The USC Trojans were snubbed for the NCAA Baseball Tournament one year ago in 2023. This year, another team from the Pac-12 got snubbed. The Cal Golden Bears got the short end of the stick. Florida, on the other hand, got into the tournament despite a 28-27 record of undeniable mediocrity in the SEC. One last time, SEC favoritism trumped Pac-12 merit. It’s a story we know all too well here in the West.
Gators Wire has more on Florida making the NCAA Baseball Tournament despite its mediocre record:
“Florida will face regional No. 2 seed Nebraska and Oklahoma State will face Niagara in the opening round on May 31. The Gators get the early game. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN+. The winners and losers of the first two games will play on Saturday. The regional bracket is double elimination.
“The winner of the Stillwater Regional will go on to face the winner of the Clemson Regional, which features Vanderbilt, Coastal Carolina and High Point University.
“A record 11 SEC teams made the Field of 64.
“Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas A&M are hosting regionals. Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina are the other at-large bids.”
Florida did play a tougher schedule than Cal. There’s no argument there. The whole discussion revolves around the idea that a .500 team (or close to it) deserves a bid over a team which went 36-19, as Cal did. Strength of schedule matters, but if a team doesn’t win many games, what’s the point of playing games? Cal was 17 games above .500. Florida was one game above .500. Much as the NFL frankly shouldn’t allow sub-.500 teams into the playoffs, and the NBA should do the same, college baseball shouldn’t allow teams in if they aren’t at least five games over .500. That is not too much to ask.
Oh, well: The SEC gets favorable treatment at the Pac-12’s expense. One more for the road.
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