K-State baseball players, past and present, react to no NCAA tournament bid
MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT)- K-State baseball was not included in the list of 64 teams receiving NCAA tournament regional bids on Monday.
The Wildcats were listed among the 'First Four Out' by ESPN on the Selection Show.
K-State players, both past and present, were unhappy with this decision. Several Wildcats expressed their frustration on social media.
"Crazy how NCAA baseball and DI baseball care more about RPI than anything," K-State senior slugger Roberto Pena said on Twitter. "How is sweeping OU, winning 2-3 against Tech, and Arizona finishing 8th in their conference gets us out of the tournament but not them. System is broken…."
RPI, or rating percentage index, was likely the reason K-State was left out. The 'Cats RPI was 55. Oklahoma, one of the final teams selected to play in the tournament, had an RPI rank of 40. RPI is a system used to judge teams based off their wins and losses and strength of schedule.
Essentially, the committee decided Oklahoma's non-conference slate was more impressive than Kansas State's. Many Wildcat fans, and players, are frustrated since K-State seemed to out-perform OU in the following areas:
- Better overall record
- Better conference record
- 3-0 head-to-head
- Better finish in conference tournament
"So I guess big 12 record and standings just don’t mean anything? What a joke. RPI isn’t everything," K-State senior outfielder Cole Johnson said on Twitter.
Wildcats turned pro baseball players responded, too.
"Nothing new here... [Clown] show from NCAA baseball," former K-State pitcher Jordan Wicks said. "[K-State] sweeps OU AND finishes two spots higher in conference but doesn’t get in…"
Wicks currently pitches in the minor leagues for the Chicago Cubs Organization. One big-league player, who was a Wildcat from 2017-19, also chimed in.
"What a joke. The Cats swept OU and had more quality wins. Make it make sense," Will Brennan said on Twitter.
A regional bid would've been K-State's first since 2013.