On May 2nd, the Cougs had just lost two of three at Oregon, were sitting 9th in the Pac-10 standings, and thoughts of an NCAA tournament were fading. Since then, the Cougs have lost just three games, two of which came this weekend against 7th ranked UCLA, and are firmly in the NCAA tournament. It's been a great month.
There are 16 possible landing spots for WSU. The regional sites were announced this afternoon and are as follows:
Arizona State (47-8), Tempe, Ariz.
Arkansas (40-18), Fayetteville, Ark.
Auburn (40-19), Auburn, Ala.
Cal State Fullerton (40-15 through Saturday, May 29), Fullerton, Calif.
Coastal Carolina (51-7), Conway, S.C.
Connecticut (47-14), Storrs, Conn.
Florida (42-15), Gainesville, Fla.
Georgia Tech (45-13), Atlanta
Louisville (48-12), Louisville, Ky.
Miami (Florida) (40-17), Coral Gables, Fla.
Oklahoma (44-15), Norman, Okla.
South Carolina (43-15), Columbia, S.C.
Texas (46-11), Austin, Texas
TCU (46-11), Fort Worth, Texas
UCLA (42-13), Los Angeles
Virginia (47-11), Charlottesville, Va.
Anything West of the Mississippi would be great for the team, making the trip easier. ASU and UCLA are obviously out and Fullerton, one of the weaker regional hosts, may be out as well. Still in the picture is a trip down South to either of the Texas schools or Oklahoma, the same destination as last year.
For what it's worth, both ESPN and Baseball America project the Cougs will be in Oklahoma as the two seed. Rivals has WSU as a two seed in Arkansas.
Other things to keep an eye on:
- The Pac-10 was ridiculously strong this year. There are 8 teams with legitimate arguments to be in the field of 64. After only taking 3 bids last year, this was quite the turnaround. Who gets in and who is left out?
- Oregon, in the second year of the program, should be in the field. I can't even describe how improbable this is, especially in a loaded conference. Though they've slipped lately, they've had a heck of a season.
- UW will not be in the field (sad trombone).
Coverage kicks off at 9:30 AM on ESPN. Use this as your open thread to discuss the field and where the Cougs end up.