The Way Too Early 2018 Sac-Joaquin Section Realignment Predictions

Every four years, the Sac-Joaquin Section realigns its teams based on enrollments and competitive ability.  Many years, changes are only minor, but there were significant league changes in 2014.  Central Catholic was moved up to the Valley Oak League. Up north, Oak Ridge and Folsom moved to the Sierra Foothill League, which made a tough league even tougher. There will be another realignment in 2018. There probably will not be as many moves in 2018 as there were in 2014. Unlike the NCAA, the Sac-Joaquin Section board decides which team joins what league, instead of teams and leagues agreeing. In this blog, I will make 5 predictions on how the section will move teams and why I think so. If ESPN can make way too early predictions, why can't I? My predictions will only involve teams in the southern part of the section.

1) Davis will get moved to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Once Gregori High School became Modesto’s seventh public high school, the enrollment at Davis High School dropped drastically. It quickly went from over 2,000 students to just over 1,400. Enrollment-wise, it is a perfect fit for the WAC. In addition, I read that the section gave Modesto City Schools one last chance to balance the enrollment numbers, or the city's schools will be split into different conferences. The section did not follow through when it had the chance to do a rare move and have the Spartans move conferences in the middle of a realignment period. I predict that the section will follow through this time. While we're at it…

2) Johansen will join Davis in moving to the WAC.

Enrollment wise, Johansen High School would be too large for the WAC with over 1,900 students. However, competitive equity is also a factor in placing schools in conferences.  Johansen has not been successful in the Modesto Metro Conference (MMC) in the major sports for a few years.  Sometime the section will make moves to help programs out, like allowing Riverbank football to play as an independent. I think it will do the same for the Vikings and move them to the WAC. If I am correct that both Davis and Johansen move to the WAC, that will leave the MMC with five teams in all sports, except for basketball. The section would fill the league with a sixth team. I will not make a formal prediction on who that team would be, but some possible candidates would be Oakdale, Central Catholic, and Modesto Christian.

3) Patterson will join the Valley Oak League (VOL) or the MMC.

Patterson has around 1,700 students. It is too large for the WAC, and the Tigers have some success. Last time, I predicted the Tigers would be in the VOL and I was wrong. It is only now that I am writing this particular prediction that I think the MMC is a possibility. Patterson may soon equal or surpass Johansen’s enrollment, but the Tigers athletically can “hang” with the teams in the MMC whereas the Vikings have struggled. Soon it will get to the point that Patterson is too large for the WAC, and it will have to join one of those two leagues. If the Tigers move to the VOL, one of the teams currently in it will have to leave to prevent a nine-team league. The three most likely choices are either Oakdale or Central Catholic to the MMC or Kimball moves to the Tri City Athletic League.

4) The VOL will be a division II league.

Not only will the section change teams around, but it will change division status of leagues if the teams are too good. A few years ago, the section moved the Sierra Foothill League up to Division I from Division II, because the teams were too good. Currently the VOL is a division III league. As a division III league, the VOL has had a lot of success. Just this year alone, there have been all-VOL finals in football, boy's soccer, and boy's water polo, and the year is only half-over. There could be an All-VOL final in boy’s basketball, too. Also, in football, the league had two section, NorCal, and state champions in Sierra and Central Catholic. The league also had two section champions in girl’s water polo with Oakdale winning in division II and Kimball winning division III. The section could keep Division III at two leagues, but I think either the Metro League or the Solano County Athletic Conference will move down to Division III.

5) The MINUTE the Sac-Joaquin Section decides to make the team wrestling playoff divisions enrollment-based, Oakdale gets bumped up to Division I.

When I was in high school, a certain amount of teams in each league made the playoffs (the amount depended on the specific league), and the playoff divisions and brackets determined where and who each team played. Now many sports have the division assignments based on enrollments. However, some sports still use the old system for playoffs: boy’s and girl’s team tennis, baseball, softball, and team wrestling. 

I don't think the section will base wrestling divisions by enrollment any time soon, but I could be wrong. The section will move teams up a division for being too successful. It happened to Central Catholic football. The Raiders were moved up to division III this year, and because they won the championship again this year, they will be moved up to division II next year. There has been one program in the 209 that has even been more successful than Central Catholic football over the past decade, and that has been Oakdale wrestling. The team has won eight championships in a row whether the VOL has been a division IV league or a division III. The team has been ranked in the top-15 in the state (across all divisions), and I have been told there have been JV wrestlers that could have advanced to sections if the wrestlers went to any other school. This year, the Oakdale wrestling team has been as high as #2 in the section and #12 in the state, and that is not even the best team Oakdale has had in the past decade. I am sure the section will want Oakdale to compete against Del Oro, Elk Grove, Vacaville, and Folsom for the playoffs.

Bonus: There will still be no “private school” league.

There are some people who believe that the private schools should not be able to be in the same league as the public schools, and they call for an all-private school league. Technically, there is already three all-private school leagues, the Central California Athletic Alliance, Sacramento Metro Athletic League, and the North Pacific League, but those leagues do not have any power private schools, with the possible exception of Brookside Christian of the CCAA. But, there is no “power private school league” in the Sac-Joaquin Section like the West Catholic League in the Central Coast Section, and there won't be any time soon for two reasons…
There aren't enough teams.
There are only two ways to get enough teams, and neither are plausible. Either have the schools that do not focus on athletics be put in the same leagues that do, and that is not fair. The athletic programs that do not completely focus on sports won't be able to survive, and those kids should have a place to play.  The other option is to have a north/south league, but I am sure the section will not want to do that. In the south (209), there are Central Catholic, Modesto Christian, Ripon Christian, St. Mary's, and maybe Brookside Christian. In the north, there are: Capital Christian, Christian Brothers, Jesuit, Sacramento (a charter school, but those schools would be “privates” in the athletic sense), and maybe Bradshaw Christian.

B) There are enough public schools that are just as good, and some even better than the private schools.

In football and basketball, the top-ranked team in the section is public-school Folsom. Jesuit usually finishes third or fourth in the league it is currently in. Central Catholic finished third in the VOL in basketball this year, behind Weston Ranch and Manteca. Also, Oakdale and Central Catholic trade wins. As long as there are enough public schools that can compete, there will not be a “power private school league”.

In 2017, we will find out what the section will decide. I am curious to see if I get any of these predictions correct.

If I Was King of Sports/Random Thought: 8-Man state tournament

There are those who make a living reporting high school football that want the section playoffs to be eliminated, and California to go to a state tournament.  While I don't agree with their viewpoint, there is a way we can test the theory. We can have a 32-team, 8-man state playoff (16 for the north, 16 for the south). There is currently no California state championship for 8-man football.  I had several ideas for proposals, and I learned there is no true fair way to do it, unless the powers that be want to make high school athletes travel great distances week after week. Having 16 teams for each region created the least incovience.

In my model, each league champion has an automatic berth, and I used the top rated teams by calpreps.com as the at-large teams. Plus, I used the calpreps.com rankings to seed the teams, unless teams from the same league would play each other. (Note: In this bracket, I did have to put two teams in the same league against each other in the 1st round, because I otherwise would have to move some teams down unjustifiably.) Since the southern part of the state is so much stronger, I considered having one team from the south cross over to the north, but if I had my way, the south would either have to agree to play all the games on the road, or compromise to playing in the Bakersfield-area for its "home games". The championship game would be at a neutral pre-determined site.

South (Los Angeles, San Diego, and Southern Sections) (12 Automatic berths, 4 at-large) ^=at large

Team, Section, League (Higher seeds would host)
(1) Cate (Carpenteria) Southern, Condor
(16) Hillcrest Chr. (Thousand Oaks), Southern, Omega

(8) Fulton Valley (LA-Van Nuys), Los Angeles, Valley
(9) San Jacinto Valley Academy, Southern, Warrior

(5) Faith Baptist^ (LA-Canoga Park), Southern, IND
(12) Amino Robinson (Los Angeles), Los Angeles, City

(4) Avalon, Southern, Express
(13) Trona, Southern, Hi-Lo

(6) Desert Chapel^ (Palm Springs), Southern, Victory
(11) Lucerne Valley, Southern, Agape

(3) Mojave^, Southern, IND
(14) Calvin Chr. (Escondido), San Diego, Ocean

(7) Thatcher^ (Ojai), Southern, Condor
(10) Cuyama Valley (New Cuyama), Southern, CVC

(2) Joshua Springs (Yucca Valley), Southern, Victory
(15) Ocean View Chr. (San Diego), San Diego, Citrus

First 4 out: Laguna Blanca (Santa Barbara)
                    Desert Christian (Bermuda Dunes)
                    Orcutt Academy
                    Upland Christian (Rancho Cucamonga)
(All are in Southern Section)

North (All other sections that have 8-man football) (5 automatic, 11 at-large)
Team, Section, League
(1) Redding Chr. (Palo Cedro), Northern, 8-man North
(16) Butte Valley^ (Dorris), Northern, 8-man North

(8) Trinity Chr.^ (Monterey), Central Coast, MTL
(9) Crystal Springs Uplands^ (Hillsboro), Central Coast, IND

(5) Stuart Hall (San Francisco), Central Coast, MTL
(12) Loyalton^, Northern, 8-man South

(4) Fresno Chr., Central, CSL
(13) Upper Lake, North Coast, NCL III

(6) Mercy (Red Bluff), Northern, 8-man South
(11) Calistoga^, North Coast, NCL III

(3) Hayfork^, Northern, 8-man North
(14) Point Arena^, North Coast, NCL III

(7) Anderson Valley^ (Booneville), North Coast, NCL III
(10) Pinewood^ (Los Altos Hills), Central Coast, MTL

(2) Big Valley^ (Bieber), Northern, 8-man North
(15) Riverdale Chr.^, Central Coast, MTL

Last 4 out: Greenville, Princeton, Tulelake, Tomales

If I did the crossover rule, Laguna Blanca would be in and Butte Valley would be out.
                 

Sac-Joaquin Section football playoff 2015

DIVISION III

(16) El Camino (Sacramento) @ (1) CENTRAL CATHOLIC (MODESTO)

(9) Christian Brothers (Sacramento) @ (8) Vanden (Fairfield)

(12) River Valley (Yuba City) @ (5) Placer (Auburn)

(13) Yuba City @ (4) PATTERSON

(11) CENTRAL VALLEY (CERES) @ (6) MANTECA

(14) Lincoln @ (3) Inderkum (Sacramento)

(10) Benicia @  (7) Vista del Lago (Folsom)

(15) El Dorado (Placerville) @ (2) OAKDALE

DIVISION I

(16) Kennedy (Sacramento) @ (1) Folsom

(9) Franklin (Elk Grove) @ (8) TURLOCK

(12) STAGG (STOCKTON) @ (5) ST. MARY'S (STOCKTON)

(13) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) @  (4) Napa

(11) LINCOLN (STOCKTON) @ (6) Cosumnes Oaks  (Elk Grove)

(14) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) @ (3) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills)

(10) MODESTO @ (7) MERCED

(15) GREGORI (MODESTO) @ (2) Elk Grove

DIVISION II
(16) BEYER (MODESTO) @ (1) Grant (Sacramento)
(9) Granite Bay @ (8) DOWNEY (MODESTO)
(12) Whitney (Rocklin) @ (5) Del Oro (Loomis)
(13) American Canyon @ (4) Wood (Vacaville)
(11) PITMAN (TURLOCK) @ (6) Del Campo (Fair Oaks)
(14) Burbank (Sacramento) @ (3) Rocklin
(10) MCNAIR (STOCKTON) @ (7) Sacramento
(15) WEST (TRACY) @ (2) Antelope

DIVISION IV
(8) LOS BANOS @ (1) LATHROP
(5) Dixon @  (4) LIBERTY RANCH (GALT)
(6) Union Mine (El Dorado) @ (3) SIERRA (MANTECA)
(7) Center (Antelope) @ (2) CALAVERAS (SAN ANDREAS)

DIVISION V
(8) Marysville @ (1) SONORA
(5) HUGHSON @ (4) ORESTIMBA (NEWMAN)
(6) Bear River (Grass Valley) @ (3) RIPON
(7) Highlands (North Highlands) @ (2) Capital Christian (Sacramento)

DIVISION VI
(8) MARIPOSA @  (1) HILMAR
(5) Golden Sierra (Garden Valley) @ (4) RIPON CHRISTIAN
(6) Rio Vista @  (3) GUSTINE
(7) AMADOR (SUTTER CREEK @ (2) Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento)

DIVISION VII
CCAA 3 MILLENNIUM @ SMAL 2 Woodland Christian
winner plays CCAA 1 STONE RIDGE CHRISTIAN  (MERCED)
SMAL 3 Foresthill @ CCAA 2 BIG VALLEY (MODESTO)
winner plays SMAL 1 Delta (Clarksburg)

CENTRAL SECTION DIVISION V
1st round
(9) Lindsay @ (8) Caruthers
(10) Bishop @ (7) Mendota
2nd round
LIN/CAR @ (1) Immanuel (Reedley)
(5) Kern Valley (Lake Isabella) @ (4) Woodlake
(6) Firebaugh @ (3) DOS PALOS
BIS/MEN @ (2) Fowler

If I Was King of Sports- College Football Playoffs 2015 Final Postseason

I was very happy when the NCAA dumped the BCS and went to a playoff to decide the national champion. However, four teams are not enough. What I don't like is a team like Middle Tennessee State could have the quality of a SEC team one year, go undefeated, and not have a chance at the national championship, even if it is the best team that particular year, because it plays in a weak conference. If I was king of sports, the college football national championship would be a 12-team playoff. The ten conference champions would qualify plus two wildcards. The bowl system would be used like NIT is in basketball, as a reward for teams with a good season, but who did not qualify for the main tournament. For those who say 12 teams is too many, every other division in the NCAA or NAIA uses at least a 16-team playoff, including Division III that has a 32-team playoff.

In my vision, a committee would seed the teams from 1-16. The top 4 would be granted a bye in the first round. A wildcard would not be allowed to have a top-4 seed, unless it has a top 4 record, regardless of the strength of the other conferences.

This would be my bracket after week 6. Unless a head-to-head matchup has actually occured, I used point differential to break a tie. At this point, it is just a model. Things will happen the way they are supposed to be at the end of the season. (Update 11/5 Now that the college football playoff rankings are now out, if two teams are tied and have not had the opportunity to play each other, yet, the higher ranked team will be considered "the conference leader".  Also, the record for Toledo is reflected before the week began, which is when I would have updated the project if I had time).

*=Wildcard
(1) Clemson (8-0 ACC, 13-0) would have a bye
(9) Western Kentucky (8-0 CUSA, 11-2) @ (8) Houston  (7-1 AAC, 12-1)
(12) Arkansas St. (8-0 SBC, 10-3) @ (5) Iowa (8-0 Big 10, 12-1)*
(4) Oklahoma (8-1 Big 12, 11-1) would have a bye
(11) Bowling Green (7-1 MAC, 10-3) @ (6) Stanford (8-1 PAC-12, 11-2)
(3) Michigan St. (7-1 BIg 10, 12-1) would have a bye
(10) San Diego St. (8-0 MWC, 10-3) @ (7) Ohio St. (7-1 Big 10, 11-1)*
(2) Alabama (7-1 SEC, 12-1) would have a bye)

First two teams out: Notre Dame (10-2), Florida St. (10-2)

Week 5 High School Football playoffs

I wanted to see what the playoff field would look like if the regular season ended today. There is one change in the way teams qualify for the playoffs. Seven leagues will receive an extra automatic bid due to the playoff success (DL, PVL, SFL, SL, TVL, TCC, and VOL). That means the number of at-large bids drops from 28 to 21 (at this point, all but one team in the leagues with the extra bids would have made the playoffs anyway. Pioneer is the team that wouldn't have, and Gregori would now be out.) There are two changes in division placement. League champions now have to play in the division the league is assigned. For example, Wood is small enough for Division III, but since it is leading a Division I league, it would have to play in Division I. The second one is that the definition of "competition success" has broadened. The only team that would have moved up because of the playoffs would not be in as of now (but expect that to change at the actual end of season).

Last 4 teams in: Vintage, Highlands, St. Mary's, Franklin (Elk Grove)

First 2 teams out: Gregori, Golden Valley (I would have done 1st 4 if I thought about it earlier, but I remember these are the first two.)

Division I

(16) Enochs (Modesto) @ (1) Folsom

(9) Woodcreek (Roseville) @ (8) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove)

(12) Modesto @ (5) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove)

(13) West (Tracy) @ (4) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills)

(11) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) @ (6) Turlock

(14) Chavez (Stockton) @ (3) Wood (Vacaville)

(10) McNair (Stockton) @ (7) Franklin (Elk Grove)

(15) Kennedy (Sacramento) @ (2) Elk Grove

DIVISION II

(16) Tokay (Lodi) @ (1) Grant (Sacramento)

(9) Whitney (Rocklin) @ (8) Turlock

(12) Downey (Modesto) @ (5) Antelope 

(13) Sacramento @ (4) Napa

(11) Jesuit (Carmichael) @ (6) Rocklin

(14) Vanden (Fairfield) @ (3) Del Oro (Loomis)

(10) Del Campo (Fair Oaks) @ (7) St. Mary's (Stockton)

(15) Vintage (Napa) @ (2) Granite Bay

DIVISION III
(16) Pioneer (Woodland) @ (1) Oakdale
(9) Vista del Lago (Folsom) @ (8) Los Banos
(12) Sierra (Manteca) @ (5) River Valley (Yuba City)
(13) Christian Brothers (Sacramento) @ (4) Patterson
(11) Burbank (Sacramento) @ (6) Placer (Auburn)
(14) Central Valley (Ceres) @ (3) Manteca
(10) Benicia @ (7) Inderkum (Sacramento)
(15) El Dorado (Placrrville) @ (2) Central Catholic (Modesto)

DIVISION IV
(8) Lindhurst (Olivehurst) @ (1) Sonora
(5) Weston Ranch (Stockton) @ (4) Union Mine (El Dorado)
(6) Dixon @ (3) Calaveras (San Andreas)
(7) Center (Antelope) @ (2) Lathrop

DIVISION V
(8) Amador (Sutter Creek) @ (1) Bear River (Grass Valley)
(5) Orestimba (Newman) @ (4) Escalon
(6) Marysville @ (3) Hughson
(7) Hilmar @ (2) Highlands (North Highlands)

DIVISION VI
(8) Rio Vista @ (1) Capital Christian
(5) Summerville (Tuolumne City) @ (4) Ripon Christian
(6) Golden Sierra (Garden Valley) @ (3) Gustine
(7) Mariposa @ (2) Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento)

DIVISION VII
CCAA 1 Stone Ridge Christian would have a bye
SMAL 3 Valley Christian (Roseville) @ CCAA 2 Brookside Christian (Stockton)
SMAL 1 Woodland Christian would have a bye
CCAA 3 Big Valley (Modesto) @ SMAL 2 Delta (Clarksburg)

Three teams I think will be in the playoffs who are not there now: Colfax, Gregori (Modesto), Modesto Christian

Three teams 1 think won't be in the playoffs who would be there now: Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), West (Tracy), Weston Ranch (Stockton)

2015 NCAA Division I-A top 4/Lower Division Playoffs

NCAA DIVISION I FBS (4 in playoffs)

Team and week 13 opponent 

1. Clemson (vs. North Carolina @ Charlotte, NC)

2. Alabama (@ Auburn)

3. Oklahoma (@ #11 Oklahoma St.)

4. Iowa (@ Nebraska 11/27)

NCAA DIVISION I FCS 

Round 2 playoffs

Chattanooga @ #1 Jacksonville St.

NCAA DIVISION II Second Round

Super Regional 1
(5) Indiana (PA) @ (1) Shepherd
(3) Assumption @ (2) Slippery Rock

Super Regional 4
(4) Colorado St.-Pueblo @ (1) Midwestern St.
(6) Grand Valley St. @ (2) Ferris St.

Super Regional 3
(4) Valdosta St. @ (1) West Georgia
(6) Tuskegee @ (2) North Alabama

Super Regional 2
(4) Humboldt St. @ (1) Northwest Missouri St.
(7) Emporia St. @ (3) Henderson St.

NCAA DIVISION III Second Round
St. John's (MN) @ St. Thomas
Wabash @ Thomas More
SUNY-Cortland @ Linfield
Mary Hardin-Baylor @ Huntingdon
Albright @ Mt. Union
Johns Hopkins @ Wesley
Ohio Northern @ Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Wheaton (IL) @ Wisconsin-Whitewater

NAIA Quarterfinals
Tabor @ Morningside
Southern Oregon @ Baker
Marian @ Grand View
Montana Tech @ St. Francis (IN)

Year 3 of baseball/softball NIT if I Was King of Sports

by Matt Groom

This is the third year of my baseball NIT bracket.  If I was King of Sports, there would be a NIT for NCAA baseball.  The idea started two years ago when 30-29 Florida was invited to play in the NCAA baseball tournament and 43-10 Campbell was not.  Maybe Campbell was not one of the best 64 teams, but I do believe that 43-10 deserves some extra baseball.  I created a bracket that would invite all teams that had a better record than the at-large with the worst record in the tournament.  I would also invite Division II teams that did not make it to its College World Series if there were not enough teams to fill in the bracket.  In this tournament, the only teams invited would be those who had a better record than the worst at-large team, no more, no less.  The NCAA tournament is meant to invite the best teams.  My tournament's purpose is to reward the teams with great seasons who did not get an NCAA tournament invite.  Because of that, the teams invited, hosts, and seeds are decided solely by record.  If two teams tie, then strength of schedule would break the tie.

In case you are interested, here is the link to the actual NCAA tournament bracket:
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/baseball/d1

Here would be the field for the 2015 season if I Was King of Sports

Team in question: Mississippi Rebels (30-26 .536). This year, 61 schools had better records.  Two have had an equal record.  If this tournament happened my way, there would be 64 teams in it (the 63 plus one division II school).  The playing style would be the same as the NCAA tournament.

Region I- @ Jacksonville, FL (Host: North Florida Ospreys) (Division II school in italics)
(4) Nova Southeastern (39-13) vs. (1) North Florida (45-16)
(3) McNeese St. (32-25) vs. (2) Duke (31-22)

Region XVI- @ St. Louis, MO (Host: St. Louis Bilikins)
(4) Rider (28-22) vs. (1) St. Louis (35-21)
(3) Illinois-Chicago (29-22) vs. (2) Southeast Missouri St. (36-23)

Region VIII- @ Annapolis, MD (Host: Navy Midshipmen)
(4) Wagner (29-23) vs. (1) Navy (37-20)
(3) Connecticut (35-25) vs. (2) George Washington (32-22)

Region IX- @ Thibodaux, LA (Host: Nicholls St. Colonels)
(4) Troy (30-25) vs. (1) Nicholls St. (34-19)
(3) UAB (33-25) vs. (2) Arkansas-Pine Bluff (25-16)

Region V- @ Hattiesburg, MS (Host: Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles)
(4) New Mexico (32-27) vs. (1) Southern Mississippi (36-18)
(3) Northwestern St. (31-23) vs. (2) UC-Irvine (33-23)

Region XII- @ Columbus, OH (Host: Ohio St. Buckeyes)
(4) Evansville (29-24) vs. (1) Ohio St. (35-20)
(3) Texas Tech (31-24) vs. (2) Central Michigan (35-22)

Region IV- @ Rock Hill, SC (Host: Winthrop Eagles)
(4) Bryant (29-25) vs. (1) Winthrop (40-19)
(3) South Carolina (32-25) @ (2) North Carolina (34-24)

Region XIII- @ Baltimore, MD (Host: Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers)
(4) Sacramento St. (32-27) vs. (1) Maryland-Baltimore County (34-20)
(3) Campbell (32-25) vs. (2) Penn (22-15)

Region VI- @ Milwaukee, WI (Host: Milwaukee Panthers)
(4) Washington (29-25) vs. (1) Milwaukee (39-20)
(3) Kent St. (31-22) vs. (2) Michigan St. (34-23)

Region XI- @ Memphis, TN (Host: Memphis Tigers)
(4) Central Arkansas (29-24) vs. (1) Memphis (37-21)
(3) Ball St. (33-25) vs. (2) San Diego (33-22)

Region III- @ Hammond, LA (Host: Southeastern Louisiana Lions)
(4) Florida Gulf Coast (30-26) vs. (1) Southeast Louisiana (42-17)
(3) UTSA (33-25) vs. (2) Grand Canyon (32-22)

Region XIV- @ Norfolk, VA (Host: Norfolk St. Spartans)
(4) Samford (32-26) vs. (1) Norfolk St. (27-16)
(3) Davidson (28-22) vs. (2) Liberty (33-23)

Region VII- @ Mobile, AL (Host: South Alabama Jaguars)
(4) Middle Tennessee St. (32-27) vs. (1) South Alabama (37-20)
(3) Georgia Tech (32-23) vs. (2) Alabama St. (31-19)

Region X- @ Spartanburg, SC (Host: Wofford Terriers)
(4) Kentucky (30-25) vs. (1) Wofford (39-22)
(3) Jackson St. (32-25) vs. (2) South Dakota St. (33-23)

Region XV- @ Omaha, NE (Host: Creighton Blue Jays)
(4) Oklahoma (34-27) vs. (1) Creighton (32-19)
(3) Northridge St. (33-24) vs. (2) Nebraska (34-23)

Region II- @ Reno, NV (Host: Nevada Wolfpack)
(4) UC-Davis (30-26) vs. (1) Nevada (41-15)
(3) Arizona (31-24) vs. (2) Loyola Marymount (33-21)

I understand that if this tournament were to actually happen, there would have to be a set number of teams invited so that people behind the scenes can plan to
make it the best tournament possible for players, coaches, and fans.  The way I have designed it does not call for that.  It only calls for those who have great seasons.

This year, I have also designed one for softball.  The same rules apply.  This year, I allowed for a play-in game since there were a few extra teams.  Fifty-one teams had better records than the worst at-large team to be invited to the NCAA tournament.  This year, if this tournament was real, and I had everything my way, there would be 8 brackets with 6 teams each (plus 3 play-in games).  The winners would advance to the championship series.  Like the tournament, it would be double-elimination (except for the play-in games).

Team invited to NCAA tournament with the worst record: Kentucky (29-24, .547)

Region I- Kent, OH (Kent St.)
(6) Purdue (31-25)/Florida International (30-24) winner vs. (1) Kent St. (41-13)
(5) Canisius (26-19) vs. (2) IUPUI (33-18)
(4) Drake (32-21) vs. (3) Kennesaw St. (32-19)

Region VIII- Natchitoches, LA (Northwestern St.)
(6) Delaware (30-23) vs. (1) Northwestern St. (36-18)
(5) Hawai'i (32-22) vs. (2) Idaho St. (34-18)
(4) Louisiana Tech (31-19) vs. (3) Mercer (37-22)

Region IV- Riverside, CA (UC-Riverside)
(6) St. Joseph's (23-18) vs. (1) UC-Riverside (39-17)
(5) Ohio St. (30-22) vs. (2) San Jose St. (37-19)
(4) Texas St. (32-21) vs. (3) St. Francis (PA) (31-19)

Region V- Jacksonville, AL (Jacksonville St.)
(6) Savannah St. (22-17) vs. (1) Jacksonville St. (38-17)
(5) Elon (31-22) vs. (2) South Florida (36-20)
(4) Samford (32-22) vs. (3) Georgia St. (38-22)

Region III- Huntington, WV (Marshall)
(6) Lipscomb (31-25)/Grand Canyon (28-22) winner vs. (1) Marshall (35-15)
(5) Coastal Carolina (31-24) vs. (2) Harvard (28-15-1)
(4) Towson (31-22) vs. (3) Bucknell (35-20)

Region VI- Murray, KY (Murray St.)
(6) Miami (OH) (32-24) vs. (1) Murray St. (38-19)
(5) Troy (32-23) vs. (2) St. Louis (36-18)
(4) Stetson (30-20) vs. (3) Albany (30-18)

Region II- Dayton, OH (Dayton)
(6) Furman (31-25)/San Diego (29-23) winner vs. (1) Dayton (39-14)
(5) Rutgers (29-20) vs. (2) Stony Brook (30-16)
(4) Wichita St. (34-23) vs. (3) UAB (32-19)

Region VII- San Antonio, TX (UTSA)
(6) Manhattan (26-20) vs. (1) UTSA (36-18)
(5) Louisiana-Monroe (30-22) vs. (2) Tulsa (36-18)
(4) Fullerton St. (34-22) vs. (3) McNeese St. (36-20)