2011 Columbia Regional

1. South Carolina Gamecocks (4)

Columbia, South Carolina

At-large bid from SEC

2011 record: 22-8, 45-14 (tied for first in SEC East)

Head coach: Ray Tanner (North Carolina State, 1980)

Record at school: 679-296, 15 years

Overall record: 1,074-469-3, 24 years

Assistant coaches: Chad Holbrook, Jerry Meyers, Sammy Esposito

Team offense: .295 BA, 363 R, 41 HR, .430 SLG%, .388 OB%, 35-52 SB

Team pitching: 2.66 ERA, 523.2 IP, 442 H, 192 BB, 468 K

Top hitters: Christian Walker (.357/9/57), Scott Wingo (.327/4/25), Brady Thomas (.323/4/36), Evan Marzilli (.307/2/28), Adrian Morales (.286/3/37), Robert Beary (.285/2/28), Jackie Bradley Jr. (.259/6/26)

Top pitchers: John Taylor (4-1, 1.08, 58.1 IP, 35 H, 20 BB, 58 K), Michael Roth (11-3, 1.17, 107.2 IP, 87 H, 27 BB, 89 K), Jose Mata (3-0, 1.86, 29 IP, 28 H, 13 BB, 14 K), Steven Neff (3-1, 2.45, 36.2 IP, 29 H, 10 BB, 29 K), Matt Price (5-3, 2.47, 15 SV, 43.2 IP, 32 H, 14 BB, 58 K), Forrest Koumas (6-1, 3.13, 63.1 IP, 53 H, 26BB, 56 K), Colby Holmes (6-3, 3.60, 70 IP, 60 H, 19 BB, 65 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2010 (3-0 at Columbia Regional, 2-0 at Myrtle Beach Super Regional, 6-1 at College World Series)

Notes: The defending national champion, South Carolina will host a Regional and is the No. 4 National Seed. The Gamecocks, under veteran skipper Ray Tanner, have looked every bit as dominant as the team that won last year's College World Series, not necessarily the team that began last year's tourney. Michael Roth turned his CWS heroics (he was a situational reliever before lifting the Gamecocks past Clemson with a complete game in an elimination game in Omaha) into a downright filthy season - opponents hit .220 off the lefty. The rest of the staff has been splendid under Jerry Meyers, the former Old Dominion head coach who returned to Columbia as pitching coach to replace Mark Calvi. John Taylor, who was expected to close last season, made 40 appearances and held hitters to a .173 average. Scott Wingo has 51 BB/HBP and only 28 strikeouts. Sophomore Christian Walker leads the team in runs, hits, homers, RBI, total bases and slugging. Jackie Bradley Jr. has missed much of the season with an injured hand. Assistant coach Chad Holbrook expects to be a hot commodity for a head coaching job. The Gamecocks' CWS experience was detailed in Gamecock Glory by Travis Haney.
 

2. Stetson Hatters

DeLand, Florida

At-large bid from Atlantic Sun

2011 record: 23-7, 43-18 (first in A-Sun)

Head coach: Pete Dunn (Stetson, 1972)

Record at school: 1,167-737-3, 32 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Mark Leavitt, Chris Roberts, Matt Untiet

Team offense: .297 BA, 375 R, 29 HR, .407 SLG%, .375 OB%, 84/103 SB

Team pitching: 3.77 ERA, 532 IP, 565 H, 205 BB, 447 K

Top hitters: Nick Rickles (.353/12/60/20 2B), Mark Jones (.339/4/33/17-18 SB), Robert Crews (.336/4/38), Ben Carhart (.328/7/62), Spencer Theisen (.281/0/29), Jeff Simpson (.272/0/21/28-32 SB)

Top pitchers: Kurt Schluter (8-0, 1.40, 57.2 IP, 48 H, 18 BB, 55 K), Jake Boyd (8-1, 2.98, 5 SV, 54.1 IP, 42 H, 15 BB, 53 K), Robbie Powell (5-3, 3.40, 8 SV, 50.1 IP, 43 H, 13 BB, 45 K), Tucker Donahue (2-3, 3.84, 72.2 IP, 69 H, 39 BB, 59 K), Will Dorsey (7-5, 4.02, 80.2 IP, 101 H, 21 BB, 62 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (1-2 at Tallahassee Regional)

Notes: The Hatters are back in the field after winning the regular-season title in the A-Sun. Stetson is making its eighth tourney appearance since 2000 and first since 2007. It has gone 1-6 in its past three trips, winning in 2007 against Bethune-Cookman. In 2003, the Hatters went 2-2 in Atlanta, including an opening-day win over No. 3 national seed Georgia Tech. Pete Dunn ranks ninth among active coaches in wins and guided the Hatters to a 16-win improvement in 2011. After two years of ball in the Royals organization, Dunn started his coaching career as an assistant at Georgia Southern, which went to the College World Series in his second season. This is the Hatters’ first 40-win season since 2007 (they won 54 games the previous two years). Big bat Nick Rickles slugs .621 but also is a three-year starter behind the plate and one of the A-Sun’s best catchers. Jeff Simpson is off from his .398 hitting clip a year ago but is still a spark plug with 28 stolen bases. Kurt Schluter was a two-way player last year with an ERA over 8; this season, he was the A-Sun pitcher of the year with a 5-0 record and an ERA of 0.97 in conference games. The Hatters are deep in pitching, with nine arms tallying more than 25 innings. With an enrollment of 2,390, Stetson is one of the smallest schools in the Field of 64.

3. North Carolina State Wolfpack

Raleigh, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC

2011 record: 15-15, 34-25 (tied for third in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Elliott Avent (VCU, 1984)

Record at school: 555-360, 15 years

Overall record: 780-569, 23 years

Assistant coaches: Tom Holliday, Chris Hart, Brian Ward

Team offense: .280 BA, 354 R, 33 HR, .403 SLG%, .375 OB%, 29-43 SB

Team pitching: 4.14 ERA, 526.1 IP, 508 H, 199 BB, 460 K

Top hitters: Pratt Maynard (.331/5/40/21 2B), Chris Diaz (.319/2/32), Harold Riggins (.304/3/33), Matt Bergquist (.289/4/45/15 2B), John Gianis (.286/1 24), Brett Williams (.280/5/32/16 HBP)

Top pitchers: Chris Overman (6-2, 6 SV, 2.54, 46 IP, 33 H, 7 BB, 40 K), Cory Mazzoni (5-6, 3.38, 106.2 IP, 87 H, 28 BB, 125 K), Vance Williams (2-0, 3.61, 42.1 IP, 34 H, 20 BB, 33 K), Ethan Ogburn (6-4, 4.06, 57.2 IP, 59 H, 21 BB, 46 K), Rob Chamra (8-2, 4.13, 65.1 IP, 63 H, 27 BB, 38 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (0-2 at Myrtle Beach Regional)

Notes: coming soon

4. Georgia Southern Eagles

Statesboro, Georgia

Automatic bid – won Southern Conference tournament

2011 record: 18-12, 36-24 (tied for third in SoCon)

Head coach: Rodney Hennon (Western Carolina, 1993)

Record at school: 440-281, 12 years

Overall record: 521-319-1, 14 years

Assistant coaches: Mike Tidick, B.J. Green, Matt Rademacher

Team offense: .294 BA, 422 R, 54 HR, .443 SLG%, .385 OBP, 92-115 SB

Team pitching: 4.52 ERA, 529.2 IP, 540 H, 235 BB, 412 K

Top hitters: Eric Phillips (.398/4/39/25-30 SB), Steve Cochrane (.332/6/56/19 2B), Victor Roache (.327/30/83), Shawn Payne (.319/6/39/32-35 SB), Michael Burruss (.308/3/46), Tom Richardson (.260/0/24/16 2B)

Top pitchers: Matt Murray (4-3, 9 SV, 2.37, 64.2 IP, 47 H, 21 BB, 69 K), Andy Moye (7-1, 2.54, 71 IP, 60 H, 38 BB, 59 K), Chris Beck (9-4, 3.21, 98 IP, 77 H, 39 BB, 106 K), Josh Adams (9-6, 4.79, 71.1 IP, 76 H, 35 BB, 39 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2009 (0-2 at Fullerton Regional)

Notes: coming soon