Season long look at UL's trek through the Baseball RPI rankings

[DaddyCajun]

As of now we have posted info on:

Sherri Murrell -- x-UL player and Washington St coach
James Hatchell--Current Top assistant of Coach Hall at UL
Michael Bari-----Current Head coach of 4th ranked LSUE

Currnently looking for info on the coach at Iota High and Gary Broadhead of TCH.

DaddyCajun

[GoneGolfin]

Would a sellout tonight and inproved RPI help the Cajuns get a regional bid?

I assume that you are referring to hosting a regional.

Of course attendance and RPI will matter when it comes time for the regional site selections. But I do not think this single game will have much upside in that regard. The Cajuns may have an outside chance at a regional site if they can take care of Arizona State this weekend.

Below is a post from last week that addresses hosting a regional ...

The biggest obstacle for the Cajuns at this point is the quantity of #1 seeds that can potentially host in the immediate geographic region. Also consider that the West will likely have four regionals this year instead of three (taking away a potential host site elseware). The West has had four regionals only twice (2003 and 2005). But the play out West this year is solid and the national champion came from the West last season when it was only awarded three regionals. Also, the West has more representation on the NCAA Selection Committee this season with the addition of Arizona State coach Pat Murphy (which could also be a positive for the Cajuns' chances provided they play well in Tempe).

I do not think the Cajuns will need to be a Top 8 RPI team, but they will need to be a stronger #1 seed than one or more of the #1 seed hosting candidates in the nearby region. Currently, Rice, Texas, and Texas A&M are obvious candidates to host. At this point of the season, all three have stronger resumes, have better facilities, and stronger attendance than that of the Cajuns. You can say the same for Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Mississippi. But the NCAA is not going to award seven regionals in the Louisiana/Mississippi/Arkansas/Texas region. They have awarded six regionals to this region only twice (1999 and 2003). If you add the state of Oklahoma to this region, they have awarded six regionals to this region four times (1999, 2000, 2003, 2004). Never has the NCAA awarded seven regionals to the Louisiana/Mississippi/Arkansas/Texas/Oklahoma region and more than once they have awarded only three. The Oklahoma Sooners are also a candidate to host which crowds the regional field even more. However, if the Cajuns are the only viable Louisiana hosting candidate, this will help.

Another thing to consider is that typically two or more #1 seeds do not host a regional. It has never been the case that all sixteen #1 seeds have hosted regionals and only three times have 15/16 #1 seeds hosted. As many as five #1 seeds have not hosted a regional in a given year and three times (1999, 2000, and 2001) four or more #1 seeds have not hosted regionals. Although, the recent trend has been that 15/16 #1 seeds have hosted regionals (three of the last four seasons). Hence, you can virtually count on at least one #2 seed hosting, typically in an effort to balance the regionals geographically. This is not in the Cajuns' favor.

In summary, keep an eye on what the leading hosting candidates in the Mississippi/Louisiana/Arkansas/Texas/Oklahoma corridor do the remainder of the season. If they can pass a couple of those schools, they will have a shot. But the competition is stiff.

Brian

[CajunRed]

_ I assume that you are referring to hosting a regional.

Of course attendance and RPI will matter when it comes time for the regional site selections. But I do not think this single game will have much upside in that regard. The Cajun____p://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html may have an outside chance at a regional site if they can take care of Arizona State this weekend.

Below is a post from last week that addresses hosting a regional ... _

Boyd's World has our adjusted RPI now at "13"!!

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html

[GoneGolfin]

Boyd's World has our adjusted RPI now at "13"!!

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html

The SEBaseball.com Base RPI is 17 and the Adjusted RPI is 14.

Brian

[RaginDave]

_ As of now we have posted info on:

Sherri Murrell -- x-UL player and Washington St coach
James Hatchell--Current Top assistant of Coach Hall at UL
Michael Bari-----Current Head coach of 4th ranked LSUE

Currnently looking for info on the coach at Iota High and Gary Broadhead of TCH.

DaddyCajun _

My assumption would be that James Hatchell will be named the new coach. He has HC experience and was fairly successfull, is a member of the current staff. To me this seems like a slam dunk.

[JamesCajun]

My assumption would be that James Hatchell will be named the new coach. He has HC experience and was fairly successfull, is a member of the current staff. To me this seems like a slam dunk.

But how many slam dunks were there in Women's Basketball last season?

[lcitsh]

_ My assumption would be that James Hatchell will be named the new coach. He has HC experience and was fairly successfull, is a member of the current staff. To me this seems like a slam dunk. _

While there is a good possibility that James could be the next head coach, I'm of the belief that the administration will not just "settle" for the "quick fix" and will take their time to determine that James is the best candidate for the position, which he very well may be.

[lcitsh]

Brian,

I've been to the SEBaseball site and it seems to require a paid membership. Is this so or is there some way to get the information you are getting without being a paid member?

[GoneGolfin]

Brian,

I've been to the SEBaseball site and it seems to require a paid membership. Is this so or is there some way to get the information you are getting without being a paid member?

Some of the content on the SEBaseball.com site is free. For example, my latest article. The Open Message Forum is also free as well as a number of other features. Some of the content is for paid subscribers only.

If you are referring to the SEBaseball.com RPI numbers, this info is not published. It is part of our internal data repository.

Brian

[BirdofParadise]

_ As of now we have posted info on:

Sherri Murrell -- x-UL player and Washington St coach
James Hatchell--Current Top assistant of Coach Hall at UL
Michael Bari-----Current Head coach of 4th ranked LSUE

Currnently looking for info on the coach at Iota High and Gary Broadhead of TCH.

DaddyCajun _

My question is this?

Are these people really candidates? Not in our eyes, but in the eyes of those who make those decisions?