2015 Fort Worth Regional

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

1. TCU Horned Frogs (7)

Fort Worth, Texas

At-large bid from Big 12

2014 record: 18-5, 43-11

Head coach: Jim Schlossnagle (Elon, 1992)

Record at school: 508-232, 12 years

Overall record: 585-279, 14 years

Assistant coaches: Bill Mosiello, Kirk Saarloos, Zach Etheredge

Team offense: .287 BA, 311 R, 22 HR, .372 SLG%, .366 OBP, 100-133 SB

Team pitching: 2.33 ERA, 487.1 IP, 401 H, 114 BB, 455 K

Top hitters: Cody Jones (.376/4/30/25-30 SB), Connor Wanhanen (.339/0/31), Nolan Brown (.315/1/26/17-20), Dane Steinhagen (.295/0/20/10-16 SB), Derek Odell (.280/3/29), Evan Skoug (.274/6/38/11 2B)

Top pitchers: Riley Ferrell (1-2, 0.67 ERA, 14 SV, 27.0 IP, 7 H, 17 BB, 42 K), Mitchell Traver (7-2, 1.89 ERA, 62.0 IP, 41 H, 19 BB, 60 K), Alex Young (9-2, 2.05 ERA, 79.0 IP, 61 H, 19 BB, 77 K), Preston Morrison (11-2, 2.63 ERA, 95.2 IP, 82 H, 17 BB, 71 K), Tyler Alexander (5-2, 2.87 ERA, 78.1 IP, 73 H, 9 BB, 62 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2014 (3-0 in Fort Worth Regional, 2-1 in Fort Worth Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: TCU is a national seed for the second consecutive season and has been to the tourney in 11 of the past 12 years. The Horned Frogs are looking for their second trip to Omaha (2010). TCU had won nine straight and 17 of 18 before losing its first two games in the Big 12 Tournament. TCU has averaged more than 42 wins a year in 12 years under Jim Schlossnagle, who guided UNLV for two years before coming to Fort Worth. He also had stops as a pitching coach at Clemson, New Orleans and Elon, his alma mater. Riley Ferrell, Preston Morrison and Alex Young were named Second Team All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.

2. North Carolina State Wolfpack

Raleigh, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC

2015 record: 15-14, 34-21 (fifth in Atlantic Division)

Head coach: Elliot Avent (VCU, 1984)

Record at school: 715-442, 19 years

Overall record: 906-634, 26 years

Assistant coaches: Chris Hart, Scott Foxhall, and Taylor Black

Team offense: .275 BA, 326 R, 49 HR, .418 SLG%, .360 OBP%, 32-49 SB

Team pitching: 2.91 ERA, 498 IP, 379 H, 257 BB, 519 K

Top hitters: Logan Ratledge (.330/8/37/11-14 SB), Andrew Knizner (.322/5/41), Preston Palmeiro (.316/7/48), Jake Fincher (.301/3/20), Brock Deatherage (.295/1/11/7-10 SB)

Top pitchers: Brian Brown (7-3, 1.72 ERA, 73.1 IP, 54 H, 26 BB, 70 K), Joe O’Donnell (7-3, 2.08 ERA, 52 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 54 K), Curt Britt (2-0, 2.34 ERA, 50 IP, 40 H, 18 BB, 50 K), Tommy DeJuneas (3-3, 6 SV, 1.82 ERA, 39.2 IP, 20 H, 24 BB, 57 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (3-0 Raleigh Regional, 2-0 Raleigh Super Regional, 1-2 College World Series)

Notes: The Wolfpack will be making its 27th postseason appearance in the Fort Worth Regional. NC State has reached the NCAA Tournament in 11 of 13 seasons. NC State is one of seven ACC teams in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack received an at-large bid after reaching the ACC Championship game against Florida State. NC State finished the regular season winning 10 of its final 12 games. The Wolfpack had five All-ACC players including Brian Brown receiving All-Freshman team honors. Brown has not allowed more than one earned run in a game since March 21st. Going into the ACC Tournament, NC State was 21-0 when leading after the third or fourth inning, and 18-10 when hitting at least one homer. The Wolfpack walked off twice against No. 19 Virginia for the first time since 2005. NC State ranks at the top of the ACC in strength of schedule with their opponents winning 52.7% of their games.

3. Stony Brook Seawolves

Stony Brook, New York

Automatic bid – won America East Tournament

2015 record: 18-4-1, 34-14-1 (first in AEC)

Head coach: Matt Senk (Courtland State, 1980)

Record at school: 717-457-4, 25 years

Overall record: 717-457-4, 25 years

Assistant coaches: Joe Pennucci, Mike Marron, Dan Luisi

Team offense: .295 BA, 310 R, 7 HR, .388 SLG%, .391 OBP, 47-64 SB

Team pitching: 4.09 ERA, 416 IP, 390 H, 188 BB, 336 K, .251 BAA

Top hitters: Jack Parenty (.359/2/46/17-20 SB), Toby Handley (.324/0/33), Casey Baker (.322/3/31), Andruw Gazzola (.318/0/27), Rob Chavarria (.311/0/28), Cole Peragine (.302/0/26)

Top pitchers: Cameron Stone (2-0, 6 SV, 0.72 ERA, 25 IP, 7 H, 8 BB, 32 K), Kevin Kernan (2-0, 0.98 ERA, 18.1 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 11 K), Teddy Rodliff (1-1, 4 SV, 1.99 ERA, 22.2 IP, 21 H, 10 BB, 12 K), Daniel Zamora (7-2, 3.03, 74.1 IP, 68 H, 35 BB, 76 K), Chad Lee (5-1, 3.58 ERA, 32.2. IP, 30 H, 5 BB, 18 K), Tyler Honahan (7-3, 3.98 ERA, 72.1 IP, 64 H, 33 BB, 64 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (4-1 at Coral Gables Regional; 2-1 at Baton Rouge Super Regional; 0-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Stony Brook, one of the biggest Cinderellas in recent memory, is back in the field for the first time since reaching the 2012 College World Series. The Seawolves shocked LSU in the Super Regional round in joining Kent State in an improbable Omaha field. Stony Brook was a D-III program that transitioned to D-I in 2000. CollegeBaseballInsider.com named coach Matt Senk was the 2012 National Co-Coach of the Year. After a 7-10 start this year, Stony Brook went 27-4-1. Cole Peragine has started all 222 games in his career and is four short of the school record – he is the lone returner from that 2012 College World Series team. Junior Jack Parenty is the America East Player of the Year, leading the league in average, slugging, hits, RBI, triples and total bases. Reliever Cameron Stone has given up seven hits in 25 innings and has six saves – opponents hit .088 off him, and he’s struck out 32 and walked eight. The Seawolves were 21-8-1 on the road or at neutral sites. 

4. Sacred Heart Pioneers

Fairfield, Connecticut

Automatic bid – won NEC Tournament

2015 record: 13-11, 23-30-1

Head coach: Nick Giaquinto (Connecticut, 1979)

Record at school: 578-686-3, 27 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Wayne Mazzoni, Nick Restaino

Team offense: .246 BA, 234 R, 20 HR, .329 SLG%, .324 OBP, 59-86 SB

Team pitching: 5.10 ERA, 457.1 IP, 474 H, 228 BB, 281 K, .274 oba

Top hitters: Jesus Medina (.327/0/18), Zack Short (.302/9/38/14 2B/12-16 SB), Jayson Sullivan (.296/1/23/13-16 SB), PJ DeFilippo (.278/1/14), Victor Sorrento (.273/3/30/11 2B)  

Top pitchers: Dan Wertz (4-1, 2.31 ERA, 2 SV, 50.2 IP, 48 H, 9 BB, 31 K), Jesus Medina (3-4, 3.29 ERA 52.0 IP, 51 H, 26 BB, 25 K), James Cooksey (7-2, 3.50 ERA, 2 SV, 72.0 IP, 68 H, 15 BB, 45 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (0-2 at Raleigh Regional)

Notes: Sacred Heart is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, all since 2006, and third in the past five years. The Pioneers lost their first 10 games of the season before posting a win at Fordham on March 14. Sacred Heart won seven of its final nine contests, including winning three of four at the NEC Tournament. The Pioneers are 17-1-1 when leading after six innings, 14-1-1 when leading after seven and 13-0 when leading after eight. SHU is 17-1 when scoring six or more runs. Head coach Nick Giaquinto still owns the UConn single-game rushing record with 277 yards against Holy Cross in 1976. He played four years in the NFL and was a member of the Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins.