Best Case Scenario for Arizona State Baseball in Tournament

The drought is officially over for the Arizona State baseball program.

The Willie Bloomquist coached team will officially be playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 after being selected on Monday morning.

The squad - who possessed the best offense in the Big 12 conference and saw multiple players take All-Conference honors - faltered late in the season to end up as one of the 'last four in' as of the conclusion of the selection show.

Arizona State's slide to end the season included being swept by Oklahoma State and losing the opening game of the conference tournament to 12-seed Brigham Young - which also happened to be the first instance of the team being shut out all season long.

The program's RPI (48) was considered on the low side compared to those that are traditionally selected, however several key victories ultimately propelled the uber-talented team over the cut line.

Now, Arizona State is set to enter the Los Angeles regional - in which 15th seeded UCLA is hosting.

To get to UCLA, the Sun Devils will need to defeat UC Irvine - who had a special season in their own right.

While the regular season and Big 12 tournament didn't end the way the program had envisioned, they still possess the requisite talent to compete with anyone in the country.

Headlining the potent offense are Isaiah Jackson - who hit 16 home runs during the season, along with Kien Vu, Matt King, Josiah Cromwick, and others.

The ceiling of this team is unbelievably high, as they drew one of the 'weaker' region hosts and a quality first game opponent in UC Irvine that has unfortunately been battle tested on a minimal basis throughout the season.

The pitching staff must also fit the billing after collectively posting a 5.27 earned run average during the 57-game slate that came before.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome and frustrations that may be associated with the team currently, it is clear that Bloomquist has the historic program back on the right track.

Verdict: Sun Devils could reach College World Series for the first time since 2010, but also could flame out in regional - the range of outcomes is expansive.

Please take a few minutes to listen to our podcast discussing the current state of Sun Devil baseball here.

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