The Kansas Jayhawks are in the midst of a legendary season.
You could already make the case that this is possibly the highest the mood has ever been around Hoglund Ballpark, and Kansas’ season is still far from over.
So far, the Jayhawks have clinched their first regular-season conference title in 77 years. To follow it up, Dan Fitzgerald’s side was granted the Big 12’s No. 1 tournament seed which granted KU automatic entry into the competition’s quarterfinal.
While Kansas struggled to get past Baylor in extra innings, a strong outing and the latter innings against both Oklahoma State and West Virginia granted Kansas its second conference tournament title since 2006, in what turned into a 9-0 win over the Mountaineers.
While Kansas was revealed as a No. 1 regional seed Sunday night, the Jayhawks’ opponents were revealed earlier, leaving KU to face Northeastern on Friday, with Arkansas being filed as the region’s No. 2 seed, Missouri State as the region’s No. 3 seed, and Northeastern as the region’s No. 4.
Starting Friday, Kansas will be playing in the typical double-elimination setup with the winner advancing to the Super Regionals against likely the nation’s No. 2 overall seed, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, in what will be a best-of-three matchup. The winner of that advances to the College World Series.
“I don’t think college baseball has ever been better than it is today.”
“…You look at the field and you look at all 16 [No. 1 seeds], it's a really really deep field. You look at the two seeds, I mean there are some monster two seeds. Then you look at the three seeds…I think when you look at the entire field, you look at the two seeds, the three seeds and make a case that a lot of those should be bumped up, which again points to the level of competitiveness and the level of talent in college baseball right now.”
Those are the words of Fitzgerald, who, like a few others, around the program took to the media following Kansas’ region reveal.
“I don’t think college baseball has ever been better than it is today.”
While speak like that is typical of any coach who has just secured a regional No. 1 seed and the nation’s No. 15 overall seed, Kansas’ opposing RPI from their upcoming possible opponents stresses this narrative.
Northeastern is by far the region’s weakest opponent, with an RBI placing them No. 88; however, following the Coastal Athletic Association side is a Missouri State squad whose RPI is No. 23, before the Razorbacks rake in the nation’s No. 21 RPI. For reference, Kansas currently sits No. 19 as of the end of the 24th.
Numbers like this are typical when you are the second-to-last regional squad selected, yet you would be well within your rights to complain that the Jayhawks could have been a spot or two higher, in turn dimming down opposition strength just a tad.
As of publishing, Kansas is set to take on Northeastern with the first pitch set for 12 p.m. CT, and streaming available on ESPN+. Kansas Athletics recently released ways for live attendance inside Hoglund; that information can be found in the link above.
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