For the first time, Conference USA has two teams playing in the NCAA Super regionals. East Carolina, armed with the best record in college baseball, will play at South Carolina and Tulane will travel out west to battle Cal State Fullerton. All games of both Super Regionals will be televised by ESPN or ESPN 2. The winners of the Super Regionals will advance to the 58th annual College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska beginning on June 18.

NCAA SUPER REGIONALS

COLUMBIA SUPER REGIONAL
(Columbia, S.C.)

Sat., June 12
East Carolina at South Carolina (ESPN) 1:00p

Sun., June 13
East Carolina at South Carolina (ESPN) Noon

Mon., June 14 (if necessary)
East Carolina at South Carolina (ESPN) TBA


FULLERTON SUPER REGIONAL
(Fullerton, Calif.)

Sat., June 12
Tulane at Cal State Fullerton (ESPN 2) 10:00p

Sun., June 13
Tulane at Cal State Fullerton (ESPN 2) 9:00p

Mon., June 14 (if necessary)
Tulane at Cal State Fullerton (ESPN 2) 7:00p


All Times Eastern


C-USA ADVANCES TWO TEAMS TO THE NCAA SUPER REGIONALS
For the first time in its nine-year history, Conference USA has advanced two teams to the NCAA Super Regionals.

East Carolina swept three games at the Kinston Regional by a combined score of 26-6, winning the regional championship over UNC Wilmington, 7-0 on Monday. The Pirates will advance to the Columbia Super Regional where they will face South Carolina in a best-of-three series that begins on Saturday, June 12.

Tulane was the only No. 3 seed to sweep a regional, winning three in a row at the Oxford (Miss.) Regional. The Green Wave defeated Washington twice and Western Kentucky once to earn its second trip to the Super Regionals. In its last Super Regional appearance in 2001, Tulane defeated LSU in a memorable series at Zephyr Field in Metarie, La., to earn its first trip to the College World Series. A possible road back to the CWS is a much longer one, in terms of geography, this time around, as the Wave will play at Cal State Fullerton beginning on Saturday.

Should both schools win their Super Regionals, they would face each other in their opening game in Omaha on Saturday, June 19.

Conference USA has produced 27 NCAA teams in its first nine seasons. Five straight years a C-USA team has advanced to a Super Regional and once a team has reached the College World Series.

C-USA DRAFTEES
A record total of 32 Conference USA players were selected in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, which concluded on June 8.

Rd. Player Pos. School MLB Team
3 Garrett Mock RHP Houston Arizona Diamondbacks
4 Rob Johnson C Houston Seattle Mariners
5 Greg Bunn RHP East Carolina Montreal Expos
5 Wes Swackhamer OF Tulane St. Louis Cardinals
6 Brent Dlugach SS Memphis Detroit Tigers
6 Devin Ivany C USF Montreal Expos
6 Jarrett Hoffpauir 2B Southern Miss St. Louis Cardinals
8 Matt Shepherd SS Southern Miss St. Louis Cardinals
8 Myron Leslie 3B USF Oakland A's
9 Trevor Lawhorn 2B East Carolina Cincinnati Reds
9 Ryan Norwood 1B East Carolina Chicago Cubs
10 Jarrett Grube RHP Memphis Colorado Rockies
10 Derek Hankins RHP Memphis Pittsburgh Pirates
11 Matt Varner RHP Houston San Diego Padres
11 Darryl Lawhorn OF East Carolina Arizona Diamondbacks
14 Kyle Schmidt RHP USF Baltimore Orioles
14 Eugene Espinelli LHP TCU San Francisco Giants
17 John Poppert C East Carolina Montreal Expos
17 Matt Bishop RHP East Carolina Pittsburgh Pirates
17 Ryan Frith OF Southern Miss Philadelphia Phillies
20 Rickey Putnam RHP Houston San Francisco Giants
21 Patrick Breen OF Houston Tampa Bay Devil Rays
22 Ryan Jones OF East Carolina Oakland A's
26 Brian Bormaster C Tulane Toronto Blue Jays
29 Bill Edwards RHP Memphis Anaheim Angels
29 Mike Macaluso SS USF Toronto Blue Jays
30 Cory Hahn RHP Tulane Toronto Blue Jays
32 Austin Tubb RHP Southern Miss St. Louis Cardinals
34 Brett Cooley 1B Houston St. Louis Cardinals
36 Anthony DeWitt RHP Southern Miss Houston Astros
41 Clayton Jerome RHP TCU Texas Rangers
48 J.T. LaFountain 1B Louisville Colorado Rockies


C-USA TEAMS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
TCU became the eighth different school to represent Conference USA in the NCAA Tournament, joining Charlotte, East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, USF, Southern Miss and Tulane.


YEAR BY YEAR SELECTIONS
2004 East Carolina, Southern Miss, TCU Tulane
2003 East Carolina, Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane
2002 East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, USF, Tulane
2001 Houston, USF, Tulane
2000 Houston, Tulane
1999 Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane
1998 Charlotte, Tulane
1997 Houston, USF
1996 USF, Tulane


CHARLOTTE
Senior IF JAMIE RUSCO and senior C/DH RANDALL POPLIN were the first teammates to connect on double-figure home runs in the same season since Bo Robinson and James Matan in the school's record-breaking 1998 campaign. Rusco's 14 round-trippers is the fifth-best single-season total in school history, while Poplin went yard 10 times. Freshman RHP ADAM MILLS tied for the team lead in wins with four and recorded 37 strikeouts with only 14 walks. With three strikeouts in his final game at Charlotte, senior RHOP ZACHARY TREADWAY moved past his brother, Brion, for fifth place on the school's all-time strikeout list with 232.

CINCINNATI
The Bearcats opened the brand new UC Baseball Stadium during the final weekend, of the regular season, drawing a crowd of 2,200 for the first game on May 20 against UAB. Redshirt freshman BRIAN BELTZ got the honor of picking up the first-ever hit in the stadium with a first inning single to center. Senior AARON MOLL hit the Bearcats' first homer with a second inning blast to left center the next night night. JOSH KAY made the first start of his UC career against Akron on May 18, earning the win with six scoreless innings of work. With his homer on May 21, Moll ended his career with 26 long balls, good for a share of seventh place in school history. He shares the spot with teammate STEVE PICKERELL, a second team All-Conference USA selection.

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina swept through the Kinston Regional, outscoring its opponents 26-6 to advance to its first Super Regional since 2001. The Pirates have four players that have been named All-Americans, the most in one season in school history. Senior DH/OF RYAN JONES, the Conference USA Player of the Year, and junior RHP GREG BUNN, the C-USA Pitcher of the Year, are joined by junior 1B RYAN NORWOOD and sophomore 2B TREVOR LAWHORN in earning All-America honors. Jones led the nation in slugging percentage most of the season (currently .828) with 47 of his 84 hits going for extra-bases. Bunn is 10-0 with a 2.66 ERA and 109 strikeouts with 30 walks. Norwood leads the nation with a school record 32 doubles and was the top hitter in the league in conference play, batting .432 against C-USA opponents. Lawhorn is second in the league with 21 home runs and needs just one more to tie the school record of 22 set by Winfred Johnson in 1985. As a team, the Pirates have established a new single-season record with 100 home runs. The 51 wins by East Carolina this season has broken the school record of 47, set by the 2001 team and is just five shy of the Conference USA record of 56, set by Tulane's 2001 CWS team.

HOUSTON
The Cougars posted a winning season for the eighth time in the last nine years, but did not receive an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament, snapping a string of five consecutive NCAA trips. The Cougars closed out the season with wins in 16 of their last 23 games. Sophomore DH KEVIN ROBERTS was named to the C-USA All-Tournament team after batting .400 (6-for-15) with a pair of RBI. Junior C/OF ROB JOHNSON ended the season on a 17-game hitting streak, while senior IF THANOS PAPAVASILIOU closed out his collegiate career with at least one hit in his last 14 games. Senior IF COLE BRUCE hit safely in his final 18 Conference USA games. Senior BRANDON ROZNOVSKY finished with nine saves on the year, the third-best single-season total in UH history. Houston played 27 games against nationally-ranked opponents this season, posting wins in nine of those outings.

LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals earned a spot in the Conference USA Tournament for the ninth straight year, making Louisville one of only three programs to play in each tourney. Senior OF MARK JURICH finished his career at Louisville ninth in games played (193), seventh in hits (234), seventh in at-bats (714), first in doubles (58), sixth in triples (12), fourth in home runs (47) and seventh in RBI (178). His 19 doubles this season tied for seventh all-time and his 19 home runs tied for the eighth highest total in a single season. Six freshmen, including four position players, played key roles on the Cards youthful squad this season. OF/IF DANIEL BURTON earned a spot on C-USA's All-Freshman team after leading the team's freshmen in hitting at .294 with 13 doubles. SS CHRIS CATES batted .279 with a league-high 165 assists.

MEMPHIS
The Tigers made their first trip to the Conference USA Tournament since they advanced to the semifinals of the 2001 tourney. Senior JARRETT GRUBE and junior DEREK HANKINS became the first duo in school history to register 100 strikeouts in a season. Grube owns a league-low 2.82 ERA and was 9-4 with 110 strikeouts. Hankins recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a game four times and owned an 8-5 record with a league-high 114 K's. Junior SS BRENT DLUGACH hit safely in 24 of 29 league games and hit a team-best .357 in Conference USA play. Twenty-one of his 40 hits in league play were extra-base hits (12 doubles, two triples and seven home runs). In all games, he led the team in doubles (16) and homers (9), while driving in 37.

SAINT LOUIS
The Billikens dropped two of three to Memphis, but did close out the season with a victory in the series finale. Saint Louis got at least one hit from every position player in the lineup, including a pair of three-run home runs from seniors KYLE WORT and BRAD DAUBACH in an 8-3 win in the season finale. Freshman RYAN BIRD picked up his third win as he allowed just two earned runs and struck out five in 6-2/3 innings. Senior JOE BUEHLER made his school record 26th appearance of the season to close down the Tigers in the top of the ninth with a pair of strikeouts. The win also marked the 300th career victory for head coach BOB HUGHES.

USF
For the first time ever, the Bulls failed to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament. At 31-24, USF did win 30 or more games for the fourth year in a row. In the series finale against Louisville on Saturday, senior SS MYRON LESLIE broke the school's all-time record for hits with his 312th career hit. Leslie led the team in batting at .361 and ranks in the top 10 of the conference in doubles with 23. Freshman RHP CASEY HUDSPETH won eight games this year, the most by a USF freshman since Mark Roberts and Pat Ryan each won eight in 1994. He also led the team in ERA (3.45) and strikeouts (74). Junior OF BRYAN HIERLMEIER was the only USF player this season to post double figure totals in doubles (10) and home runs (11).

SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles made back-to-back NCAA appearances for just the second time in school history. With 45 wins, Southern Miss posted the second-highest victory total in school history, trailing only the 47 wins by the 2003 team. The Golden Eagles reached the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament for the second straight year and set tourney records for home runs (13) and RBI (55) along the way. Junior 2B JARRETT HOFFPAUIR set new school records for hits (109) and RBI (92), while batting .405 and hitting 27 doubles (tied for second-most in a single-season at USM). Junior SS MATT SHEPHERD also hit 27 doubles and finished the year batting .385 with 74 runs scored (tied for third in a season at USM). Junior OF RYAN FRITH hit a league-best 22 home runs and batted .341 with 15 doubles and 63 RBI. Southern Miss set a school record with 465 RBI this season and its 90 home runs ranks second.

TCU
TCU made its first NCAA appearance since 1994 and set a new school record for victories this season with 39. The Horned Frogs defeated Southern Miss, 3-1, to earn its first-ever conference tournament championship on May 30. TCU became only the second team to lose in the opening round of the tournament and then win five consecutive games to capture the tournament crown. Senior RHP CLAYTON JEROME closed out his career in second place on the school's all-time wins list with 28 and also finished in sole possession of third place on the school's all-time strikeout chart with 312. After opening the year as a starter, senior RHP ROBBIE FINDLAY performed well as the Horned Frogs closer. In 32 appearances, he was 6-1 with a league-high 11 saves and 63 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched. The 11 saves are a new TCU single-season record, breaking the old record of 10, set by Tim Grieve in 1994. OF/DH CHAD HUFFMAN was named C-USA Freshman of the Year after leading all C-USA freshmen in batting (.383) and on-base percentage (.477), while smacking 20 doubles and setting a new TCU single-season record for hits with 97. SHELBY FORD led all C-USA freshmen in home runs with 16 and hit two homers in a game three times this season. TCU pitchers allowed a league-low 49 home runs this season.

TULANE
The Green Wave have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second time in four years after being the only No. 3 seed to sweep a regional last weekend. Pitching was the big reason for the Green Wave's success, as the staff combined to post a 1.33 ERA with 14 strikeouts and seven walks over 27 innings. Sophomore P/OF BRIAN BOGUSEVIC, the Most Valuable Player at the Oxford Regional, may be the most successful two-way player in C-USA this season. On the mound, he is 9-5 with a 3.70 ERA and 82 strikeouts with just 23 walks. At the plate, he is batting .343 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs and a team-best 68 RBI. Tulane's pitchers have struck out 394 batters, while walking only 148. The Green Wave has posted eight shutouts this season, the most by a Tulane team since the 1978 squad also recorded eight. At 41-19, Tulane has produced its eighth 40-win season in 11 years under head coach RICK JONES. The Green Wave has placed first or second in C-USA in eight of the league's first nine seasons.

UAB
UAB earned spot in the Conference USA Tournament for the first time since reaching semifinals of the 2000 Tourney in St. Petersburg, Fla. and once again advanced to the semifinal round before being eliminated by Southern Miss. The Blazers posted their second straight winning season and their 30 victories was their highest total since 1997. UAB closed out its season by winning 11 of its last 16 road contests, including nine of 13 against C-USA opponents on the road. UAB was 15-2 this season when scoring 10 or more runs. Head coach LARRY GIANGROSSO notched his 700th career coaching victory in the come-from-behind win over Memphis in the C-USA Tournament. He now owns a 700-446-1 (.611) record in 26 seasons as a head coach.


THE POLLS

Baseball America (June 7)
1. Miami (Fla.) (47-11)
2. Texas (53-13)
3. South Carolina (48-15)
4. Georgia Tech (44-19)
5. EAST CAROLINA (51-11)
6. Cal State Fullerton (40-21)
7. Stanford (46-14)
8. Arkansas (43-22)
9. Georgia (41-21)
10 Louisiana State (44-17)
11. Rice (46-14)
12. Florida State (45-21)
13. Long Beach State (39-19)
14. Notre Dame (51-12)
15. Vanderbilt (45-17)
16. Florida (43-20)
17. Oral Roberts (50-11)
18. TULANE (41-19)
19. Texas A&M (42-20)
20. Washington (39-20-1)
21. Arizona (33-24-1)
22. Arizona State (41-18)
23. Mississippi (39-21)
24. Virginia (44-15)
25. Oklahoma (38-24)

Collegiate Baseball (June 7)
1. Miami (Fla.) (47-11)
2. Texas (53-13)
3. Georgia Tech (44-19)
4. Arkansas (43-22)
5. Cal State Fullerton (40-21)
6. Long Beach State (39-19)
7. Georgia (41-21)
8 Louisiana State (44-17)
9. South Carolina (48-15)
10. EAST CAROLINA (51-11)
11. Stanford (46-14)
12. Rice (46-14)
13. Florida State (45-21)
14. TULANE (41-19)
15. Texas A&M (42-20)
16. Vanderbilt (45-17)
17. Florida (43-20)
18. Arizona (33-24-1)
19. Notre Dame (51-12)
20. Virginia (44-15)
21. Washington (39-20-1)
22. Oral Roberts (50-11)
23. Arizona State (41-18)
24. Mississippi (39-21)
25. UCF (47-18)
26. Clemson (39-26)
27. North Carolina (43-21)
28. Wichita State (49-16)
29. College of Charleston (47-16)
30. Florida Atlantic (47-17)


Sports Weekly/ESPN (May 31)
1. Stanford (44-12)
2. Texas (50-13)
3. Miami (Fla.) (44-11)
4. Rice (43-12)
5. South Carolina (45-15)
6. Notre Dame (49-10)
7. EAST CAROLINA (48-11)
8 Louisiana State (41-17)
9. Arizona State (40-16)
10. Georgia Tech (41-19)
11. Arkansas (39-21)
12. Long Beach State (36-19)
13. Mississippi (39-19)
14. Texas A&M (39-19)
15. Wichita State (47-14)
16. Cal State Fullerton (36-20)
17. Florida State (42-20)
18. Virginia (42-13)
19. North Carolina (41-19)
20. Georgia (38-20)
21. Washington (37-18-1)
22. Oral Roberts (48-9)
23. Vanderbilt (42-17)
24. Florida (40-20)
25. TULANE (38-19)

NCBWA (June 7)
1. Miami (Fla.) (47-11)
2. Texas (53-13)
3. EAST CAROLINA (51-11)
4. South Carolina (48-15)
5. Georgia Tech (44-19)
6. Stanford (46-14)
7. Rice (46-14)
8 Louisiana State (44-17)
9. Cal State Fullerton (40-21)
10. Arkansas (43-22)
11. Long Beach State (39-19)
12. Georgia (41-21)
13. Notre Dame (51-12)
14. TULANE (41-19)
15. Florida (43-20)
16. Florida State (45-21)
17. Texas A&M (42-20)
18. Arizona (33-24-1)
19. Vanderbilt (45-17)
20. Wichita State (49-16)
21. Oral Roberts (50-11)
22. Virginia (44-15)
23. Washington (39-20-1)
23. Arizona State (41-18)
24. Texas Tech (40-21)
25. UCF (47-18)
26. SOUTHERN MISS (45-19)
27. Mississippi (39-21)
28. Arizona State (41-18)
29. Florida Atlantic (47-17)
30. Oklahoma (38-24)
31. College of Charleston (47-16)
32. North Carolina (43-21)
33. Lamar (41-16)
34. Oklahoma State (38-24)
35. Birmingham-Southern (47-18)


A RECORD EIGHT C-USA PLAYERS NAMED ALL-AMERICANS BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
A record eight Conference USA players were named to the Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-America team, it has been announced by the publication. The eight honorees are the most C-USA players to ever receive All-American honors in one season, exceeding the seven players that earned honors following the 2002 season.

East Carolina's Ryan Jones and Austin Tubb of Southern Miss were named as first team All-Americans, while USM's Ryan Frith earned a spot on the second team. Five players were listed as third team All-Americans: Greg Bunn, Ryan Norwood and Trevor Lawhorn of East Carolina, and Jarrett Hoffpauir and Matt Shepherd of Southern Miss.

TWO USM PLAYERS EARN ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Two Southern Miss players have been named All-Americans by USA Today/Sports Weekly. Infielder JARRETT HOFFPAUIR and outfielder RYAN FRITH were each named second team All-Americans by the publication.

TITLE HOLDERS
East Carolina is the fifth school to win a regular season championship in the league's first nine seasons. TCU became the fifth different school to win the conference tournament in nine years. Here's a look at C-USA's champions:

Year Regular Season Tournament
2004 East Carolina TCU
2003 Southern Miss Southern Miss
2002 Houston East Carolina
2001 Tulane Tulane
2000 Houston Houston
1999 Houston Tulane
1998 Tulane Tulane
1997 Tulane Houston
1996 USF Tulane

BACK ON TOP
For the fifth time in the last six weeks, East Carolina (51-11) owns the best record in college baseball. The 2004 Pirates are just the second club in C-USA history to win 50 games in a season. Here's a look at the top marks:

1. EAST CAROLINA 51-11
2. Oral Roberts 50-11
3. Notre Dame 51-12
4. Miami (Fla.) 47-11
5. Texas 53-13
6. Stanford 46-14
7. Rice 46-14


C-USA AWARDS
Here's a look at the 2004 Conference USA postseason awards:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ryan Jones, East Carolina

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Greg Bunn, East Carolina

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Chad Huffman, TCU

KEITH LeCLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR
Randy Mazey, East Carolina

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Jarrett Hoffpauir Southern Miss
IF Trevor Lawhorn East Carolina
IF Ryan Norwood East Carolina
IF Matt Shepherd Southern Miss
OF Matt Barket Tulane
OF Ryan Frith Southern Miss
OF Mark Jurich Louisville
C Devin Ivany USF
DH/UT Ryan Jones East Carolina
P Greg Bunn East Carolina
P J.R. Crowel Tulane
P Jarrett Grube Memphis
P Casey Hudspeth USF
RP Austin Tubb Southern Miss

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Brent Dlugach Memphis
IF Shelby Ford TCU
IF Myron Leslie USF
IF Jamie Rusco Charlotte
OF Chad Huffman TCU
OF Jamie Paige East Carolina
OF Darryl Lawhorn ECU
OF Travis Tully Houston
C Steve Pickerell Cincinnati
DH/UT Brian Bogusevic Tulane
P Anthony DeWitt Southern Miss
P Derek Hankins Memphis
P Cory Hahn Tulane
P Clayton Jerome TCU
RP Robbie Findlay TCU

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Daniel Burton, OF/1B/DH, Louisville
Mike Cashion, P, Southern Miss
German Duran, SS, TCU
Patrick Ezell, P, Southern Miss
Shelby Ford, 3B, TCU
Casey Hudspeth, P, USF
Chad Huffman, DH/IF, TCU
Daniel Latham, P, Tulane
Brad Lincoln, P, Houston
Shane Matthews, P, East Carolina
Zac Ward, IF, UAB


ECU'S JONES NAMED HOWSER FINALIST
East Carolina senior DH/OF RYAN JONES has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to collegiate baseball's top player. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, which works in association with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce on the award, released the list of the 10 finalists for the trophy. The membership of the NCBWA will choose the Dick Howser Trophy based on three rounds of voting. The 2004 winner will be announced at the College World Series in Omaha on Friday, June 18 at 9:30 a.m. CDT.

Jones was named the 2004 Conference USA Player of the Year after hitting .409 heading into the conference tournament and finishing league play hitting .407 in conference. Currently, he leads the nation in slugging percentage (.834) with 46 of his 80 hits serving as extra-base hits including 24 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs for a team-high 66 RBI. Jones posted 24 multiple hit games and 14 multiple RBI games.

USM'S TUBB NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Southern Miss senior relief pitcher AUSTIN TUBB was selected for the highest award that honors both academic excellence and athletic achievement as a 2004 Academic All-America second team selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on June 1. This marks the second season in a row that Southern Miss has had an Academic All-American as Clint King was named to the third team last year.

ALL-REGIONAL HONORS
The following Conference USA players were named to the All-Tournament teams at last week's NCAA Regionals:

AUSTIN REGIONAL
SS Shelby Ford, TCU

BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
2B Jarrett Hoffpauir, Southern Miss

KINSTON REGIONAL
C John Poppert, East Carolina
1B Ryan Norwood, East Carolina
2B Lee McLean, East Carolina
3B Mark Minicozzi, East Carolina
OF Ryan Jones, East Carolina
OF Drew Costanzo, East Carolina
P Greg Bunn, East Carolina
Most Outstanding Player: Greg Bunn, East Carolina

OXFORD REGIONAL
2B Joe Holland, Tulane
SS Tommy Manzella, Tulane
3B Brian Bormaster, Tulane
OF Brian Bogusevic, Tulane
OF Nathan Southard, Tulane
P J.R. Crowel, Tulane
Most Outstanding Player: Brian Bogusevic, Tulane