10 reasons why you should watch college baseball tourney

	Missouri's Max Scherzer projected as a first-round pick in next week's Major League draft. Photo by AP

By Heather Gripp

1. Seeing the stars of tomorrow today
North Carolina's left-hander Andrew Miller and right-hander Daniel Bard, Houston RHP Brad Lincoln, Stanford RHP Greg Reynolds, Missouri RHP Max Scherzer, Texas outfielder Drew Stubbs and RHP Kyle McCulloch, UCLA's LHP Dave Huff and Nebraska RHP Joba Chamberlain are all projected as first-round picks in next week's Major League draft. Vanderbilt sophomore LHP David Price is a candidate for the top pick in 2007.

College baseball's postseason stars have a history of quickly making the jump to the big leagues. Former Cal State Fullerton pitcher Chad Cordero was in The Show two months after helping the Titans to a College World Series appearance. Hurler Houston Street was in the majors with the Oakland A's within a year of helping Texas to a third consecutive CWS appearance in 2004.

2. A spotlight for the unheralded
Players who have been overshadowed often find their place in the spotlight during the postseason. Rice right-hander Eddie Degerman (11-1, 1.80 ERA) could be one who takes advantage of the exposure. After spending two years at UC Irvine without making an appearance and then working out of the bullpen for Rice in 2004 and early 2005, Degerman emerged as the ace of one of the nation's top teams, yet he is rarely mentioned among the prime draft prospects.

3. The newcomers
For some schools, like top-seeded Clemson (47-14) -- which is making its 20th consecutive appearance in the tournament -- postsseaon play is an annual tradition. But UNC Asheville (28-33), the No. 4 seed in the Clemson regional, is making its first appearance in the tournament after setting a school record for wins and winning the Big South tournament as the No. 6 seed. St. Louis (32-27), the fourth seed in the Fullerton regional, is making its first appearance since 1966. Ball State (37-20), the fourth seed in the Lexington, Ky., regional, last appeared in 1969 and opens against a Kentucky (42-15) team that has gone from worst to first in the SEC while setting a school record for wins.

At the other end of the spectrum, Miami is making is making its record 34th consecutive appearance.

4. Rooting for underdogs
No fourth seed has won a regional since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999. However, four of the 16 regional top seeds were eliminated before the 2004 College World Series. Missouri (31-25), the fourth seed in the Malibu regional, is among the underdogs to watch. The Tigers have a dominant one-two punch in right-hander Max Scherzer (7-1, 1.89 ERA) and lefty Nathan Culp (11-5, 3.24 ERA).

5. Aluminum-powered offense
One of the easiest ways to start a debate in baseball circles is to mention the merits of aluminum vs. wood bats. Purists detest the ping and juiced offense that comes from the aluminum sticks used in college, but others enjoy them and the potential for the ball to fly out of the park at any moment.