USD, SDSU SEEK TO HOST NCAA POSTSEASON
USD has placed a bid to host the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals for baseball and San Diego State is expected to bid as well.
The 16 regional sites (each with four teams) are to be announced May 10. That’s three weeks earlier than normal in order for the host schools to be properly prepared for COVID-19 protocols.
“We’re having a good year,” said USD head coach Rich Hill, whose Toreros are within 11⁄2 games of firstplace Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. “It’s a host-worthy campaign so far. We want to be prepared (with the bid).
“We have the best venue on the West Coast, not only from a baseball facility standpoint, but the entire package, destination city, the whole setup in terms of media accessibility, all the parking, fan experience, it is a perfect location for an NCAA Regional. We built this to be able to host NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.”
SDSU leads the Mountain West, which, like the WCC, this year is awarding its automatic NCAA tournament bid to the regular-season champion since there is no postseason tournament. The 64-team field will be announced May 31 for regionals
that begin the first weekend of June. The 16 regional winners advance to the Super Regionals. The eight winners there move on to the College World Series, which begins June 19 in Omaha, Neb.
“Hosting is part of the process for continuing to grow our program,” SDSU head coach Mark Martinez said. “Hosting a regional is a
huge step for any baseball program. One thing I think our school does really well is hosting postseason championships. We’re always called upon to host basketball and we’ve done the (Mountain West Tournament) baseball and track in the past and a lot of different events . ... It’s a big step to being in the conversation as a top-25 program.”
The complication created by determining host sites three weeks early is a team that charges to its conference championship down the stretch may not be rewarded with a host bid as in a normal year. Host bids are usually merit-based, but will be difficult with incomplete résumés when hosting decisions are made.
“I think the NCAA might have some interest in trying to generate more geographic diversity with their host sites,” said Aaron Fitt, senior writer with D1baseball.com. “Not to cut costs with travel but because they want to minimize the exposure that comes with the virus spread that comes with additional travel.
“We’ve seen, of course, a lot of conferences change their schedules to reduce air travel for that very reason . ... The whole thing is based on trying to reduce the risk with the virus. That’s the No. 1 priority. I almost wonder if some of these teams that are packing in fans, maybe that’s not what the NCAA wants.”
The NCAA this week recommended that postseason hosts limit fans to 50 percent (or less) of capacity.
In its Field of 64 projection this week, D1baseball.com projected the host schools on the West Coast would be the three highestranked teams — No. 15 Oregon, No. 16 Stanford and No. 20 Arizona. The website projected 12 West Coast schools in the field: the three hosts, along with SDSU, USD, Arizona State, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Oregon State, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and UCLA.
“If you’ve got eight regional candidates in Southern California, you need somewhere for those teams to play,” Fitt said. “Regardless
how many fans are going to be allowed in the ballpark, it probably behooves the NCAA to find a couple of sites out there.
“The NCAA hasn’t made clear what the criteria are going to be, but, ultimately, if you’re Arizona and you’re one of the favorites to win the Pac-12, I don’t think they’re going to send them somewhere.”
Merit has always been the top consideration for hosting, but Fitt said it could be a “blend” of things this year to taken into consideration the circumstances created by the pandemic.
“I don’t think they know what the formula is right now,” Fitt said. “It feels like they’re winging it a little bit. That’s frustrating.”
The NCAA playoffs have been played only once in San Diego, when USD hosted a four-team regional at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium in 2007.
SDSU this week: Saturday-Sunday vs. Dixie State, 1 p.m. (DH)/noon.
USD: Today-Sunday at Santa Clara, 3 p.m./1 p.m./ noon.
UCSD: Today-Sunday vs. CS Bakersfield, 3 p.m./ noon (DH)/1 p.m.
Point Loma: Today vs. Azusa Pacific, noon (DH); Saturday at Azusa Pacific, noon (DH).