2017 NCAA Tournament Long Beach Regional Preview

Darren McCaughan (Photo courtesy Long Beach State Athletics)

SEE ALSO: NCAA Regional Preview Podcast

1. Long Beach State (37-17, 19-4 in the Big West)

22nd appearance (second straight), automatic bid, won Big West

Top 200 Prospects: C David Banuelos (112)

Season In A Sentence: The Dirtbags went on a tear once Big West play began, winning every conference series and bookending it with series wins against Cal State Fullerton.

Player To Watch: Darren McCaughan, rhp. The Long Beach ace has been as steady as they come for the Dirtbags, throwing four complete games and two shutouts. He’s 8-2, 2.66 on the season and has been a workhorse, throwing 108.1 innings and striking out 94 to just 16 walks.

Best Weekend: at North Carolina, March 3-5. The Dirtbags had gotten off to a shaky start to the season, but this weekend was their first marquee series win. Long Beach State was the only team to deal the No. 2 national seed Tar Heels a series loss this year.

Outlook: The Dirtbags were 19-4 at Blair Field this year and are playing their best baseball down the stretch. They’ll be tested, but they should be the favorite.

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2. Texas (37-22, 11-12 Big 12)

58th appearance (first since 2015), at-large, sixth in Big 12

Top 200 Prospects: RHP Morgan Cooper (119)

Season In A Sentence: In their first year under head coach David Pierce, the Longhorns made it back to the regionals—and nearly thrust themselves into the hosting conversation—with a strong season and Big 12 tournament performance.

Player To Watch: Morgan Cooper, RHP. The top prospect on the Longhorns, Cooper has had a sensational year as the rotation anchor, going 6-3, 2.32 and striking out 103 to 32 walks in 81.1 innings.

Best Weekend: Oklahoma, April 7-9. The Longhorns earned their first key Big 12 series win of the season against the Sooners, who were red-hot coming into the series.

Outlook: Texas played UCLA earlier in the year and swept the Bruins, so the Longhorns would seemingly have the advantage there. With a deep pitching staff at their disposal, the Longhorns should be able to go toe-to-toe with Long Beach.

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3. UCLA (30-25, 19-11 Pac-12)

21st appearance (first since 2015), at-large, third in Pac-12

Top 200 Prospects: RHP Griffin Canning (21), 1B/3B Sean Bouchard (153),

Season In A Sentence: Behind Oregon State, the Pac-12 was a dogfight, and the Bruins held tough, battling back mid-season to get to above .500 and finishing the year strong.

Player to Watch: Griffin Canning, rhp. Canning has been a bulldog for the Bruins this year, throwing four complete games and going 7-3, 2.34. One of the best pitchers on the West Coast, Canning has 134 strikeouts to go with 30 walks in 111.1 innings. He has a four-pitch mix, and his velocity has taken a jump this spring.

Best Weekend: at Stanford, April 13-15. This series win likely punched the Bruins’ ticket to the NCAA tournament, giving UCLA a nice RPI boost and a marquee win.

Outlook: The Bruins played all three of the teams in this regional, beating Long Beach State, losing to San Diego State and getting swept by Texas. That familiarity could be helpful for the Bruins, who had a strong finish, though were still only a few wins above .500.

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4. San Diego State (41-19, 21-10 Mountain West)

13th appearance (first since 2015), automatic bid, won Mountain West tournament

Top 200 Prospects: None.

Season In A Sentence: The Aztecs bounced back from a below .500 season the year before to get back into regionals, claiming the crown in the conference tournament.

Player To Watch: Tyler Adkison, of. The junior has had a huge year for the Aztecs, batting .349/.462/.677 with a team-leading 15 home runs and is a significant power threat in the middle of the order with his quick bat.

Best Weekend: MWC tournament, May 25-28. The Aztecs didn’t have an at-large case and needed a tournament title to get a bid. They got the job done, defeating Fresno State, 5-3, in the championship.

Outlook: The Aztecs could be the most dangerous No. 4 seed in the tournament. They’ve played both Long Beach State and UCLA, beating the Dirtbags twice and taking their one game against UCLA. The Long Beach Regional is very much wide open.

STAT PACK (National rank in parentheses)
Team	Avg.	Runs P/G	HR	SB	ERA	K/9	WHIP	Field %
1. Long Beach State	.273 (141)	5.20 (198)	29 (206)	65 (70)	3.08 (8)	7.2 (179)	1.14 (3)	.980 (13)
2. Texas	.256 (243)	5.24 (193)	48 (87)	68 (63)	3.20 (9)	7.7 (133)	1.26 (24)	.983 (2)
3. UCLA	.260 (216)	5.27 (189)	43 (116)	45 (165)	3.49 (19)	8.4 (58)	1.28 (33)	.981 (9)
4. San Diego State	.321 (8)	6.90 (34)	61 (40)	59 (88)	4.14 (78)	6.9 (203)	1.36 (61)	.979 (19)