Challenging schedule, lofty RPI keep Kansas State baseball locked in NCAA Tournament field
MANHATTAN — A challenging schedule has continued to serve Kansas State's baseball team well in its final sprint toward a possible NCAA Tournament berth.
The Wildcats (29-21) remain in the middle of the Big 12 standings, tied for seventh at 13-14, and yet both D1 Baseball and Baseball America's bracket predictions have them in the NCAA field as No. 3 regional seeds.
K-State wraps up its regular season with a three-game conference series against last-place Brigham Young (20-29, 6-21) starting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Tointon Family Stadium. The second game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday with the finale at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Wildcats have a chance to gain some momentum heading into next week's Big 12 Tournament with a good showing against a BYU team that has dropped its last 12 conference games.
According to D1 Baseball, K-State's RPI ranking of No. 37 trails only first-place Oklahoma (16) and second-place Oklahoma State (17) among Big 12 schools. Add to that the Wildcats' No. 17 strength of schedule — only Oklahoma at No. 9 is more difficult — and it is easy to see why they remain well positioned for their first postseason appearance since 2013.
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As of Wednesday, D1 Baseball projected K-State as the No. 3 seed in a Fayette, Arkansas, seed with No. 3 national seed Arkansas, Southern Miss and New Mexico. Baseball America also has the Wildcats seeded third in Fayetteville with top seed Arkansas, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 4 Saint Louis.
Following the BYU series, K-State heads to Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 Tournament, May 21-25 at Globe Life Field. The Wildcats have secured a place in the 10-team field, which has the top two seeds receiving first-round byes.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Strength of schedule serving Kansas State baseball well
