Weather continues to wreak havoc on much of the nation, forcing many teams to change their schedules on the fly in an effort to find a dry field, giving states like South Carolina and Georgia an unexpected boost in their February tourism numbers.
But this weekend also provides an early barometer of just where teams are. Here are five teams you should watch.
UCF
UCF (8-0) is off to one of its best starts in school history and was named the CollegeBaseballInsider.com National Team of the week after taking three games in Alabama, beating Arkansas, Maryland and South Alabama. The Knights welcome SEC power Ole Miss, an Omaha team from 2014, in a three-game set this weekend. Following that, they’ll play a home-and-home with No. 3 Florida. Five straight games against the SEC (and a pair against Florida State March 10-11) will give UCF ample opportunity to flex its muscle.
Clemson
In its last weekend series before ACC play begins, Clemson (5-2) will play three games against rival and 10th-ranked South Carolina (the first game is at Clemson, the second in Greenville, S.C., and the third at South Carolina). Over the past five years, the Gamecocks have won 14 of 19 in the series, including twice in Omaha in 2010. The Tigers, who clawed their way into the NCAA Tourney only to go 0-2 and finish 36-25 last year, could use a good showing to make a statement to the rest of the country.
Cal Poly
Cal Poly (2-6) stormed to a 47-12 record last year, and hopes were high for another stellar year. The Mustangs, however, went 0 for 6 at Baylor and at home to Grand Canyon (the Antelopes are led by former big leaguer Andy Stankiewicz). A trip to fourth-ranked TCU this weekend looms large, especially considering weekend series against resurgent Southern California and always-tough Oregon State are coming in March.
UC Santa Barbara
Sticking in the Big West, UC Santa Barbara (7-1) is in a similar situation as UCF. The Gauchos are ranked as high as No. 16 and have a golden opportunity to turn more heads when they host No. 17 Oregon for three games this weekend (and Southern California early next week). UCSB has allowed four or fewer runs in each of its wins (it allowed 12 runs in its one loss to Kentucky), and the team’s cumulative 1.38 ERA will be tested.
Tennessee
Tennessee (3-2) was a trendy pick as a sleeper for 2015, and there is a lot to like about the Volunteers. Four games at UC Irvine, where Vols coach Dave Serrano used to be the head man, will challenge any team, even though the Eaters are off to a sluggish start. A good showing here is important before the Vols get into the dog-eat-dog SEC on March 13 – especially considering two of their first three conference foes are No. 3 Florida and No. 2 Vanderbilt.
SN contributor Sean Ryan is the co-founder and editor of CollegeBaseballInsider.com, which has covered Division I college baseball since 2002. A former college baseball player, sportswriter and business journalist, he works for public relations firm The Hodges Partnership (named after Gil Hodges, who should be in the Hall of Fame) and has been a high school head baseball coach for 14 years. Follow him on Twitter at @collbaseball.
