Alabama Baseball's Brad Bohannon: "I'm not going to apologize for our conference record"

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama baseball's odds of being selected to appear in an NCAA Regional were so slim that the team didn't even host a watch party.

"One year when I was at Kentucky, the soccer team had a watch party and they were on the bubble and they didn't get in and it was just unbelievably awkward," Bohannon chuckled. "I was afraid that might happen. [...] I erred on the side of caution for once and I wish I hadn't done that."

While the team was scattered across the city of Tuscaloosa in various locations and couldn't celebrate together, there's no doubt that the majority of them were glued to their television screens at 11 a.m. on Monday morning as the 2021 NCAA Baseball Selection Show was broadcast.

During the show, it was quickly revealed that the Crimson Tide did indeed make the tournament — a No. 3 seed in the Ruston Regional on the campus of Louisiana Tech.

See ya in Ruston 😎#RollTide | #GVT pic.twitter.com/dxwwmnoTZM
— Alabama Baseball (@AlabamaBSB) May 31, 2021

The selection came as a surprise to many. However, with Alabama's 31-24 record in the second-toughest schedule in the NCAA — including 14 wins against SEC opponents — the committee saw the Crimson Tide as worthy of reaching a regional.

"Every resume has its strengths and weaknesses and we had some very strong metrics," Bohannon said. "We had the second-toughest schedule in all of college baseball and I'm glad the committee recognized that. We had some great wins over some great teams and I'm not going to apologize for our conference record.

"You put Arkansas and Mississippi State and Florida and Vanderbilt and Tennessee in the ACC or whatever league and those other bubble teams, their conference records are going to look entirely different."

Bohannon wad right on the money when it comes to comparing conference strengths and records. While Alabama's 14-19 SEC record might not be impressive at a glance, a deeper dive would quickly reveal the team accomplished a lot this season despite its record.

On top of sweeping non-conference opponents McNeese and Wright State — both who made regionals — and shellacking another regional team in Samford 19-3, Alabama's SEC schedule was absolutely brutal. A road trip to No. 1 Arkansas followed by hosting No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 6 Tennessee was a tough start to its conference schedule. Close things out with back-to-back road trips at No. 2 Vanderbilt and LSU along with a season finale series against No. 6 Mississippi State, and it could have been a recipe for disaster.

All of that while dealing with a plethora of injuries — including losing ace starting pitcher Connor Prielipp and fellow starter Antoine Jean — and one can see why 14 conference victories was enough for the selection committee.

Also in the Ruston Regional are No. 2 seed N.C. State and No. 4 seed Rider. The Crimson Tide will open against the Wolfpack on Friday (2 p.m. CT, ESPN3) in the double-elimination regional.

Should Alabama advance, it would likely face No. 1.overall seed Arkansas.

The Crimson Tide's trip to an NCAA Regional is the first since 2014 and the program's 25th overall appearance. The Crimson Tide holds a 70-49 overall record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 56-35 mark in regional play. Alabama has claimed seven regional titles in program history including titles in 1950, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2010.

For Bohannon, though, this makes it his first time appearing in an NCAA Regional as a head coach. In a banner year for the fourth-year head coach, Bohannon already took his team to its first SEC Tournament appearance since 2016.

Alabama baseball has gotten incrementally better every year since Bohannon's hiring in 2017. In his first year in 2018, the Crimson Tide went 8-22 in SEC play — double the conference wins that it had seen the year prior. Prior to the 2020 season being cut short due to COVID-19, Alabama was off to one of its best starts in program history with an overall record of 16-1.

There is still progress to be made with the program, but Bohannon has always been the first to acknowledge that. On Monday, he outlined his vision for what he wants to see happen with the resurgence of his Crimson Tide team.

“Alabama is a place where eventually, I think, we should be competing for SEC championships, and hosting regionals, and getting to the College World Series," Bohannon said. "It just doesn’t happen overnight. I think over time, we don’t to maybe celebrate limping into a regional or getting there by the skin of our teeth, but considering where we’ve been and where we’ve come from, it’s a huge deal.”

The 2021 season has been a long, tough road for Alabama baseball. After the highs and lows, the upsets and the injuries, Bohannon and his Crimson Tide team have earned themselves a spot in the regionals.

Bohannon is simply glad that he and his athletes are starting to see the hard work bring forth results.

"When I got hired, I felt a real burden to our fans and our kids to make our program better," Bohannon said. "To start to deliver on that is rewarding. We've got so many people that support us and are a part of it and that deserve for us to be good and to win. We've just got some crazy faithful fans that have been unbelievably supportive and patient — more so than me. There's been times that I've been severely frustrated, disappointed and they've been behind us."