CUSA Baseball Conference Play Preview

Conference play is just two weeks away. Some teams have struggled through their non conference portion of their season while others have picked up from where they left off last year. In football and basketball Conference USA does not get much respect, however in baseball Conference USA is a very respectable league as four teams went to regionals last season. Of the four teams that went to regionals last season none of them advanced to super regionals, but expect that to change this season.

Rice is once again the favorite to win the conference crown, but will be pushed by several teams. Rice, East Carolina, Southern Miss, and UCF all have the potential to overtake Rice and get to post season play as well. Tulane is looking strong early this season and also has the potential to make things interesting in league play and a possible post season bid.

East Carolina is looking at a possible second place finish. The Pirates finished 3 rd last season thanks to a late season rally by winning 6 of their last seven headed into tournament play where they won 2 out of 3. UCF could finish 3 rd in CUSA, but they will have to avoid another early slump like they had last season. The knight took 2 out of 3 from Rice then lost 7 of their next 9 games. Southern Miss is looking at a possible 4 th place finish unless the Golden Eagles can find some pitching fast after losing last season’s pitcher of the year in Todd McInnis. Tulane could slide into the 5 th spot. Tulane helped themselves out last season by winning 7 of 9 games between against UAB, Memphis, and Marshall.

Early on UAB looks like a good candidate for the 6 th spot with some early season success. The Blazers finished 9 – 7 in CUSA play last season losing there last nine games after taking the series against Rice. Houston could fall to seventh place after finishing 6 th last year. Houston won four season series last season. The Cougars are off to a 6 – 7 record this season and need to improve quickly in order to survive this season. Memphis finished 5 th last season, but are looking at a possible 8 th place finish this season. The Tigers do have a chance to improve upon last season’s 12-12 mark, but will have a hard time against the tough competition in CUSA. Marshall is hoping to get out of the cellar this season, but that is not going to be easy. The Thundering Herd is the only team in CUSA that does not have its own stadium. They do not even play their first game in their home state until March 16 th. They play some home games in Beckley and Huntington and all CUSA home games in Charleston.