Eight teams will make their way to Houston, TX for the Conference USA Tournament beginning Wednesday, May 24th.
Louisiana Tech (27-29) will be the 6-seed and will square-off with 3-seed Charlotte at 9 AM on Wednesday morning.
FULL BRACKET
The double-elimination tournament will conclude with the Championship Game on Sunday afternoon at 1 PM on CBS Sports Network.
VENUE
Name | Reckling Park
Capacity | 7,000
Year Built | 2000
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Let's take a quick look at each of the eight teams participating this week.
#1 Seed - Dallas Baptist (42-13)
Top 3 Hitters | Nathan Humphreys (.347, 11 HR, 42 RBI), Kodie Kolden (.345, 4 HR, 32 RBI), & Grant Jay (.335, 19 HR, 60 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Ryan Johnson (7-3, 4.01), Kyle Amendt (1-1, 1.90, 11 saves), & Brady Rose (7-1, 2.79)
Postseason Outlook | LOCKED IN
#2 Seed - UTSA (38-17)
Top 3 Hitters | Antonio Valdez (.391, 13 HR, 65 RBI), Leyton Barry (.329, 10 HR, 55 RBI), & Taylor Smith (.317, 17 HR, 39 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Simon Miller (8-1, 1.83, 11 saves), Luke Malone (6-4, 5.19), & Rugar Riojas (5-0, 4.17)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#3 Seed - Charlotte (29-25)
Top 3 Hitters | Cam Fisher (.323, 24 HR, 51 RBI), Brandon Stahlman (.282, 6 HR, 38 RBI), & Jack Dragum (.281, 7 HR, 38 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Wyatt Hudepohl (5-6, 3.97), Cameron Hansen (3-1, 4.10), & Paxton Thompson (5-2, 4.26)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#4 Seed - Florida Atlantic (33-23)
Top 3 Hitters | Nolan Schanuel (.460, 18 HR, 62 RBI), Jackson Ross (.347, 12 HR, 54 RBI), & Dylan Goldstein (.308, 12 HR, 61 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Robert Wegielnik (4-1, 1.48, 6 saves), Hunter Cooley (6-6, 5.09), & Jacob Josey (4-5, 5.17)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#5 Seed - Western Kentucky (31-24)
Top 3 Hitters | Aiden Gilroy (.326, 2 HR, 34 RBI), Tristin Garcia (.324, 0 HR, 35 RBI), & Lukas Farris (.297, 13 HR, 40 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Dawson Hall (7-3, 2.73), Mason Burns (5-2, 3.22), & Devyn Terbrak (6-4, 4.03)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#6 Seed - Louisiana Tech (27-29)
Top 3 Hitters | Logan McLeod (.309, 1 HR, 29 RBI), Dalton Davis (.284, 13 HR, 52 RBI), & Ethan Bates (.269, 15 HR, 34 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Ethan Bates (4-3, 3.10, 10 saves), Landon Tomkins (6-1, 3.49), Jonathan Fincher (8-4, 4.98)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#7 Seed - Middle Tennessee (25-27)
Top 3 Hitters | Brett Coker (.346, 4 HR, 31 RBI), JT Mabry (.333, 5 HR, 38 RBI), & Jeremiah Boyd (.307, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | James Sells (5-4, 4.70, 6 saves), Jaden Hamm (5-4, 5.06), & Eriq Swann (1-6, 7.04)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
#8 Seed - Rice (21-35)
Top 3 Hitters | Jack Riedel (.297, 7 HR, 38 RBI), Connor Walsh (.290, 10 HR, 41 RBI), & Pierce Gallo (.288, 2 HR, 13 RBI)
Top 3 Pitchers | Parker Smith (2-2, 2.75), JD McCracken (1-4, 5.13), & Matthew Linskey (4-1, 5.06)
Postseason Outlook | MUST WIN C-USA TOURNAMENT
Overall Outlook
Dallas Baptist enters the week as the clear favorite to win the tournament. The Patriots won all 10 C-USA series during the regular season and are on the verge of making their 9th consecutive NCAA Regional.
Many thought UTSA would be a lock for an NCAA Regional, but Pat Hallmark's club sputtered to the finish line going 2-5 over their final 7 regular season games which dropped their RPI down to 64. The RoadRunners have the best offense in the league, but will the pitching hold up deep into the tournament?
Charlotte, FAU, and Louisiana Tech were three upper tier teams in the preseason but never really lived up to their potential consistently throughout the season. Perhaps one of the three make a run in Houston?
Western Kentucky is the surprise of the league after being picked to finish last in the preseason. Marc Rardin's club is playing with house money this week.
Middle Tennesse possesses some interesting pieces offensively and on the mound, but Jerry Meyers is in his first season as HC and will likely need a couple of more years before they are ready to really make a run.
Rice is the host team this week, but it'll take some real magic for the Owls to advance throughout the week.
Should be a fun week down in Houston.
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