For the first time in years, CUSA didn’t have a team in Omaha last year. Blasphemy. This time around, the bottom of the conference will rise up and make it a deeper group, but Rice still runs the controls here as that 2009 aberration gets fuzzier and fuzzier in our collective memories.

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2010 in a Paragraph:

It was an odd year in the CUSA play last season. Consider that two of the top four teams in the standings above had losing overall records and the bottom two teams both got over 30 wins overall. Oh, and you think YOU have a tough conference? How about this… last place Central Florida still finished with an RPI of No. 78. ECU splashed its name all over the headlines in the first two weeks by getting Ws over Virginia and South Carolina, but then mysteriously played some pedestrian baseball the rest of the season, somehow missing out on the Big Dance altogether. Along the same lines, Housotn roared by winning the Houston College Classic, sweeping Cal Poly and beating Cal. Then, a bad sweep at Arizona State shut down their confidence, sending the Coogs to a losing record. Even Rice wasn’t immune to the rollercoaster effect, crumbling to a 12-12 start last year before remembering who they are and blitzing to another CUSA title.

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Conference RPI: 5

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HOW THEY’LL FINISH IN 2011:

- Conference USA.

1- Rice

2- East Carolina

3- Southern Miss

4- Central Florida

5- Tulane

6- Memphis

7- Houston

8- Marshall

9- UAB

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2011 in a Paragraph:

This is the Charles Barkley league for 2011, in other words, look for lots of rebounding coming from the CUSA rigors this season. Rice will be back to a national title contender… well, as long as the Owls can somehow navigate that impossible schedule they’ve put together (which I freakin’ love). But there will be major jumps this season from the bottomfeeders like Tulane, Central Florida, and most notably will be the jump up of East Carolina. The Pirates have all the elements of calling a mulligan and making this a special season with pitching out the wazzu. Southern Miss will have the star power to make a run at the title as well, so don’t sell the Eagles short or you’ll get a talon to the heart here. The M teams – Memphis and Marshall – still have some horses as well, but they lose the ability to sneak up on people this time around. That only means that everybody knows there are no soft weekends in this conference. Play hard. Or go home bruised.

Rice's Anthony Rendon... well, he needs no introduction.

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Favorite: Rice

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Contenders: East Carolina, Southern Miss.

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Darkhorse: Marshall.

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Can’t-Miss Series of the Year: Rice at East Carolina, April 8-10.

Close Second: Rice at Southern Miss, May 19-21.

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Best Non-Conference Series: Stanford at Rice, Feb. 18-20.

Close Second: East Carolina at Virginia, Feb. 25-27.

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Hot Coach: Terry Rooney, Central Florida.

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Hot Seat Coach: Rick Jones, Tulane

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The “You Gotta See” Player: Anthony Rendon, Rice.

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Three Non-Conference Series The C-USA Better Not Overlook:

1- Southern Miss at Troy, Feb. 25-27.

2- Louisiana Tech at Rice, Mar. 18-20.

3- Rutgers at East Carolina, Mar. 18-20.

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Three Bold Predictions:

1- Marshall will be the biggest mystery team in the country, capable of winning 40 and finishing last at the same time. They’ll pull the most upsets.

2- UofH head coach Todd Whitting starts his tenure off with a bang, upsetting Ole Miss two-of-three in week two.

3- Tulane will pull the same trick in Oxford a week later, signaling CUSA’s return to power.

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UAB's Jamal Austin will be one of the most exciting players in the country.

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- ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM (28-25, 11-13)

2010 RPI: 111

Starters Returning: 5

Weekend Starters: 1

Mid-Week Starters: 0

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

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All Conference Candidates:

OF Jamal Austin (.364, 28SBs)

RHP Ben Bullard (5-1, 4.83, .250OBA)

INF John Frost (.338-5-50)

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The Good News:

UAB got out to a good start last season and would love to emulate that this time around as well to build some confidence. One thing they won’t be short of is speed. Jamal Austin led the loop with 28 thefts and also has 2B Nick Crawford (.277, 17SBs) and OF Ryan Ussery (.275, 10SBs) to help the aggressive profile. Coach Brian Shoop put together a sold recruiting class that should give immediate help. With very little talent returning to the Blazers this spring, getting 6th round draftee Ivan DeJesus  to turn down the Cubs and report to campus was huge. Possibly even bigger was the fact that another 6th round draftee came back too in RHP Ryan Whoolley, who was drafted in 2009 as a 6th rounder and was drafted again last summer.

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The Bad News:

Think about this… the Blazers were 19-9 and fresh off an 11-4 rout of Alabama on April 6th, including a 4-2 mark in CUSA play. But from that point on, nothing went right in a wimpy 9-16 finish. And not making the CUSA tourney field was a shot to the gut for a team that was supposed to be so improved. The Blazers have very little returning pitching beyond Woolley and Bullard. Mitch Kloskowski and Beau Pender were the two most-used pitchers but won’t be returning for 2011. Nick Graffeo has also taken his eight saves from last year to pro ball. Offensively, Luke Stewart was THE long ball threat, going yard 21 times last year and teamed with Jonathan Merritt as the second-best power threat and a speed merchant. Those are huge losses for a team that hit a CUSA-worst .281 to begin with. There will be lots of heavy expectations on the new blood.

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Schedule Note:

Two big jamborees.

The opening weekend sees the Blazers taking on national powers Virginia and Auburn at the Auburn Tournament. Three weeks later they’ll pow-wow in Conway, South Carolina with homestanding Coastal Carolina, along with MAC favorite Kent State and Notre Dame. Single games with Alabama and Mississippi State will be interesting as well. That’s a lot of good tests before conference play kicks in. And just for good measure, they finish the regular season with a weekend out of conference at Utah. Owwie!

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- CENTRAL FLORIDA (33-22, 10-14)

2010 RPI: 78

Starters Returning: 7

Weekend Starters: 2

Mid-Week Starters: 3

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

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All Conference Candidates:

C/3B Chris Taladay (.352-8-47, Freshman All American)

C Beau Taylor (.354-7-35)

DH Ryan Breen (.348-5-29, Freshman All American)

1B Jonathan Griffin (.299-13-44)

SS Darnell Sweeney (.358, 17SBs)

LHP Joe Rogers (4-2, 4.50, 8svs, Freshman All American)

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The Good News:

Despite the last place finish in conference play, UCF improved all the way up from No. 151 in 2009 to No. 78 in their RPI rating in 2010. And 33 wins is a hell of an improvement for Coach Terry Rooney as he heads into his third season as head coach. The conference-leading offense (.343) returns a lot of firepower, including six hitters that went .297 or better. Coach Rooney also brings in another awesome recruiting class for this year, ranked No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball. It features six players that were selected in the MLB draft but did not sign. Look for immediate impact from two pitchers who threw in the J.C. ranks last year, but started out at big-name programs in RHP Ray Hanson (formerly of Arizona State) and LHP Mark Peterson (formerly of Florida State). Also watch for freshmen RHP Ben Lively (26th round pick by the Indians) and INF Spencer Haynes (43rd round pick of the A’s). Coupled with last year’s stellar incoming class, Coach Rooney and his staff are building a monster in Orlando. Also, valuable two-way man D.J. Hicks, who was 4-5 with three saves and hit .301 in 2009, is back after sitting out the ’10 season with a medical redshirt.

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The Bad News:

Well, despite all the glossing on and on above, last place IS last place. Even the optimistic Rooney didn’t expect that. But let’s be honest, that’s more of a testament to how good the conference is, not to the weakness of UCF. The pitching staff made great strides last season, but still had a 6.01 team ERA. Owen Dew was the most used arm, starting a team high 13 games last year, but is no longer around to lean on. The top two hitters also hit the bricks in the form of clutch bats of Chris Duffy and Shane Brown. The defense should be better but SS Darnell Sweeney needs to cut down on his 28 errors in this, his sophomore season.

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Schedule Note:

Tough stretch. Maybe the toughest.

The non-conference schedule is fairly manageable, with Northern snowbirds like Siena, Dartmouth, Wagner and Columbia coming to Orlando to help them pile up some (relative) easy Ws. But the start of Conference USA play sees the Knights going to Rice, then home against Southern Miss. If Tulane and East Carolina are back to their old ways, weekends No. 3 and No. 4 could be pretty arduous as well. Wow.

ECU's Billy Godwin hopes to lead his team back to national prominence.

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- EAST CAROLINA (32-27, 11-13)

2010 RPI: 79

Starters Returning: 5

Weekend Starters: 3

Mid-Week Starters: 4

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

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All Conference Candidates:

RHP Seth Maness (10-3, 4.17, 2010 CUSA Pitcher of the Year)

RHP Seth Simmons (2-5, 4.39, 9svs)

OF Trent Whitehead (.331-4-31, 15SBs)

RHP Zach Woods (8-4, 4.50, 103Ks)

1B John Wooten (.311-9-40)

3B Corey Thompson (.377-8-54)

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The Good News:

Not sure anyone had more impressive wins in the first two weeks of the 2010 season than the Pirates did, beating Virginia and winning a weekend over the national champion South Carolina Gamecocks. They would love to emulate that kind of start again, and this time give it a better finish as well. The heavy influx of returning pitchers will be huge as all nine pitchers that threw 18 innings or more come back to their post. The experience-laden rotation of seniors Seth Maness and Zach Woods, along with sophomore LHP Kevin Brandt (3-7, 5.21) will win a lot more games this season as Maness returns to campus after getting drafted by the Marlins last June and it was Brandt that was the starter when the Pirates scored wins over the Cavs and Gamecocks. On top of that, watch for a pair of sophs in RHP Shawn Armstrong (0-2, 4.30) and RHP Jake Harris (2-0, 4.84) as they grow into bigger roles this season. Offensively, Corey Thompson and Trent Whitehead were the top two hitters on the team last season and should help solidify the defense into a strong point as well. They’ll also have some pop in the bats of John Wooten and C Zach Wright (.265-14-47) to back them up. A solid recruiting class brings in projected starting SS Jack Reinheimer (a 31st round pick of Atlanta) and RHP Austin Chrismon (a 32nd round pick of Houston). The Pirate ship is stocked with everything necessary for a bounce-back year. Avast ye mateys!

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The Bad News:

After some of the early wins last year, the Pirates ship started to take on water with a few losses and eventually sunk under the heavy expectations, crumbling in the CUSA rigors and not even making the NCAA tournament. Now, they’ll have to venture on without All American Kyle Roller and fellow blaster Devin Harris, leaving huge holes in the offense and the leadership department. Some of the biggest problems to last season’s squad were the defense, which at . 952 was the worst in Conference USA, and the lack of coming up in the clutch as 14 of their losses came by one or two runs. ECU also went just 3-9 in games against Rice, Southern Miss and Memphis, including getting eliminated by the Tigers in the CUSA tournament.

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Schedule Note:

Virginia redux.

The Pirates will have a chance to test that solid mound rotation and make a big splash nationally once again when they go to Charlottesville in the second weekend of the season. That will be a huge gauge to see where ECU is in 2011. Beyond that, the following three weekends are deceptively tough as they’ll host Pepperdine, then the Keith LeClair Classic with Monmouth, Rutgers and Liberty and then the last weekend before CUSA play with Rutgers returning for three more games.

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- HOUSTON (25-32, 11-13)

2010 RPI: 84

Starters Returning: 6

Weekend Starters: 1

Mid-Week Starters: 2

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

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All Conference Candidates:

OF Caleb Ramsey (.341-3-40, 10SBs)

RHP Matt Creel (2-4, 5.40, 8svs)

OF Joel Ansley (.333-5-43, 17SBs)

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The Good News:

Though I type this with some amount of regret, it was probably time for some new blood in Cougartown. And that energy will come from new head coach Todd Whitting, a former Coug assistant that was helping to build that monster at TCU the last few years. A well-heeled tactician and a tireless recruiter, Whitting has what this program needs to jump up to another level. He’ll have a few 3-year lettermen to work with in two-way threats Chase Dempsay (was 1-2, 4.01 in 33inns. and just .238 in 21 at-bats, but he hit .275 in 2009) and Ty Stuckey (0-0, 5.46 in 28inns, and he didn’t hit last year, but was .254 in ’09), along with expected team leader Caleb Ramsey. Additionally, soph M.P. Cokinos (.284-7-42) looks to be a capable replacement at backstop and a future star and Matt Creel is another legit two-way talent, after leading the team with eight saves last year and also batting .265. The infield should be solid, returning three starters from a team that posted a .971 fielding percentage. As mentioned above, one thing coach Whitting has brandished is a reputation for adept recruiting. This year’s fresh-faced class is well-lauded with OF Landon Appling (drafted by the Rockies), pitcher-infielder Luke Moran (drafted by the Brewers) and C Kyle Maldonado (who played for two years at New Orleans before transferring). Also, RHP Jared Ray, who flashed great promise in ’08 and ’09, returns to the fore after sitting out 2010 recovering from shoulder surgery.

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The Bad News:

It was a crushing season in H-town in 2010. Despite having the most experience returning in the conference, the Cougars stumbled in big situations last year. Eventually that led to coach Raynor Noble calling it quits, ending a 16-year tenure that had a few close calls to Omaha along the way (three Super Regional appearances). The two big blowout losses that resembled football scores in the C-USA tournament can’t be sitting well after eight months time with the Blue & Red either. They can’t allow that hangover to re-emerge again this year. Losing quality Cats like catcher Chris Wallace (who was tough as nails), Blake Kelso, William Kankel, Zak Presley and Longhorn-killer Michael Goodnight will be tough to overcome immediately. If the mound corps can’t improve on its 6.54 team ERA – which was 9th in CUSA ranks – the win total will probably max out in the 20s again.

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Schedule Note:

Not going as far, but still just as tough.

The Cougars had a nearly impossible west coast trip last year that featured some nuggets (series win at Cal Poly) and some lumps of coal (swept at Arizona State). This year, they’ll face some more challenges, as they’ll host Ole Miss in week two, play in the Houston College Classic against Baylor, Kentucky and A&M in week three and then have Southland favorite Texas State, MAC favorite Kent State and national favorite TCU in successive weeks before CUSA play kicks in. Yikes man! UofH will get to play at home against conference bullies ECU, Rice and USM, so that’s a good thing.

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- MARSHALL (27-31, 12-12)

2010 RPI: 113

Starters Returning: 7

Weekend Starters: 3

Mid-Week Starters: 1

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

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All Conference Candidates:

C Victor Gomez (.364-17-53, All CUSA)

OF James Lavinskas (.342)

RHP Arik Sikula (6-5, 3.88, .257OBA)

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The Good News:

The Herd thundered from 7th place in the CUSA standings in 2009 to 3rd place and also improved their RPI from 168 to 113 last year, so this program is obviously making some headway despite its northern locale in a southern conference. The defense showed great improvement, going from .948 in ’09 to a solid .962 percentage last season. All three pitchers in the weekend rotation, Arik Sikula, RHP Ian Kadish (4-6, 7.11) and LHP Mike Mason (3-7, .7.71), all pitched in the Northwoods League last summer and should show vast improvement for ’11. The offense was second-to-last in the conference at .292, but returns three .300+ hitters back to the order. Two players that should make for a lot of bash and dash will be the improvement of DH Thor Meeks (.252-9-32 in 38 starts) and OF Isaac Ballou (.230, 12SBs) who should both post much-better numbers. Additionally, look for instant promise from incoming RHP Aaron Blair, who turned down the Astros in the 21st round last June.

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The Bad News:

In each of the last nine losses last season, MU gave up double-digit run totals, showing their steady downward spiral. The pitching staff was experienced, but somehow went from 5th in the conference in 2009 to dead last at 6.56 team ERA in 2010. This time around they’ll lose a pair of drafted arms in Ryan Kiel (pitched in 78 career games) and Kevin Shackelford (a 21st round pick). On top of that, Austin Coan, who accounted for 12 saves in 2010, has moved on as well. Hate to state the obvious here, but the pitchers that return need to step things up. The offense was weak last year and will lose Kurt Lipton (a .375 hitter), Kirby Pellant (a big speed threat too) and Josh Valle (a great infield glove who also pulled in 35 walks last season).

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Schedule Note:

Tough road in CUSA.

The Herd are always up against it when it comes to being competitive in the conference, but it’s going to be a little bit tougher this year as MU will travel to contenders Rice, Southern Miss and Central Florida this season. The pre-conference slate is mostly serviceable which should get them a winning mark early on.

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- MEMPHIS (28-30, 12-12)

2010 RPI: 103

Starters Returning: 6

Weekend Starters: 1

Mid-Week Starters: 2

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

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All Conference Candidates:

OF Drew Martinez (.377, 20SBs)

SS Chad Zurcher (.400-6-41, 20SBs)

3B Jacob Wilson (.341-4-41)

C Phillip Chapman (.315-4-28)

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The Good News:

After two straight last place finishes, the Tigers growled huge in 2010, finishing in 3rd place and winning a series with Rice along the way. They also owned wins over Oklahoma, Ole Miss and East Carolina too. Wow. The offense went bonkers going from .272 in 2009 up to .320 last season. Martinez was 2nd in the Cape Cod League in batting average last summer and was the leadoff hitter for the All Star Game at Fenway in mid-July. Shortstop extraordinaire Chad Zurcher was the first Tiger to hit .400 since 1994 and has All American potential. He’ll have infield mates Jacob Wilson at 3rd and Adam McClain (.296-4-33) to build the defense around. Speaking of great defenders, catcher Phillip Chapman came on strong last season and is a stout block behind the dish. Righty Dan Langfield (4-4, 4.62) should have an increased role this season and be a key cog in the mound staffs hope for improvement.

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The Bad News:

Despite the encouraging signs last year showed, the defense (.958) and pitching (6.09) did not improve that much from the last place team of 2009 and were still huge liabilities. Only one arm that had a sub-5.00 ERA returns to the roster and over 300+ innings from last year’s staff have moved on, including ace Brennon Martin and wins-leader Ryan Fraser, who combined for 30 starts in 2010. It’s a bummer to find out that RHP Chase Joiner, who led the team in saves, and OF Derrick Thomas, a five-tool talent who was drafted by the Red Sox in 2009, will both redshirt this season recovering from injuries.

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Schedule Note:

Let the SEC’s big A-Teams have it.

The Tigers will want to win the Conference USA obviously, but they’ll also be pointing to March 8th-9th when they’ll play SEC member Auburn on the road and then March 22nd-23rd when they’ll host Arkansas. Get some wins there and MU will know it’s getting back to prominence. The tough sledding will come in conference play as the Tigers will hit the road to take on ECU, Tulane and Rice.

With Wayne Graham pushing all the buttons, the Owls will be pointing toward Omaha once again.

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- RICE (40-23, 17-7)

2010 RPI: 30

Starters Returning: 5

Weekend Starters: 2

Mid-Week Starters: 1

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 6

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All Conference Candidates:

3B Anthony Rendon (.394-26-85, 14SBs)

OF Michael Fuda (.346-7-45)

OF Jeremy Rathjen (.317-13-69)

2B Michael Ratterree (.281-10-64)

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The Good News:

Go ahead, accuse me of being a Rice homer. I don’t care. In fact, I’ll probably shoot back with, “What, and you’re NOT?” They’re a smart school, with well-spoken athletes (so rare these days) and their coach played for Casey freakin’ Stengel. That’s awesome! Okay, all tomfoolery aside it was still good to see the Earth return to its axis as Coach Wayne Graham (also known as the greatest man in the history of the world) lead his Rice Owls back to the top of the Conference USA standings after a one-year hiatus. And of course, the biggest reason that Owl fans have smiles brighter than Doris Day right now is because of the return of “the best hitter in college baseball,” Howser Award winner Anthony Rendon. He is certainly a game-changer at the dish and a certain sweep at the hot corner as well, committing just four errors all last year. He will have experienced bats like Rathjen, Fuda and Ratterree as a buffer to allow him to see some hittable pitches and leave the possibility of a .400 season batting average intact. Yep, I said it. But to leave this write-up without mentioning the fact that the strength of this team will be – Duh!, it’s Rice – pitching, would be erroneous. Two weekenders return in George Christopher Ryan “Boogie” Anagnostou (3-5, 4.11) and Tyler Wall (5-5, 4.45, .233OBA), who are capable of domination at times. A whole mess of relievers come back as well, led by seniors Abe Gonzales (4-3, 3.35) and Doug Simmons (4-0, 2.66). A slew of sophomores will make this as deep of a bullpen as there is in the country, including J.T. Chargois (3-2, 3.29, and a possible answer at 1st base) and Tyler Duffy (2-2, 5.27). Also, RHP Chase McDowell, who pitched just five innings last year, had a wicked-good summer in the Alaska League and could figure into the weekend rotation. If the wealth of pitchers pitch to the lofty Rice standard, this team goes to Omaha. Also watch for a pair of newbies to emerge from the many talents of the No. 19-ranked recruiting class; 7th round draft pick Austin Kubitza, a RHP and OF, and incoming 39th round draftee John Simms, a RHP, who has the distinction of actually beating No. 2 overall draft pick Jameson Taillon twice in his high school career. Just sayin’. Also, it looks like hot-shot frosh infielder Derek Hamilton could take over the shortstop position.

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The Bad News:

Okay Owl Nation, so Taillon didn’t end up showing up on campus after being picked No. 2 overall in the draft last June. Bummer. But we just all have to move on now, okay? Additionally, highly-touted incoming frosh pitcher Connor Mason will miss 2011 after Tommy John surgery in the fall. That will sting a little, considering Jared Rogers and Mike Ojala have moved on from the program. Though there is talent to work with, questions remain in the pitching corps and must be ironed out early, unlike last year’s rough start. There are some infield concerns as well, especially in replacing SS Rick Hague and 1B Jimmy Comerota. The top of the batting order will need a new table-setter as well. Of course, the other bad news is in their 2011 schedule. Well, more about that below.

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Schedule Note:

Beware the West.

It’s been a few years since Rice was a doubly dominant WAC team, whipping ass on all those teams on the opposite side of the Rockies. Since then, the Owls have had a knack of struggling against West coast teams. Last year, they went 3-7 in such matchups. This year, they’ll open with Stanford and USC in back to back weekends. Those games will be followed up by a trip to Arizona and a week later, to AT&T Park in San Francisco to take on Long Beach State, Cal and UC Santa Barbara. Hey, never let it be said that Wayne Graham ducks the teams that cause him the most pain. Now it’s time to return the favor.

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- SOUTHERN MISS (36-24, 14-10)

2010 RPI: 61

Starters Returning: 7

Weekend Starters: 2

Mid-Week Starters: 1

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

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All Conference Candidates:

SS B.A. Vollmuth (.386-20-76)

1B Adam Doleac (.352-7-57)

OF Tyler Koelling (.333-4-39)

OF Kameron Brunty (.303-9-37)

RHP Todd McInnis (6-5, 3.30, .234OBA)

RHP Collin Cargill (4-2, 1.75, 9svs)

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The Good News:

Though they didn’t quite have the RPI for the Big Dance, a late season push and Conference USA tournament crown helped salvage the Eagles 2010 season and put them in the NCAAs again. Give a big time “Attaboy!” to first year head coach Todd Berry after helping to pull off that coo last post-season. The expectation levels remain high, but that’s not altogether a bad thing here. It shows that the program is still growing and never satisfied. From their potent .324 team offense returns names like Vollmuth, Doleac, Koelling and Brunty, as you see above. But add to that guys like 1B/3B Mark Ellis (.304-7-41) and OF Dillon Day (who hit .355 in 33 starts), and you’ve got the makings of an offense that is looking to bust some fences. The defense should be a strong suit too with three infield starters back from a unit that fielded at .969 season and led the nation in twin-killings with 87 in 2010. The pitching staff used mostly a Johnny Wholestaff approach once again meaning that there will be a lot of well-used arms coming back to the corps. But Todd McInnis will again be the bellcow, as he returns to campus despite being drafted by the A’s last June. He’ll team with bullpen stud Collin Cargill, a fellow 5th-year senior with All American-type upside, to lock down a lot of Friday wins.

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The Bad News:

The Eagles were headed for a crash landing last season, particularly after that 2-8 start to CUSA play, before getting hot and winning the conference tournament. Otherwise, it was going to be a pretty bland season. Those two losses in the NCAAs had to sting a little too, giving up 27 runs and all, though that could be a motivating factor too. There is a lot of pitching coming back from last year’s squad, but beyond McInnis and Cargill, the best ERA is 6.04. So quality pitching is still needed from an arms corps that issued a tad too many free passes last season (258) and needs to work on lowering the team ERA of 5.96. The bats and post-season experience of Taylor Walker and Joey Archer will be sorely missed.

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Schedule Note:

Mid-major tested, mid-major approved. Again.

I lamented the USM schedule last year for not having enough BCS tests in weekend action. Ditto for this year. Although, give the Eagles some credit as it appears as if they tried to schedule some pretty good mid-majors like Troy, Louisiana and will face off with College of Charleston, Rhode Island and UConn in mid-March. The CUSA season wraps up with Rice visiting Pete Taylor Park in a series that could have huge ramifications. The CUSA tourney is nearly at home, being played in Pearl, Mississippi this year.

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- TULANE (32-24, 10-14)

2010 RPI: 88

Starters Returning: 8

Weekend Starters: 2

Mid-Week Starters: 1

Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

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All Conference Candidates:

RHP Nick Pepitone (6-0, 2.28, 8svs)

UTL Blake Crohan (.340-8-42)

OF Brandon Boudreaux (.323-4-33)

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The Good News:

This is Tulane. Programs like this one just don’t have down cycles for long. So get ready for an instant slap back to respectability and a legit post-season run for 2011. Plain and simple, they should be better this time around. Pitching will be the strength as the Green Wave threw a CUSA-low 181 walks and welcome back seven of their top nine hurlers. Two weekend starters come back on the mound in RHP Conrad Flynn (3-7, 4.57) and RHP Robby Broach (7-3, 5.40), who are both highly experienced and big game savvy. They’ll also have the comfort of knowing RHP (though he looks more like a Defensive End) Nick Pepitone will roll out his hulking 6’6″ 230lb. frame and will add to his eight saves from last season. The staff will also get a shot in the proverbial arm with incoming RHP Randy LeBlanc, who was a 16th round draft pick of the Marlins last June, but is headed to the Waves. Four batters that went .314 or higher come back to the order from a team that should improve the .311 team average. The quality of depth in this year’s squad will be a huge difference as well.

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The Bad News:

Really people? A last place finish for the Green Wave? C’mon, no way! Try as we might to repair it, that’s the stigma they are stuck with going into this season. Just doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true. This from a team that beat clubs like Ole Miss, Kansas, LSU and even a Friday night W vs. Rice… Last place? Wow. The biggest blow to this year’s 2011 edition is the loss of 3B Rob Segedin, who hit .434 and led the team with 14 yard calls, while also being a vocal team leader. Saturday starter Matt Petiton and set-up man Preston Claiborne both moved on and will leave big holes to fill.

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Schedule Note:

Paying for their stadium.

Playing at the relatively new Turchin Stadium will become a real habit this season as Tulane will play 38 home games this season. That’s one way to pay for the renovated stadium, huh? A two week stretch in early March will be a huge indicator as to how far this Green Wave team has come in the past year as a visit to Ole Miss on March 3-4-5 is followed by a home weekend against Wichita State on March 11-12-13. That’ll tell us all we need to know about redemption in the Crescent City.