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    Brad Bohannon Explains Why Alabama Deserves a Regional Spot

    Alabama Baseball Faces Tough Wait to Learn NCAA Tournament Fate

    After bouncing out of the SEC Tournament on Saturday, the Crimson Tide now hopes to earn an at-large bid from the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

    HOOVER, Ala. — The fate of Alabama baseball’s season is now in the hands of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Following its 11-6 loss to Florida on Saturday, the Crimson Tide is now eliminated from the SEC Tournament and will have to wait until Monday to learn if it will be selected to an NCAA Regional for a second straight year.

    “I would tell you that I’m going to go fishing tomorrow and not check my phone every two minutes and hit refresh for every score, but that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing,” Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said following Saturday’s loss. “You know, you’ve got to figure out who you’ve got to cheer for, a team that you don’t know any of the players or the coaches halfway across the country that you’re cheering for. It’s not a great feeling to be hoping about things not in your control.”

    Alabama (31-27) entered Saturday projected as the final team in the 64-team tournament, according to D1Baseball. Baseball America had the Crimson Tide as the first team out in its projection.

    Entering Saturday, Alabama ranked No. 43 in RPI and had the fourth-best strength of schedule in the nation. The Crimson Tide is 7-16 against teams ranked in the top 25 in RPI and 6-1 against teams ranked between 26-50.

    “I guess I'm supposed to tug on the front of my jersey right now and rattle off all the good things about our resume and conveniently leave out the not-so-good things,” Bohannon said when asked to make his case to the selection committee. “But obviously we're on the bubble, and we've done some really good things this year. We won a series from Texas A&M, we beat Arkansas three out of four, split four games with Georgia. Did a lot of good things.

    “Look, you ask anybody in this league, I'd tell you there's 12 teams in this league, we deserve to be in. Ole Miss has one of the best five offenses in the country, Kentucky is playing great right now, the way their last three or four weeks. We all deserve to be in.”

    Alabama’s struggles against midweek opponents could prove costly as it is just 9-7 against teams ranked 51 or high in terms of RPI. Another thing that will haunt the Crimson Tide is its failures in close games as it is 7-12 in one-run contests this season.

    “If you just win one or two more of those, your RPI is in the 30s,” Bohannon said. “I think we'll be very dangerous in a regional if we're able to get in. I really believe in this team. We're way better than last year, and we deserved to be in last year, but we have a better pitching staff, we're better offensively, we're better defensively. We'll hope for the best.”

    Before suffering back-to-back losses to Texas A&M and Florida to bow out of the SEC Tournament, Alabama rattled off five straight wins, claiming a regular-season series against Arkansas last weekend as well as winning games against Georgia and the Razorbacks this week in Hoover.

    The Crimson Tide won back-to-back SEC series in early April, beating Texas A&M two out of three games in Tuscaloosa, Ala., before recording a road sweep of Ole Miss. Alabama followed that up by handing Tennessee its first SEC loss during a Friday night game in Knoxville.

    “I mean, we showed what fight we've got,” Alabama first baseman Drew Williamson said Saturday. “We showed what character the team has. I feel like we've got some big wins that show that we belong in a regional.”

    The NCAA Tournament selection show will take place Monday at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.

    “I just told the kids, hey, we're obviously on the bubble and really don't know what to tell you,” Bohannon said. “We'll get back to Tuscaloosa, we'll take tomorrow off, and when we find something out we find something out. At this point in time, we need to expect to play.” 

    Alabama outfielder Tommy Seidl (20) swings at the ball as Alabama Crimson Tide take on Florida Gators during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
    Alabama infielder Bryce Eblin (13) scoops up a ground ball as Alabama Crimson Tide take on Florida Gators during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
    Alabama pitcher Jake Leger (30) pitches as Alabama Crimson Tide take on Florida Gators during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
    Alabama infielder Bryce Eblin (13) turns a double play as Alabama Crimson Tide take on Florida Gators during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
    Alabama infielder Zane Denton (44) celebrates after hitting a home run as Alabama Crimson Tide take on Florida Gators during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
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