2015 College Station Regional

(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton, Will Merritt, Jackson Proffitt, John Whittle)

1. Texas A&M Aggies

College Station, Texas

At-large bid from Southeastern Conference

2015 record: 44-10, 18-10

Head coach: Rob Childress (Northwood, 1990)

Record at school: 403-218-2

Overall record: 446-228-2

Assistant coaches: Justin Seely, Will Bolt

Team offense: .312 BA, 384 R, 61 HR, .476 SLG%, .403 OBP%, 34-49 SB

Team pitching: 3.07 ERA, 478.1 IP, 466 H, 153 BB, 479 K, BAA .255

Top hitters: Mitchell Nau (.376/4/46), Nick Banks (.370/5/40), Logan Taylor (.358/10/46), Blake Allemand (.356/5/34)

Top pitchers: Grayson Long (9-0, 2.62 ERA, 86.0 IP, 68 H, 37 BB, 100 K), Matt Kent (6-1, 3.74 ERA, 67.1 IP, 81 H, 6 BB, 58 K), Andrew Vinson (4-1, 1.12 ERA, 48.1 IP, 32 H, 9 BB, 48 K), Mark Ecker (1-2, 2.55 ERA, 8 SV, 24.2 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 31 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2014

Notes: Mitchell Nau, who earned first-team All-SEC honors, lost around 20 pounds before the start of the season in order to become a better hitter. He would run three miles or more per day to help with the weight loss. ... Logan Taylor’s father, Kirk, won a JUCO World Series at San Jacinto and played for University of Houston. … Joining Nau on the All-SEC list were a bunch of second-teamers - outfielders Nick Banks and Logan Taylor as well as starting pitcher Grayson Long. … The Aggies were second in the SEC in hitting (.312), third in the league in ERA (3.07) but last in the conference in fielding percentage (.967) committing a whopping 70 errors. … TAMU did not play a non-conference game outside of the state of Texas. Of the 16 games it has played outside of Texas this year, six came at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the home of the SEC Tournament and temporary home of the University of Alabama as its stadium undergoes an overhaul.

2. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Conway, South Carolina

At-large bid from Big South Conference

2015 record: 38-19, 17-7

Head coach: Gary Gilmore (Coastal Carolina, 1980)

Record at school: 791-418

Overall record: 1,044-520-2

Assistant coaches: Drew Thomas, Joe Hastings

Team offense: .278 BA, 397 R, 60 HR, .429 SLG%, .377 OBP%, 76-106 SB

Team pitching: 3.85 ERA, 510.0 IP, 497 H, 194 BB, 441 K, BAA .256

Top hitters: Anthony Marks  (.351/0/24), Michael Paez (.330/7/41), Connor Owings (.286/9/48), Casey Schroder (.230/13/31)

Top pitchers: Alex Cunningham (6-0, 2.56 ERA, 59.2 IP, 46 H, 24 BB, 59 K), Austin Kerr (8-1, 3.36 ERA, 61.2 IP, 164 H, 18 BB, 57 K), Andrew Beckwith (5-4, 3.57 ERA, 58.0 IP, 58 H, 16 BB, 35 K), Mike Morrison (2-3, 3.76 ERA, 3 SV, 52.2 IP, 51 H, 19 BB, 68 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (Lost in the Blacksburg Regional)

Notes: Coastal Carolina had seven player honored by the Big South as all-league performers, including Freshman of the Year Bobby Holmes. Outfielder Anthony Marks, infielder Michael Paez and pitcher Austin Kerr were first-team All-Big South. … Pitcher Alex Cunningham was recruited as a two-way player - shortstop and pitcher - coming out of high school but quickly found his role on the mound. He took a medical redshirt last year because of arm problems but has posted a 6-0 record this year while also earning Dean’s List honors. … Senior Connor Owings, has been able to overcome a kidney disease, is hitting .406 in his last 10 games and has reached base safely in 52 of 57 games played this year. Owings’ brother, Chris, plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks. … Registered wins over college baseball powerhouses South Carolina, Clemson and North Carolina. … The Chanticleers are third nationally in double plays turned with 63.

3. California Golden Bears

Berkeley, California

At-large bid from Pac-12

2015 record: 18-12, 34-19 (tied for third)

Head coach: Dave Esquer (Stanford, 1987)

Record at school: 466-415-2, 16 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Mike Neu, Brad Sanfilippo, Noah Jackson

Team offense: .275 BA, 292 R, 42 HR, .409 SLG%, .347 OBP, 37-62 SB

Team pitching: 3.13 ERA, 468.0 IP, 428 H, 142 BB, 333 K, .247 oba

Top hitters: Devin Pearson (.350/4/21/10 2B), Chris Paul (.326/8/42/11 2B), Lucas Erceg (.316/11/40/10 2B), Aaron Knapp (.315/0/22/11-16 SB), Brian Celsi (.288/3/30)

Top pitchers: Erik Martinez (2-1, 1.71 ERA, 1 SV, 31.2 IP, 20 H, 17 BB, 36 K), Chris Muse-Fisher (3-1, 2.27, 2 SV, 35.2 IP, 22 H, 16 BB, 34 K), Jeff Bain (6-2, 2.54 ERA, 60.1 IP, 44 H, 11 BB, 30 K), Matt Ladrech (7-4, 2.72 ERA, 82.2 IP, 86 H, 20 BB, 27 K), Dylan Nelson (2-1, 3.46 ERA, 8 SV, 26.0 IP, 18 H, 9 BB, 34 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (4-1 at Houston Regional, 2-0 at Santa Clara Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Cal is making its first NCAA appearance since reaching Omaha in 2011. The Golden Bears won home series against Arizona State and USC in May to solidify their chances for an at-large bid. Cal was victorious in 11 of its past 16 games. The Golden Bears tied a program record with 18 conference wins. Cal is 1-0 all-time against its first-round foe, Coastal Carolina. Cal posted a 17-0 win on Feb. 25, 2011. Four players earned All-Pac-12 honors: first baseman Chris Paul, third baseman Lucas Erceg, pitcher Daulton Jefferies and outfielder Devin Pearson.

4. Texas Southern Tigers

Houston, Texas

Automatic bid – won SWAC tournament

2015 record: 16-7, 31-17 (first in Western Division)

Head coach: Michael Robertson (Huston-Tillotson, 1987)

Record at school: seven years

Overall record:

Assistant coaches: Ehren Moreno, Anthony Dilligard

Team offense: .293 BA, 341 R, 27 HR, .415 SLG%, .383 OBP, 136-170 SB

Team pitching: 4.47 ERA, 418.1 IP, 405 H, 198 BB, 327 K, .254 oba

Top hitters: Robert Garza (.348/4/31/11 2B), Christopher Scroggins (.314/1/30), Horace Leblanc (.312/0/26), Jerry Ford (.310/1/33/29-34 SB), Javier Valdez (.306/2/31), Zach Howell (.302/4/30/12 2B), Joel Rosario (.297/4/34), Zach Welz (.285/5/28/22-26 SB), Ryan Lazo (.247/1/29/34-44 SB)

Top pitchers: Ryan Rios (6-1, 2.92 ERA, 49.1 IP, 41 H, 18 BB, 37 K), Devin Konarik (3-4, 3.05 ERA, 7 SV, 41.1 IP, 32 H, 22 BB, 36 K), Larry Romero (6-1, 3.93 ERA, 36.2 IP, 36 H, 19 BB, 23 K), Frank Cruz (6-3, 3.97 ERA, 1 SV, 77.0 IP, 69 H, 26 BB, 62 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2008 (0-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)

Notes: TSU is making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will face Texas A&M for the second time in the postseason. The Aggies defeated TSU 12-1 in the second round of the 2004 Houston Regional. The Tigers shocked the baseball world in their first NCAA contest, defeating host and No. 6 national seed Rice 4-3 in that 2004 Houston Regional. The Tigers lead the country in steals per game, averaging 2.83 thefts per contest. Zach Welz was SWAC tourney MVP, hitting .429 with nine hits and 14 total bases. Pitchers Ryan Rios, Frank Cruz IV and Felix Gomez were named to the All-Tournament Team.