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College World Series 2017: Power ranking the field

By Carly Regehr

Jun 13, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of logo before the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 13, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of logo before the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 10, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; The TCU logo on the ceiling of Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena prior to a game between the Baylor Bears and the TCU Horned Frogs. Baylor won 81-75. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; The TCU logo on the ceiling of Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena prior to a game between the Baylor Bears and the TCU Horned Frogs. Baylor won 81-75. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /

7. TCU Horned Frogs

It’s hard to not support a team that’s taken care of business for a majority of the season.

TCU has one of the best pitching staffs in all of Division I. In fact, their pitchers have no problem restricting opposing offenses to just a few runs per game. But the pool of teams in the 2017 College World Series is, literally, a different ball game. And the fact that TCU has managed to escape some losses by only a margin of a few runs over the course of 50-odd games, it certainly raises a red flag in terms of their legitimacy.

Pitchers Sean Wymer and Brian Howard have helped out TCU tremendously. They struck out a combined 15 batters in Game 2 of their Super Regional against Missouri State. Though Missouri State isn’t the first name to come to mind when discussing a postseason of any kind, it was a big confidence booster for TCU. In addition to Wymer and Howard, C Evan Skoug and 1B/P Luken Baker are two others to watch during Game 4 against Florida.

During last year’s tournament, TCU had to swallow its pride, of which Coastal Carolina killed. Like Texas A&M, TCU has yet to win a baseball title, so they, too, think it’s time for that to change. But that’s unlikely to happen, because some super-skilled teams are standing in TCU’s way. As Game 4 (June 18) against Florida approaches, TCU needs to take its biggest asset — pitching — and use it to shut down the top of Florida’s batting order. If they do, in fact, evade Florida’s offense, then TCU will likely play Louisville in Game 6.