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2014 Louisville Regional

(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton, Colin Graves, John Whittle, Matt Mullen)

1. Louisville Cardinals

Louisville, Kentucky

At-large bid from American Athletic Conference

2014 record: 19-5, 45-15 (first)

Head coach: Dan McDonnell (The Citadel, 1999, 1995)

Record at school: 309-143, 7 years

Overall record: 985-534-2, 25 years

Assistant coaches: Roger Williams, Chris Lemonis, Kyle Cheesebrough

Team offense: .286 BA, 386 R, 31 HR, .402 SLG%, .381 OBP, 121-153 SB

Team pitching: 2.85 ERA, 540 IP, 450 H, 220 BB, 505 K

Top hitters: Jeff Gardner (.340/9/66/19 2B), Cole Sturgeon (.324/2/30/18-23 SB), Alex Chittenden (.302/1/28/10 2B), Grant Kay (.286/5/35/21-24 SB), Zach Lucas (.256/5/42), Sutton Whiting (.210/2/15/33-39 SB)

Top pitchers: Kyle Funkhouser (12-2, 1.81 ERA, 99.1 IP, 72 H, 53 BB, 100 K), Jared Ruxer (7-1, 2.27 ERA, 75.1 IP, 62 H, 19 BB, 68 K), Nick Burdi (3-1, 14 SV, 0.56 ERA, 32 IP, 15 H, 8 BB, 57 K), Kyle McGrath (1-1, 1.54 ERA, 35 IP, 22 H, 9 BB, 38 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2013 (3-0 Louisville Regional, 2-0 at Nashville Super Regional, College World Series 0-2)

Notes: Since Dan McDonnell took over the baseball program in 2007, he has had 15 All-Americans, 54 all-conference selections, five conference pitcher-of-the-year winners and 33 players go to the MLB. Last year the Cardinals made it to the College World Series and won 51 games. Nick Burdi and Jeff Thompson both earned All-American honors in 2013, while Kyle Funkhouser and Anthony Kidston were named Freshmen All-Americans.

2. Kentucky Wildcats

Lexington, Kentucky

At-large bid from SEC

2014 record: 14-16, 35-23

Head coach: Gary Henderson (San Diego State, 1984)

Record at school: 194-147 (seven years)

Overall record: 194-147 (seven years)

Assistant coaches: Brad Bohannon, Brian Green

Team offense: .302 BA, 453 R, 59 HR, .453 SLG%, .401 OBP%

Team pitching: 3.98 ERA, 520.2 IP, 551 H, 180 BB, 353 K

Top hitters: A.J. Reed (.351/23/70), Ka’ai Tom (.333/2/37), Max Kuhn (.322/8/55), Austin Cousino (.298/4/38)

Top pitchers: A.J. Reed (11-2, 2.10 ERA, 103.0 IP, 89 H, 29 BB, 68 K), Chandler Shepherd (5-4, 3.36 ERA, 72.1 IP, 79 H, 24 BB, 53 K), Andrew Nelson (2-5, 3.80 ERA, 71.1 IP, 76 H, 17 BB, 34 K), Kyle Cody (4-0, 2.65 ERA, 5 SV, 37.1 IP, 34 H, 12 BB, 19 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2012 (2-2 at Gary Regional)

Notes: Postseason success is minimal for Kentucky, which has never made it to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. This is only the eighth Regional appearance in program history with the last coming in 2012. The Wildcats are the only team in the SEC that has never played in the College World Series, and the program is 12-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. This year, Kentucky finished with the No. 4 strength of schedule in the country and No. 19 RPI. Kentucky does, however, have perhaps the best player in the country. Left-handed pitcher and designated hitter A.J. Reed led the SEC in home runs (23), RBI (70) and wins on the mound (11). He is joined by fellow Collegiate Team USA participant Austin Cousino, who played in every game but one this season. The Wildcats are second in the SEC with a .302 batting average and have seven everyday players hitting .298 or higher.

3. Kansas Jayhawks

Lawrence, Kansas

At-large Bid from Big 12

2014 record: 15-9, 34-24

Head Coach: Ritch Price (Willamette, 1979)

Record at school: 391-333-2, 12 years

Overall record: 1,008-639-3, 29 years

Assistant coaches: Ryan Graves, Ritchie Price, Scott Hood

Team offense: .284 BA, 326 R, 22 HR, .382 SLG%, .371 OBP

Team pitching: 3.51 ERA, 513 IP, 511 H, 147 BB, 326 K

Top hitters: Michael Tinsley (.357/0/13), Dakota Smith (.333/2/32), Michael Suiter (.327/3/45), Colby Wright (.320/1/33), Tucker Tharp (.305/6/31), Ka’iana Eldredge (.285/0/20)

Top pitchers: Stephen Villines (2-2, 1.64 ERA, 44 IP, 32 H, 7 BB, 22 K), Frank Duncan (6-3, 2.46 ERA, 109.2 IP, 99 H, 13 BB, 80 K), Robert Kahana (4-5, 3.05 ERA, 82.2 IP, 87 H, 24 BB, 32 K), Jon Hander (2-1, 3.23 ERA, 39 IP, 29 H, 17 BB, 16 SO)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2009 (2-2 Chapel Hill Regional)

Notes: Kansas won its last nine conference games and finished 11-2 overall in claiming an at-large bid and entry into the tournament for the first time since 2009. The Jayhawks finished third in the league, their highest in the 18-year history of the Big 12. This is the third Regional for Kansas in Ritch Price’s 12 years – the program had been to the tournament only two other times prior to Price’s arrival. He previously coached at Cal Poly for eight seasons. Senior Frank Duncan has been an innings-eater, tossing 111.1 as a sophomore and totaling 204.2 over the past three years. He struck out 100 batters as a sophomore to become the fifth Jayhawks pitcher to reach the milestone. Junior Dakota Smith, whose father played lacrosse at Army, has gotten better each year at the plate going from .248 to .267 to .333 this year. Opponents hit .209 off closer Stephen Villines.

4. Kent State Golden Flashes

Kent, Ohio

Automatic bid – won Mid-American Conference tournament

2014 record: 16-11, 36-21 (second in Eastern Division)

Head coach: Jeff Duncan (Arizona State, 2000)

Record at school: 36-21, 1 year

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Mike Birkbeck, Alex Marconi, Brandon Larson

Team offense: .287 BA, 373 R, 25 HR, .408 SLG%, .373 OBP, 74-94 SB

Team pitching: 3.74 ERA, 498 IP, 441 H, 188 BB, 408 K

Top hitters: Alex Miklos (.362/3/36/18 2B/17-21 SB), Zarley Zalewski (.355/2/40/16 2B), Jon Wilson (.333/0/32), Cody Koch (.330/7/56/12 2B), T.J. Sutton (.307/2/35/14 2B)

Top pitchers: Michael Clark (3-1, 2 SV, 1.07 ERA, 50.1 IP, 27 H, 23 BB, 44 K), Andy Ravel (3-1, 2.94 ERA, 33.2 IP, 24 H, 14 BB, 31 K), Eric Lauer (8-4, 3.26 ERA, 80 IP, 58 H, 36 BB, 64 K), Eric Dorsch (2-4, 10 SV, 3.60 ERA, 30 IP, 24 H, 10 BB, 27 K), Brian Clark (6-6, 3.78 ERA, 83.1 IP, 71 H, 32 BB, 65 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (3-0 at Gary Regional, 2-1 at Eugene Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Kent State blanked Akron 3-0 in the MAC title game. Cody Koch batted .500 in four games and was named tourney MVP. The Golden Flashes have won either the regular season or tournament titles in 14 of the past 15 seasons. KSU has earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the past 14 years. KSU hitters were plunked 94 times this season. Junior right-hander John Birkbeck is the son of associate head coach Mike Birkbeck, in his 18th season as pitching coach for the Golden Flashes. Head coach Jeff Duncan was associate head coach at Purdue prior to his arrival at Kent State. KSU is making its first NCAA tourney appearance since its historic run to the College World Series in 2012.