The No. 1 ranked Aggies lost out on clinching an SEC regular season crown last weekend, entering the SEC Tournament as the nation’s top ranked team, yet seeded third in their own conference.
Following a loss to Vanderbilt to open SEC Tournament play, the question amidst a partial Aggie fan base meltdown has been simple and repetitive on social media – has A&M done enough to be number one or earn a national seed?
Well, the time is here to tell the frightened fans one thing – relax. Because, simply put, yes the Aggies have done more than enough to earn both.
Last year, the Aggies entered the SEC Tournament not sure of their position as a national seed, and even with a run to the tournament semi-finals, the Aggies lost out on the final national seed to TCU.
That, combined with NC State blowing a seven run lead against TCU, culminated in A&M traveling to Fort Worth instead of staying home and the Aggies lost a chance to go to Omaha.
Personally, I have covered Aggie baseball extensively for two years. I saw 75 to 80 percent of the games in person last season, including the Regional and Super Regional. I have been to more than half of them this season as well. I can say with full confidence, this team is more talented and in a much better position at this point than last year’s team.
This year’s team is a lock for a national seed, no matter what happens in the SEC Tournament, and is more than deserving of the No.1 rank in the country. And here is why that is the case:
For starters, the Aggies not only faced a stiff competition in a talent-laden SEC, but performed well even in the face of a four-game losing streak and adversity amidst. When A&M was swept by Florida in March, all looked as if this year’s Aggie team would mirror last year’s – a team that came up short in big road games.
However, that was the Aggies only SEC series loss of the season. In fact, A&M currently owns wins over the current No. 5, No. 6, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 11 teams in the RPI. Following that sweep in Gainesville, A&M swept SEC regular season champion No. 8 Mississippi State on the road, then went on to earn series wins against Alabama, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Ole Miss, each of whom will be an NCAA Regional team next month.
A&M currently sits No. 1 in the country in the polls and No. 4 in the RPI.
Last year, A&M lost three of their last five series and four of their last eight games, which was mostly the reason TCU was chosen over them. In 2016, since the Florida sweep, A&M went 19-6 down the home stretch of the regular season and won its final seven series.
A&M finished as one of the top three to four teams in the nation’s toughest conference. The Aggies have five series wins over teams with 40 or more wins. Their pitching looks to be in a much better position than last year. Offensively as everyone has seen, you can try to outscore the maroon and white, but A&M has the power to make a bigger hole than any team in the country.
So, relax. No, the sky is not falling. A&M’s chances aren’t free-falling and the Aggies do not have some unresolved, crippling internal issue. A&M is safe and they will be hosting in June as a national seed.
