Posted on Fri, Jan. 27, 2006
BASEBALL PREVIEW Big 12 has a stout lineup Conference can make a case for being nation’s best
By BRADFORD DOOLITTLE The Kansas City Star
How good is baseball in the Big 12? Check the resume.
The defending national champion? Got that, it’s Texas.
The potential first pick in the next amateur draft, which happens to belong to the Royals? That could well be Missouri’s fire-balling Max Scherzer. If Scherzer isn’t the best pro prospect in the conference, then Texas outfielder Drew Stubbs might be.
The all-time leader in coaching victories? That would be Texas’ Augie Garrido, who has won 1,542 games in 37 seasons.
Last season, the Big 12 solidified its status as arguably the most dominant baseball conference in the country.
Consider: The conference placed five teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2005. Three of those five — Texas, Baylor and Nebraska — advanced to the College World Series. In fact, of the 15 games played during the CWS, 10 of them involved at least one Big 12 school. Texas won the national championship for the second time in four seasons.
Expectations entering the 2006 season, which begins Wednesday when Kansas plays at Hawaii-Hilo, have never been higher.
Texas sits atop all the preseason polls. Nebraska, Missouri, Baylor and Oklahoma also have cracked some of the rankings. Baseball America projects Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Nebraska to be invited to the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, the big prize in college baseball is a trip to the College World Series in Omaha. That’s a short little jaunt for most schools in Big 12 country. But when it comes to navigating through a brutal conference schedule, the journey is long and arduous.
“If you’re not prepared for within the Big 12, you’ve made a big mistake,” Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said. “Obviously you want to build up your RPI and all the things that can prepare you for postseason, but really the bottom line is preparing yourself for Big 12 play.”
For teams that survive the trip through the Big 12 schedule, the journey to Omaha might not seem so long after all.
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1. Texas
■ 2005: 56-16 (16-10, third in Big 12, won College World Series)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: OF Drew Stubbs (.311, 11 home runs, 46 RBIs 32 steals); P Kyle McCulloch (12-4, 2.92 ERA, 99 strikeouts)
■ KEY LOSSES: Taylor Teagarden, Seth Johnston, J. Brent Cox
■ COACH AUGIE GARRIDO SAYS: “The athletic department provides each one of our coaches with the resources to win national championships. But the scales of justice are balanced out by expectations.”
■ OUTLOOK: Texas lost some professional-quality talent and needs to find a back-of-the-bullpen answer. But outfielder Jordan Danks is one of the best freshmen in the country and plenty of talent remains for the Longhorns to make another championship run.
2. Nebraska
■ 2005: 57-15 (19-8, tied for first in Big 12; College World Series)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: P Joba Chamberlain (10-2, 2.81 ERA, 130 strikeouts); P Johnny Dorn (12-2, 2.16 ERA, 76 strikeouts); OF Andy Gerch (.364, 4 home runs, 35 RBIs)
■ KEY LOSSES: Alex Gordon, Zach Kroenke
■ COACH MIKE ANDERSON SAYS: “It’s just part of the process.” (On replacing Gordon)
■ OUTLOOK: The Cornhuskers have a dynamic one-two punch at the top of the rotation with the imposing Chamberlain and Dorn. With the loss of Gordon, Nebraska may have to work a little harder to manufacture runs.
3. Missouri
■ 2005: 40-23 (16-11, fourth in Big 12; lost in NCAA Tournament)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: P Max Scherzer (9-4, 1.86, 131 strikeouts); P Nathan Culp (9-2, 3.50 ERA, 63 strikeouts); OF Hunter Mense (.327, 3 home runs, 43 RBIs)
■ KEY LOSSES: James Boone, Andrew Johnston, Doug Mathis
■ COACH TIM JAMIESON SAYS: “My biggest concern with this year’s team is the number of draft-eligible players and potentially high draft picks that we have. Frankly, we haven’t been a position like that before.”
■ OUTLOOK: Missouri seems to have all the components in place for a CWS visit and a bid for the Tigers’ first league title in any men’s sport since the Big 12 was formed.
4. Baylor
■ 2005: 46-24 (19-8, tied for first in Big 12; College World Series)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: P Cory VanAllen (8-4, 4.02 ERA, 68 strikeouts); C Zach Dillon (.304, 2 home runs, 43 RBIs); P Ryan LaMotta (5-2, 2.15 ERA, 82 strikeouts)
■ KEY LOSSES: Mark McCormick, Michael Griffin
■ COACH STEVE SMITH SAYS: “Last year, I just kept telling our coaches, ‘Let’s not talk about next year until next year.’ ”
■ OUTLOOK: Baylor lost nine players to the pro draft off last year’s CWS entrant. But the cupboard is far from bare in Waco. LaMotta and Van Allen comprise a solid front to the rotation and the Bears always put one of the league’s best defenses on the field.
5. Oklahoma
■ 2005: 35-26 (14-13, fifth in Big 12; lost in NCAA Tournament)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: P Daniel McCutchen (4-5, 4.18 ERA, 84 strikeouts); 3B Ryan Rohlinger (.345, 11 home runs, 53 RBIs); OF Chuckie Caufield (.315, 4 home runs, 19 RBIs, 9 steals)
■ KEY LOSSES: Eric Thornton, Garrett Patterson
■ COACH SUNNY GOLLOWAY SAYS: “This group has great chemistry and they have their goals set very high.”
■ OUTLOOK: Talk about experience. The Sooners have 12 players returning for their senior season, a real oddity in college baseball. Oklahoma might not have the ceiling of some teams but should be in the thick of things in the conference race.
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6. Oklahoma State
■ 2005: 34-25 (12-15, sixth in Big 12)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: 1B Adam Carr (.336, 22 home runs, 86 RBIs); OF Ty Wright (.342, 7 home runs, 42 RBIs); OF Corey Brown (.360, 13 home runs, 46 RBIs)
■ KEY LOSSES: Jeff Parrish, Scott Richmond, Thomas Cowley, Adam Daniels
■ COACH FRANK ANDERSON SAYS: “The pitching in our league last season was as good as I’ve ever seen it.”
■ OUTLOOK: The station-to-station, slugging Cowboys are going to have to come up with some pitchers. The top three starters from last year’s squad have moved on. Oklahoma State’s success will depend on finding ways to keep the other team off the scoreboard.
7. Texas A&M
■ 2005: 30-25-1 (9-18, ninth in Big 12)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: IF Ryan Hill (.317, 3 home runs, 24 RBIs); P Jason Meyer (5-5, 3.04 ERA, 49 strikeouts); 3B Austin Boggs (.241, 4 home runs, 29 RBIs)
■ KEY LOSSES: Cliff Pennington, Robert Ray, Clayton Turner
■ COACH ROB CHILDRESS SAYS: “We could have a great year and go 53-3 but get swept by Texas, and it wouldn’t be a good year in a lot of people’s eyes.”
■ OUTLOOK: The Aggies struggled to score runs last season and must replace Pennington, their best offensive player, who was a first-round pick by the Athletics. New coach Childress, the former Nebraska pitching coach, promises the same sort of high-pressure offense that the Cornhuskers feature. Should be a transition year in College Station.
8. Kansas
■ 2005: 39-28 (11-15, seventh in Big 12)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: 1B Jared Schweitzer (.366, 7 home runs, 32 RBIs); P Kodiak Quick (10-6, 3.41 ERA, 91 strikeouts); P Sean Land (5-5, 4.62 ERA, 72 strikeouts)
■ KEY LOSSES: A.J. Van Slyke, Sean Richardson
■ COACH RITCH PRICE SAYS: “We feel like we’ve improved in every phase of the game.”
■ OUTLOOK: Jayhawks have the makings of a nice weekend rotation with returning starters Quick and Land and transfer Ricky Fairchild. They also have some nice offensive pieces in masher Schweitzer and Matt Baty. Kansas could crack the top half of the Big 12 if starters develop.
9. Texas Tech
■ 2005: 34-25 (9-16, eighth in Big 12)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: 2B Joey Callender (.362, 48 RBIs, 15 steals); P Zach Butler (6-1, 4.05 ERA)
■ KEY LOSSES: Cameron Blair, Carey Avants, Cody Fuller
■ COACH LARRY HAYS SAYS: “We have one obvious weakness and that’s experience on this level. Patience is a key.”
■ OUTLOOK: Hays enters his 20th year as coach of the Red Raiders with plenty of question marks and a bunch of young players. He brought in veteran pitching coach Lance Brown to help shore up last year’s disastrous 6.59 conference ERA. Should be a development year for Texas Tech.
10. Kansas State
■ 2005: 30-25 (8-19, 10th in Big 12)
■ PLAYERS TO WATCH: IF Jared Goedert (.341, 4 home runs, 39 RBIs); P Adam Cowart (7-4, 3.93 ERA, 70 strikeouts); IF Barrett Rice (.348, 6 home runs, 27 RBIs)
■ KEY LOSSES: Terry Blunt, Steve Murphy
■ COACH BRAD HILL SAYS: “The problem with the conference in my view is that no one is getting worse. But that’s also exciting.”
■ OUTLOOK: Hill is high on a couple of incoming freshman pitchers — Ben Hornbeck and Justin Murray. The Wildcats have a ways to go but there is no doubt that Hill has upped the talent level entering his third season in Manhattan.
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