Don't kid yourself, preseason Big Ten poll got Nebraska's attention

When the preseason Big Ten Coaches poll came out on Feb. 10 some mild alarm bells went off in Lincoln.

The poll, which only showed the top six teams, did not include head coach Darin Erstad’s Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Naturally, this led to a lot of questions about if things were heading in the right direction. When NU first joined the Big Ten in 2011 they were expected to be a baseball power based on their commitment to the sport and recent 15-year history that featured three trips to the College World Series.

The Huskers play in a ball park that routinely draws over 5,000 to 6,000 fans on weekends and ranks top 10 nationally in attendance. They recruit at a high level and feature a head coach in Erstad that interviewed for the Los Angeles Dodgers manager position this fall, and two assistant coaches that left baseball powers Loyola Marymount/UC Irvine (Ted Silva) and Cal State Fullerton (Mike Kirby) to coach at NU.

No matter what Erstad says now, there’s no question the preseason poll ruffled some feathers in Lincoln. When you commit this kind of money to a sport many people don’t, results are expected. When your own peers in the league don’t even consider you a preseason top 6 program it’s going to get your attention.

That’s why when the Huskers completed their sweep over Indiana on Saturday to finish second place in the 13-team Big Ten there was a sense of accomplishment around the Nebraska dugout.

“It’s very rewarding,” junior infielder Jake Schleppenbach said of NU’s second place regular season finish in Big Ten play. “When the Big Ten rankings came out at the beginning of the season we kind of had that chip on our shoulder and we carried that with us throughout the season. It’s been a fun ride and I’m glad we are the 2 seed.”

However, Erstad downplayed the significance the preseason poll had on his team’s demeanor, despite the fact the players clearly took notice.

“I don’t play that ‘chip on your shoulder, prove people wrong card.’ That’s an up and down rollercoaster emotion type of thing that doesn’t sustain,” Erstad said. “We are playing for our family. We are playing for Husker Nation. We have a lot of pride and there’s a lot of tradition in this program in how you go about your business regardless of what people say and where you are playing and all that good stuff. I want our guys to put together consistent baseball and treat the game and respect it the right way. They’ve been doing that on a consistent basis for quite a few weeks now.”

It’s hard to say what went into not putting Nebraska in that preseason top 6? However, for the record conference champion Minnesota was also left out.

“I remember the day after that came out, we knew we had to earn our stripes every day,” sophomore Jake Meyers said. “It’s been a heck of a journey, but things have clicked later on. It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve got to keep it going.”

It may be a long shot, but Nebraska did put in a bid to be a regional host on the possibility the NCAA committee looks at giving one to a deserving 2 seed.

Right now the thought is the SEC and ACC will get 12 of the 16 regional host spots, where teams in the Big 12 and other leagues will garner the other four host spots. Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma State are all possibilities in the Big 12.

Nebraska, Washington, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara and Arizona are all possible 2 seed regional hosts based on the committee trying to get some geographical balance for travel purposes.

NU's RPI on NCAA.com was up to No. 36 on Monday morning. A strong showing this week in Omaha could push the Huskers into the 25 to 30 range, which could make hosting as a 2 seed a realistic possibility. Kendall Rogers of DIBaseball.com told me Monday morning a team like Florida Atlantic could be a likely candidate to travel as a 1 seed based on the large number of regional host sites the SEC and ACC will already get. Stay tuned.