 13 in most polls, so they could definitely use a win or two in Hoover. With their RPI currently at 14, I think a win on Tuesday could lock up a hosting spot.
LSU is right on the edge if you look at the rankings, but their RPI is just 21. They likely need to win at least two games in Hoover to earn a top 16 spot. And with their history in Hoover, that’s not too much to ask.
Ole Miss is another team that has an outside shot of jumping into the top 16, but they’d likely need to make a run to the semi-finals or even the finals for that to happen.
I’ll be at the 2019 SEC Baseball Tournament all week, so make sure you follow me @ShortStopBall for updates and reactions.
