Life in the Valley

College baseball is in a place few of us could have dreamed of 30 or 40 years ago. If you grew up in the early 1980s, you remember bare traces of the sport on what was then a fledgling network called ESPN. The College World Series back then left us full of wonder – what is this magical place called Omaha? Who are these 8 teams vying for the national championship? Will I see any of them playing for my favorite Major League team someday, or perhaps my local Minor League club?

Anyone under the age of say, 35, reading this would think I’m talking of a barren existence on another planet. The Boom in college baseball is more than just grand slams, but it’s the media boom that the sport has enjoyed over the last decade. Now, we expect every game to be available somewhere, and have probably come to understand that this availability has been monetized by the likes of ESPN+, FloSports, individual conferences, etc. No longer do we wonder where we can find our favorite sport. Now we pay for the right to have it by our side from Opening Day to the dogpile in Omaha.

Dynasties and gladiators of college baseball’s epic past have fallen by the wayside (looking at you, USC), while the last few years have seen numerous programs such as Vanderbilt, Virginia, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State step into the void and capture glory for themselves. We sort of know going in now what the makeup of the 8 teams in Omaha will look like. Two to 4 SEC teams, 1 or 2 ACC teams, the other spots likely going to those in Power-5 leagues or maybe the occasional high mid-major. … Or maybe not.

Fullerton is the last “mid-major” to make Omaha, doing so in 2017. They lost to Oregon State and Florida State and went home. Granted, calling Fullerton a “mid-major” in college baseball is somewhat similar to calling Gonzaga a “mid-major” in college basketball – though Fullerton does have the titles to back up their claim to elite program status.

Coastal’s win over Arizona in the 2016 final was the last time a mid-major won a game in Omaha. And as a new season in The Valley opens, no experts believe any teams from this league will be the ones to break that trend. As the exposure and profile of college baseball has increased, the part of the success pie that lands on the Power 5, especially the SEC, has increased with it (we’ve seen this somewhere before). Conference realignment makes it such that you can’t tell who’s in what league without a program.

Such is life in The Valley, where the days of Wichita State, Creighton, and Dallas Baptist have been replaced with Illinois-Chicago, Belmont, Murray State, and Valparaiso. On one hand, there’s strength in numbers. A 10-team league should give The Valley more meaningful games in April and May, and at least the chance of an at-large bid if a team excels in their non-conference slate beginning Friday.

But quantity is not always quality – whether it’s in conference strength or broadcast options. Baseball has always been a companion sport. It’s there when you need it, but you don’t need all of it, and you don’t need it every night. There’s an overkill threat, one that for now, college baseball might be safely clear. But as we enjoy this new season and all that comes with it, seeing that there may no longer be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like there was for Coastal Carolina in 2016 is cause for concern.

College baseball doesn’t look anything like it did 40 years ago. The game is played differently, the equipment is better, the players are stronger, bigger, and faster, and the sport is as hyped and publicized as it has ever been. Hopefully everyone, not just the Power-5 schools, can benefit.

And there’s the motivation as sunrise brings Life in The Valley anew. All 10 teams have something to prove. All 10 teams know going in there may only be 1 NCAA Tourney bid awaiting at the end. It should make for great theatre. And it should make for a great companion over the next few months.

Enjoy it. While we’re at a place we never thought we’d be, things will continue to evolve such that we’ll never be here again.