Husker/Big 12 Preview

[huskerswrkhavoc]

This one is a little more optimistic for the Huskers...

 

2009 in a Paragraph:

For the second year in a row only one Big 12 team made it to the round of 16 in the Super Regionals. Tsk, tsk. We’ve come to expect more from this super-conference. The Longhorns made an unforgettable run to the title series in Omaha despite a pretty inexperienced team from a post-season standpoint. And kudos to the Kansas schools who were probably the other big story of the season as both went Big Dancing for the first time in… in… well, memory. Oklahoma could’ve quietly been the bigger story though, as they were just one rain-out away from the Big 12 regular season title. Yep, coach Sunny Golloway keeps working his magic. On the down side, Texas A&M woefully underachieved after getting some No. 1 mention in the pre-season polls and Nebraska found itself with a losing record and last place finish. Okie State and Baylor got controversial NCAA at-large bids, benefitting from some curious decisions despite terrible conference marks. Oh, and I was the rotating national writer that got to take part in the weekly Big 12 Player of the Week voting, which was fun.

 

Conference RPI: 3

 

2009 Results:

1- Texas, 17-9-1

2- Oklahoma, 17-10

3- Missouri, 16-11

4- Kansas State, 14-11

5- Kansas, 15-12

6- Texas A&M, 14-13

7- Texas Tech, 12-15

8- Baylor, 10-16

9- Oklahoma State, 9-16

10- Nebraska, 8-19

 

2010 in a Paragraph:

Look people, Texas can’t be the only ones carrying the flag here. Everyone else must reach down for a little more gusto and make their presence felt on the national stage. Are we really looking at Kansas as being the primary competition for the Big 12 title? Don’t be shocked if the Jayhawks make a run at this thing. Baylor still has enough talent on hand to make things interesting, though they’ll have a lot to overcome as well. Okie State is really looking forward to making amends to last season, after winning just nine Big 12 games. Two things to keep in mind for the Big 12: 1- there were a lot of heavy losses across the board in the pitching department. So I fully expect this to become an offensive explosion type of conference. And 2- Every team seemed to have really solid recruiting seasons, so look for a lot of youth to fill the holes. Sure, that might also mean the overall quality of baseball played may take a hit - well, unless you have the word “Texas” across your jersey.

SS Brandon Loy is there to back up Taylor Jungmann... just in case his pitches actually get hit.

 

SS Brandon Loy is there to back up Taylor Jungmann... just in case his pitches actually get hit.

 

Favorite: Texas

 

Contenders: Texas A&M, Kansas, Baylor

 

Darkhorse: Nebraska

 

Can’t-Miss Series of the Year: Texas A&M at/vs. Texas, April 16-18

Close Second: Kansas at Texas, April 9-11

 

Best Non-Conference Series: Astros College Classic, March 5-7.

Close Second: Baylor’s QTI Apparel Classic, Feb. 19-21. (Duke, Georgia)

 

Hot Coach: Augie Garrido, Texas

 

Hot Seat Coach: Mike Anderson, Nebraska

 

The “You Gotta See” Player: 3B Tony Thompson, Kansas

 

Three Non-Conference Series The Big 12 Better Not Overlook:

1- Oral Roberts at Baylor, March 5-7.

2- Xavier at Missouri, March 12-14.

3- Oklahoma State in the OSU Tournament, March 19-21(Missouri State, Wright State)

 

Three Bold Predictions:

1- Texas will have its struggles, mainly because it’s a long season, we’re still talking about 19-21 year olds here and people forget that this was anything but a dominant team most of last year.

2- Texas A&M and Baylor, playing under less stress and expectations, will play a lot better this season.

3- Nebraska and Kansas State will be ships passing in the night and swap spots in the Big 12 rankings this season.

 

................

 

NEBRASKA (25-28-1, 8-19)

2009 RPI: 106

Starters Returning: 6

Weekend Starters: 2

Mid-Week Starters: 2

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

 

All Conference Candidates:

Tyler Farst (.333)

Adam Bailey (.325-12-50)

RHP Mike Nesseth (5-4, 5.01)

 

The Good News:

Getting off to another 14-6 hot start would help. Having steady hitters like Farst - also a decent glove at 1st - and Bailey back will help improve the offense. And never underestimate the comfort of having a leader like D.J. Belfonte (.256-3-26, 10SBs) back in uniform, since it seems like he’s been a Husker since the ’80s. The pitching staff is potentially exceptional - with heavy emphasis on “potentially”. Nesseth was drafted in the 15th round by the Angels last June but decided to return. He’ll have Sean Yost (2-5, 6.02, .264OBA) and Casey Hauptman (4-6, 5.60), who were all part-time starters and relievers last season. One pitcher to keep an eye on is RHP Matt Freeman, who made 14 appearances last season, holding opponents to a .153 average. NU brings in the No. 13 ranked recruiting class, led by RHP Thomas Lemke (10th round, Texas), who could be the best of the bunch. Fellow righties Kurt Giller (21st round, Toronto) and Ryan Hander (38th round, L.A.) should both be big time and P/OF Bryan Peters was the Colorado player of the year in both baseball AND football - now THAT’S an athlete.

 

The Bad News:

A losing season in Lincoln? Really? That’s sooooo 1990s. The Huskers finished in 9th place in the Big 12 in both hitting (.282) and pitching (6.22). The Big Red had the lowest on-base percentage at .368, garnering just 197 walks. The patience in the batter’s box must get better. The mound staff also threw a conference-low 361 strikeouts last season. Losing mainstays like Jeff Tezak ( a 21st round draftee), Jake Mort and Nick Sullivan won’t be easy to replace, especially in the intangibles department.

 

Schedule Note:

Short end of the stick.

The Huskers weren’t done any favors in the Big 12 schedule department, having to play five series on the road, including grinders at Texas (to open conference play), at Oklahoma State and at Baylor. The non-conference portion is no cake walk either, having to go out west twice this season, at Fresno the opening weekend and then at UCLA a couple weeks later. Things ease up on the back end with 10 of the last 13 coming at or near home (one game vs. Creighton at Rosenblatt) from April 30th onward.

 

 

There is more here on the rest of the big 12... the guy really does a great job going through everything.. If you look through the site he has a preview for every conference and all 303 teams.. Helluva life.

[Chucktown Husker]

I seriously doubt Anderson is on the hot seat. I do agree with being a darkhorse. Yeah, last season was rough, but no one mentions how many players we lost to the draft the year before. Everyone needs to rebuild once and a while. We'll be fine.

[knapplc]

I seriously doubt Anderson is on the hot seat.

 

Probably not with Dr. Tom, but I talked to a LOT of fans last year who wanted Anderson's head. I never agreed with any of that, but people were really ticked that we lost so much last year. Coincidentally these were people who seemed uninterested in a discussion of the guys we lost to the draft, so take that for what you will.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

Actually, Anderson IS on the hot seat.. believe it or not.... If he has another year this year like we did last year (which i HIGHLY doubt will happen) he needs to be out. We return a lot this year, even though it didn't do a lot last year. Losing Tezak is a big hurt, but that is about it.. Some will say Bird is a big loss, but I don't see it. And as knapp said, a TON of people wanted to see Anderson out after last year, and some even before that.. People just don't think he's done anything. They kind of have a point, though. He's won 1 regional, 1 super regional, 1 CWS game. More CWS wins than anyone else had here yes, but they will still use the 1 regional win as a key thing.. Hopefully this year will change that. A lot of people are looking past the big 12, hopefully that'll be a big mistake.

[Chucktown Husker]

I do believe we took a step back after Childress left, but I feel like we've moved forward and should be much improved this season. I suppose we will get a good gauge with the first series next week against fresno state. The big 12 will bounce back this year.