OMAHA, Neb. — College of Charleston head coach Chad Holbrook was floored, his disappointment apparent and unrestricted, his eyes welling with tears born from an understandable sadness and clearly articulated anger.
For the second time in three years, Holbrook’s Cougars made quick work of their Colonial Athletic Association schedule, winning 28 of their last 33 games, including a pair of victories against UNC-Wilmington, which went on to win the CAA Tournament and earn the No. 2-seed in the Athens Regional.
But when the NCAA Tournament’s field of 64 was announced on May 27, College of Charleston was notably absent.
Holbrook emphatically refused to accept that reality.
“I’m completely bewildered, disappointed, dejected for our kids,” the seventh-year Charleston head coach said on May 28. “I almost feel like I’m being punked in a weird joke. I just can’t wrap my brain around the fact that we didn’t do enough to be in the NCAA Tournament. I’m not going to sit up here and say, ‘We just fell a little bit short.’ Because our kids did not fall short.”
It’s true. Charleston was the only team in the nation with 40 or more total wins (41) and a top-50 RPI that was denied access to the tournament, a decision Holbrook said warranted “an apology to our program and our school” from the NCAA’s selection committee.
Whether or not they’ve received that apology is unknown. It’s unlikely. But Holbrook and coaches who have been put in similar positions over the last several years could receive the next best thing: An expanded tournament field.
While a timeline for such a change remains unclear, it will be among the items discussed by the NCAA this offseason as it works to adapt to sweeping changes across the college sports landscape.
“That’s a topic that’s right up there at the top of the list,” NCAA Selection Committee chair Matt Hogue said during the State of Baseball press conference in Omaha on Thursday afternoon. “I think we realize with the depth of teams now, the parity, the intersectional play that continues to increase each year… We are going to look at that further as a committee.”
It’s too soon to say what exactly an expanded field might look like, according to Hogue, who shared only that he and his committee would prioritize maintaining the tournament’s double elimination format, which he views as “the essence of how this sport has worked for many years.”
But calculating a way for that to continue while also accommodating more teams that find themselves on the fringes is becoming a more pressing issue, especially given the increasing competitiveness and talent across the sport.
The considerations mirror those in college basketball, which has been rumored to be looking at similar adjustments.
Hogue said the matter is one of the most often discussed as the NCAA charts its path forward.
“That’s something that we hear a lot and is a topic being discussed significantly,” Hogue said. “What that format is, we’ll have to take some time to really look at that. But it is evolving and I think we’re seeing every year there are deserving teams that can definitely make a run through the Regional.”
ALIGNMENT WITH MLB RULES
While changes to the NCAA Tournament format could be afoot in the next several years, it’s unlikely that college baseball will adopt some of the new rules seen at the Major League level, particularly its 2023 ban of the defensive shift.
According to American Baseball Coaches Association (ACBA) executive director Craig Keilitz, who spoke directly with 247Sports on the matter, MLB’s shift ban was geared toward creating more offense, an issue college baseball simply doesn’t have.
“The shift is interesting because Major League Baseball did it to increase run production, ” Keilitz said. “And as much as we’d like to mirror what Major League Baseball is doing, that probably wouldn’t be in our best interest because we don’t have any trouble scoring runs right now. But we’ll look at those things.”
To be sure, the shift will be among the topics discussed at this year’s ACBA rules committee meeting. Prominent coaches such as Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan have outright called for the defensive tactic to be banned but Keilitz said that O’Sullivan’s sentiment sits among the minority.
“We talk about it, but I haven’t heard many coaches say we need that,” Keilitz shared. “In fact, it’s probably been more that they would rather not have it right now but things do change.
“We’ll put all of our (the ACBA’s) stuff together and hand it over to the NCAA rules committee. All of our data is tracked for surveys and when we give it to them, we hope it can be a good resource for them.”
COLLEGE BASEBALL GROWING IN POPULARITY
College baseball is going to change. All of the NCAA’s sports will to some degree over the next several years.
But there was an expressed confidence that, at least on the diamond, things will shift positively.
“College baseball, in my opinion, has never been better with the attendance and certainly the TV viewership,” Keilitz said.
The Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament this year brought a pair of 1.2 million viewer games — Florida versus Clemson and Georgia versus NC State — and, according to the panel of NCAA representatives on Thursday, college baseball viewership has been trending in the right direction in general.
They also said that conversations about potential revenue sharing with athletes is beneficial for their sport.
“Ultimately it’s going to have a positive effect on the game,” Hogue said. “It’s going to increase the amount of financial aid that’s going to be available. That’s more opportunities. College baseball has been plagued by that 11.7 number for years… I think we’ll see a positive outcome from that standpoint.”
Ultimately, they believe it will help to continue to propel baseball in the right direction.
“This sport is right up there at the top of interest and commitment,” Hogue said, “as high as any sport out there.”
