Does anyone see a pattern emerging here?
For the record, it would be totally ludicrous to dismiss the accomplishments of the Pac-10 in college baseball: It is extremely difficult to argue with 26 College World Series titles.

However, it is equally difficult to ignore a trend that has been developing for quite some time: For those keeping count, the SEC has won that last two CWS titles, and they’re assured of winning a third in this year’s final, as two SEC teams have made it to the best-of-three CWS championship series.

Indeed the CWS is all but becoming the SEC Invitational: 7 SEC teams made it to NCAA regionals in 2011, with underdog Mississippi State pushing the Florida Gators to the brink of elimination in an absolute thriller in the final game up their matchup in the Super Regionals.

In fact, the SEC has won 8 of the last 20 CWS titles; LSU alone has won 6 CWS titles since 1990, when the Georgia Bulldogs seemingly got the SEC up-and-running as the premier powerhouse conference in college baseball with their first (and only) CWS title.

For further proof of the SEC’s recent dominance in the CWS, one need look no further than this year’s version of the CWS championship series, as Florida (53-17) and defending champion South Carolina (53-14) face off in an SEC showdown for an eventual national title, in the first game of the CWS championship series at 7 pm CST.

Florida, in particular, is a team to pay attention to: While watching Florida play, one truly does get the sense that the New York Yankees have been abducted and stuffed into Florida’s blue and orange uniforms; they are literally the most complete team in college baseball, boasting ace pitchers such as Hudson Randall in their Friday, Saturday, and Sunday rotation, as well as a bullpen to be feared, and potent power hitters such as RF Preston Tucker and C Mike Zunino, the SEC player of the year.

It is relevant to point out that three of the final four teams in this year’s CWS were from the SEC, as Florida ultimately eliminated SEC east rival Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon in a 6-4 heart-stopper.
It was Vanderbilt’s first appearance in the CWS, and the Commodores went down swinging, having eliminated Pac-10 power Oregon State in the Super Regionals.

To be honest, Vanderbilt’s win over OSU in the Super Regionals is symbolic of the SEC’s ongoing rise: Vanderbilt dominated OSU in two games which were never truly in question, as far as the probable outcome of two lop-sided contests.

And Florida’s other SEC east baseball rival, South Carolina, has yet to lose a game at the CWS in Omaha; they eliminated Virginia on Sunday, the #1 overall seed in the CWS, and the #1 team in America in most of the major polls for the better part of the 2011 season.

Perhaps even more uplifting for SEC fans is this: For the most part, it appears that SEC baseball programs are excelling legally, which has not always been the case, as far as other SEC sports are concerned.

The University of Tennessee, for example, has been investigated by the NCAA for violations in all three major sports as of late; sanctions have abounded through the years for various SEC programs in football and basketball, so it is somewhat refreshing to know that UT baseball is currently the only SEC baseball program facing potentially substantial sanctions from the NCAA’s committee on infractions.

That enables the love of the game and the spirit of competition to shine as far as SEC baseball, instead of litigations and the accumulation of more black eyes for SEC programs.

In short, people may want to purchase a few extra brews and locate their favorite recliner for this year’s CWS championship series: It should be an absolute classic.
That’s
SEC baseball, in a nutshell: It is now the best baseball conference in America, and only seems to get stronger with each passing year and CWS championship.