by Matt Plante
Vice President

NCAA Division I Tournament Preview:

For the 2019 NCAA Division I Tournament, Top Tier has 20 former players represented throughout the Tournament in different Regionals. Here are some of the names represented and the Regionals they are in that have played in the Top Tier Program.

Lubbock Regional:

Army won the Patriot League with a a 35-24 overall record and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They will open up against Texas Tech, with Dallas Baptist and Florida also represented in their Regional. Joe Santoro a RHP and Anfernee Crompton a utility player are on the Army roster both in their junior seasons. Santoro has a career ERA of 7.06 in 43.1 innings of work. This year has been Santoro's best out of the bullpen as he owns a 2.08 ERA. Crompton is hitting .173 for his career at Army with his best year coming last year.

Corvallis Regional:

Creighton won the Big East Tournament with a 36-19 overall record and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They will open up the tournament against Michigan, with Oregon State and Cincinnati are also represented in their Regional. Bobby Kametas, a senior RHP will look to do damage in the bullpen if the Blue Jays take a lead. Kametas is 2-0 with 9 saves on the year and owns a team best 1.52 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of work.

Oxford Regional:

Ole Miss was selected as an at large bid for the NCAA Tournament and will host this Regional after losing in the SEC Championship game and finishing the year with a 37-25 overall record. The Oxford Regional will consist of Ole Miss, Clemson, Illinois and Jacksonville State. Ole Miss will play Jacksonville State in the opener. Cooper Johnson, a junior catcher for the Rebels, who was selected All-SEC 2nd Team will look to help the Rebels make a deep run in the Tournament. Johnson hit .264 this year with 12 doubles, 6 homers and 25 RBI's.

Illinois was selected as an at large bid for the NCAA Tournament and is in the Oxford Regional after going 36-19 overall. Illinois will square off against Clemson to open the tournament. David Craan, a senior catcher is having a solid season as the backup catcher and late replacement hitting .250 with a double, a homer and 4 RBI's. Quinn Snarskis, a senior RHP will look to come out of the bullpen for the Illinois after setbacks from injuries have pushed him out of the starting rotation. Snarskis has a career ERA of 3.50. Kellen Sarver, red-shirt freshman is filling in well at first base for Player of the Year Ben Spillane who went into the MLB Draft last year. Sarver is hitting .270 with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers and 28 RBI's. Zak Devermann, a senior LHP and Jimmy Burnette, a sophomore LHP have both seen limited time this year on the mound with all the depth the Fighting Illini has. Deverman has a 7.71 ERA in only 2 appearances this year. Burnette has only made 4 appearances on the mound this year.

Louisville Regional:

Louisville was selected as an at large bid into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 43-15 overall. Louisville will also host their own Regional facing off against UIC in their opener. Also in their Regional will be Illinois State and Indiana. Pat Rumoro, a senior catcher is hitting .151 this year in only 20 at bats as a back up catcher. Rumoro has already been to a World Series and will hope to get back there with this being his final year as a Cardinal.

Illinois State was selected as an at large bid into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 34-24 overall and winning the regular season Missouri Valley League Title. ISU in in the Louisville Regional as well and will open play against Indiana. Mitch Vogrin, a senior RHP owns a 5.02 ERA this year out of the bullpen in 28.2 innings. Jordan Libman, a junior outfielder hit .309 this year 12 doubles, 2 homers and 48 RBI's. Jeremy Gaines, a redshirt sophomore infielder hit .316 this year in 57 at bats. Mike Sebby, a junior LHP has a 3.55 ERA in 12.2 innings of work. Brady Huffman, a junior RHP and Sean Sinisko, a freshman LHP both had injuries that kept them out from this season.

UIC after winning the Horizon League Championships were an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 29-21. UIC will open up against Louisville in the opening round. Patrick Martin, a senior LHP will look to make an impact in this Regional as he has been a starter and reliever this year going 3-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 44 innings of work. Ryan Hampe, a freshman DH will look to stay hot as he was All-Horizon 1st team hitting .369 with 14 doubles, 5 homers, and 47 RBI's.

Fayetteville Regional:

TCU was selected as an at large bid into the NCAA Tournament after losing in the Big XII Championship and going 32-26 overall. TCU will face California in the opening round of the Fayetteville Regional. Also in their Regional will be Arkansas and Central Connecticut State. Cal Coughlin, a junior RHP will look to be a huge impact out of the bullpen for the horned frogs as he has a 6.00 ERA in 21 innings this year. In Coughlin's career at TCU he has a 2.76 ERA.

Los Angeles Regional:

Nebraska-Omaha won the Summit League Championships and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska-Omaha will go the Los Angeles Regional where they will open up the top-seed, UCLA. Also in this Regional will be Baylor and Loyola Marymount. Cam Fowler, a senior LHP has a 3.50 ERA in 4 appearances this year.