At 157, Tulane will have the second-worst RPI in the 64-team field, ahead of only George Mason (176). The NCAA selection committee does not seed teams 1 through 64 as far as I know, and even if they do, regional considerations take priority over a true S curve bracket when the No. 63 team would play the No. 2 team. Most of the projections have Tulane going to Baton Rouge, although one has the Wave in Fayetteville. The only ones i believe I would be able to go to would be Baton Rouge, Fayatteville, Auburn, Tuscaloosa or Gainesville. The others are too far, and the Advocate does not really pay my travel expenses.

I have a feeling Tulane will end up in Baton Rouge, too, because Nicholls already won there and they will try to give what they deem an easier opponent for a team that will be either No. 5 or No. 6 overall, but I don't really know.

There has been at least one team under .500 in every NCAA tournament starting in 2007, the first time wikipedia has records for all the teams. Here is a list of how they fared.

2007

Wofford 30-31 (0-2)

2008

Columbia 22-28 (0-2)
Eastern Illinois 27-28 (0-2)
Eastern Michigan 25-32 (0-2)
Mount St. Mary's 21-32 (0-2)
Texas Southern 16-32 (0-2)

2009

Utah 26-29 (2-2)

2010

Bucknell 25-33 (0-2)
Grambling 22-30 (0-2)

2011

Alcorn State 26-27 (0-2)
Arkansas-Little Rock 24-32 (0-2)
New Mexico 20-39 (0-2)

2012

Creighton 26-28 (2-2)
Sacred Heart 25-30 (0-2)

2013

Bowling Green 24-28 (0-2)
San Diego State 26-28 (0-2)

2014

Youngstown State 16-36 (1-2)
Siena 26-31 (1-2)
Bethune-Cookman 26-31 (1-2)

2015

FIU 28-29 (1-2)
Sacred Heart 23-30 (0-2)
Lehigh 25-27 (0-2)

2016

Western Michigan 22-32 (0-2)
Utah 25-27 (1-2)

2017

Radford 27-30 (0-2)
Holy Cross 23-25 (1-2)
Texas Southern 20-32 (0-2)

2018

Hartford 26-29 (0-2)
Columbia 20-27 (0-2)

2019

Cincinnati 28-29 (1-2)
Florida A&M 27-32 (0-2)

2021

Jacksonville 16-32 (0-2)
Southern 20-28 (0-2)

2022

Binghampton 22-28 (0-2)
Coppin State 24-28 (0-2)
New Mexico State 24-32 (0-2)

There has been a team with a losing record in every tournament, and Tulane kept the streak alive as the only sub-500 tournament champion this year. Not surprisingly, 27 of the 36 lost in two straight. Seven won one game and two made it to the championship round. None forced a deciding game. Only Cincinnati, which won the AAC tournament in 2019, and Utah, which beat Ole Miss in 2016 to set up the elimination game Tulane won on Jake Rogers' dramatic ninth-inning home run, beat the No. 1 seed in its first game.

This has nothing to do with anything you are interested in, but Utah, which Tulane beat in 2016, was one of the biggest outliers in the history of sports. The Pac-12 did not have a conference tournament back then, and Utah won the league outright for the automatic bid, going 19-11 despite being a pitiful 6-15 out of the league. It's still mind-boggling. Utah has finished at or near the bottom in the Pac-12 every single year it has been in the league except for that one.

Guerry, This paid subscriber would welcome some type of roster overview from you in Football and MBB now that it is June 1st and all frosh and transfers in have arrived. Or I guess it’s news too if any have not

Any early guesses on potential new impact players


Thanks!

Guerry I was curious if you have gotten any scoop on him. Numbers look good from last year. Returned a KO for TD. It appears to be a solid pick up.

Safety from the Ragin Cajuns-Grad Transfer-He looks Good!

9/2 South alabama at TU at 7pm on ESPNU
9/9 Ole miss at TU at 2:30pm on ESPN2
9/16 TU at Southern miss at 3pm on ESPNU

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweeted it earlier today, and I have gotten it confirmed from a reliable source.

Tulane should have a good team next year. How good depends on the quality of the transfers.

Guerry, you’re on a roll. Better competition including a great team at home this week.

So how does Tulane do it two weeks in a row?

PS, are the tight wallets sending you to BR or are we stuck with the LSU beat reporters and you’re zooming again?

Tulane is 2-0 and in bracket finals. How does Wave bring home the longshot and bag that 4th seed in BR Regional?

Remarkable. Getting plenty of help from a bad Memphis team but also playing well in all three facets of the game, Tulane did something no Wave team has done since 2005--start 2-0 in a conference tournament. It's only the third time this century it has happened (2003 was the other year).
'
Houston is still lurking on Tulane's half, but the Cougars hardly are a juggernaut. Incredibly, a championship matchup of the two bottom seeds (Tulane and USF) is very possible. East Carolina may come out of the losers' bracket on USF's side, but this is not a vintage ECU team. The dream scenario for Tulane would be Memphis beating Houston tomorrow, eliminating the only semi-dangerous team on the Wave's side.

Here is what everyone had to say tonight on Zoom:

MEMPHIS COACH KERRICK JACKSON

"Today we just didn't play very well. Didn't pitch well. Didn't play good defense. We've faced Carmouche three times and this is the best he's pitched against us, but I thought we could have battled a little bit better in some situations and put ourselves into a more competitive position. We kept falling behind on counts and couldn't execute pitches with two strikes. They came up with two-out hits. We made some mistakes defensively that gave them some runs, and that just gave them momentum they needed to run-rule us in a tournament game."

On three defensive mistakes in sixth as Tulane turned 2-2 game into 5-2 lead:

"That gave them their first crooked-number inning, so that didn't help. It got them in a better position to have a belief system, so that inning was definitely the start of it for sure, but if you look at the course of the game, Fowler was behind in counts. We didn't throw enough strikes, and our at-bats could have been a little bit better."

On Carmouche:

"He was attacking first ball. He had to have been ahead in the count 60-percent plus of the time. Any time you are in that situation, you are in a good spot. He changed speeds with the changeup, pitched both sides of the plate and kept us off balance, and when he did make mistakes, we didn't take advantage. Hats off to him for going out and doing what he did. That's the best I've seen him pitch this year."

JAY UHLMAN

'A spectacular effort by the entire team. Certainly that was orchestrated by the guy on the mound. He was absolutely spectacular from start to finish. The only hiccup from him was the two walks he had early that ended up scoring, but held them at bay and had a really nice rebound. We shortened him up the week before we got here to try to line up our pitching. Give credit to Memphis. They got some runs on him (in Memphis), but he was up to the task and wanted redemption tonight. We played excellent defense given the conditions (wet).Several plays up against the wall. Gavin Schulz, James Agabedis, Simon Baumgardt with a ball to his backhand on the ground, spin, get up and throw. Championship baseball requires really good pitching and really good defense, so just an all-around spectacular effort from the guys tonight."

On being 2-0 in a conference tournament for first time since 2005:

"That's the mission, right, to get into that position where you're controlling your destiny. A healthy bullpen and a full-rested bullpen and a day off to boot to be able to get back and work on some things and get yourself in a good space. Like I always say, your momentum's only as good as the first pitch of the next game, but our guys had intent, they were purposeful and they came to play good baseball tonight. I'm really proud of their effort."

On success with two strikes and two outs:

(the run in first inning came when three straight batters got on with two outs and two strikes: the four runs in the seventh all came with two outs and two of those hits came with two strikes; Gavin Schulz' double and Teo Banks' decisive home run in the eighth came with two strikes)

"They are huge. When you can exhaust a pitcher and break people's will with two strikes and two outs and drive in runs in those scenarios, they call them back-breakers for a reason. You've got the offense on the ropes, and the next thing you know there's a run in or two runs or three runs and it becomes more and more challenging. Our guys were purposeful and intentful, and when you take that kind of approach to the things that you do from start to finish, most of the time some good things happen. Two-strike hitting is another component of championship baseball."

On Brennan Lambert's five-RBI night:

"He's an old guy. He's a veteran of many games, and when you have those guys in those spots, you've got to want that moment. He wants that moment. The really multifaceted thing with him is I feel comfortable with him handling the inside game. The pitch on the outer half that he drove to the right-center gap, when you have a plan and you believe in that plan as a hitter and you're looking for that area of the plate, typically you can handle the outer half to the other line of the batter's box. That's opposite field hitting. It's what he did and what he does. He gets barrels in the plain a long time. Again, just a clutch performance by him."

On days off:

"They're big. You get a rest and regroup and watch everybody else beat each other up and have to go through their bullpens and you get a day off. There are some other benefits to that that the guys like. A little bit more per diem and maybe they can get in the pool for a second. Days off are big, really big."

On if there is noticeable difference in confidence:

"It's their intent and their purposefulness. It's been a tough season. A lot of things have not gone our way. The schedule was unkind to us. The game was unkind to us. We had lost our way at certain points of the year, and our senior leadership stepped up and kept these guys going and kept them moving. At times it probably feels like things aren't going our way and maybe the perception is these guys don't care, they quit, which is the furthest from the truth. They do care and they don't quit and they have pride. For them to go out there and put us in position to be 2-0 into Saturday is really a testament to their grit, and when you start winning some games that things start going your way a little bit, you feel confident. You get in the box feeling like you are going to get a hit. It's not one through nine feeling like they've got to do everything because everybody else is struggling. Right now it's just a baton pass on all levels, whether it's the mound to the bullpen, the starter to the bullpen or 1 through on defense or their mindset to weather a lot of storms this year and be where they are right now. It's really cool, and I'm really happy for them."

On rain being a requirement for end of games in tournament:

"They kept saying it was just kind of surrounding us and it wasn't going to be too much of a problem, we were just going to have to stand in it, so thankfully I have stood in a lot of rain in 10 years in Eugene, Oregon. I'd rather stand over there and be dry, but it is what it is. That's another spectacular part about the game is our ability to secure baseballs on wet turf and play catch. Whatever, rain, sleet, slow, hot, we've got to play it."

My editors at The Advocate did not even want an advance for the Memphis series, but I talked to Jay Uhlman anyway tonight and learned some stuff.

For one, Brady Marget will not play against Memphis but they expect him to be available for the AAC tournament. I'm starting to get skeptical after he was a last-minute scratch Saturday for the stated reason of soreness, and they will not reveal his injury. To say a 14-37 team will be hurt by the loss of one of its best players does not mean much--the team was 14-35 with him--but this would be a big blow to any fantasy dreams of a run through the AAC tourney if he cannot come back.

Also, Dylan Carmouche will pitch the opener, with the rest of the series to be determined.

On another note, Uhlman said the AAC umpiring crew claimed after the fact in their official report that they kept Jackson Linn at third base Sunday because it was not clear he would have scored if there had not been a collision rather than the explanation they gave Anthony Izzio that Justin Bridgman touching Linn canceled out the original hindrance. If this is the case, I reiterate what I tweeted Sunday--that is the worst college baseball call I've ever seen. Linn would have scored for sure, and there would not even have been a throw to the plate. Who knows whether Tulane would have won, and a win would not have changed anything about the season, but the Wave got hosed, plain and simple.

Teams that go 14-37 do not win conference tournaments, but if I were the coach and were plotting a path through Clearwater, I would hold Ricky Castro this weekend and pitch him Tuesday in the opener. He's been Tulane's best pitcher this year. I'd pitch Carmouche in the second game, which would be Thursday if the Wave won with Castro, who tossed a shutout East Carolina a few weeks ago. Carmouche is capable of pitching well, and if the Wave somehow won its first two games, it would have to lose twice on Saturday to fail to reach the championship game. They'd just have to hope some pitchers had the game of their life because the cupboard is bare after Castro and Carmouche, but it is conceivable in a situation where you have to lose twice.

The drawback to my plan of using Castro on Tuesday is he has not shown he can bounce back on short rest. I'm not sure Carmouche can either, but in the mind-boggling possibility of Tulane playing in the championship game on Sunday, he'd have a better chance. But I really don't think Tulane would win with Carmouche on Tuesday and I think there would be a decent chance with Castro.

If Tulane wins the Memphis series, it will rise to sixth in the seeding unless South Florida sweeps ECU, which is not going to happen. But I expect the Wave to drop two of three and be either the 7 seed (if USF gets swept by ECU) or the eighth seed (if USF wins one or more). The dream scenario for Tulane is ending up in a bracket with Houston, Wichita State and Memphis, beating Wichita State in the opener and then playing Memphis after Memphis ace Dalton Fowler takes care of Houston. Fowler is legitimately good. East Carolina may not be great, but the Pirates are still the class of the league and know how to win, so better that they be in the other bracket.

Coach Fritz pulled off another coup, bringing Greg McMahon back to NOLA to coach special teams. Formerly with the Saints and LSU...big hire!

Also, per the Fear the Wave Podcast, it LOOKS LIKE the TE's will be coached by Tyler Spotts-Orgeron. Chris Carter, the transfer TE from USF, mentioned it on the episode that he's coaching them. Whether it's permanent or interim remains to be seen, but I'd venture to guess the former based on how involved he's been in recruiting the position.

It has not been released yet, but Gerald Chatman will be Tulane's new defensive line coach, replacing Travian Robertson, who left recently to coach the defensive line at alma mater South Carolina after spending one year with the Green Wave.

This in an important hire that should strengthen the staff. Chatman spent two months in this position under Willie Fritz last year from January to March after serving as an analyst at LSU in 2021, but he left for Colorado before the first spring practice and eventually was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in October after the Buffaloes fired Karl Dorrell and named Mike Sanford interim coach. He was not retained by Deion Sanders. Brian Kelly wanted to retain him at LSU as an analyst before he took the Tulane job the first time and then hired him this year when he became available. So this is the second time he has left his role as an analyst at LSU for an on-field position at Tulane.

Any scoop Guerry. Looks like a CB

Good morning all, here is an excerpt of what was posted on regarding our QB Michael Pratt....

“What stands out to me, man, he’s tough as nails,” an opposing defensive coordinator said. “The whole team goes when he goes. Very smart. Doesn’t get rattled very easily. I think that kid’s a good football player. And man, I’ve seen him take some really hard blows and get right back up. Toughness comes to mind when I think about that kid. He’s a winner. He’s a winner. He’s a freakin’ tough football player. I love that kid.”

“I don’t think he has a cannon for an arm to be honest with you, and I think the kid from Memphis’ arm talent may be a slight bit better, but he was really, really precise with his throws (when we played them last year),” the opposing defensive coordinator said. “And you’ve got a winner in him overall.”

That right there is why we have a chance in every game we play, I may not like QB's ( buncha prima donnas) but a good QB1 makes everyone around them great.

Guerry, Your tweet reporting this expressed surprise. Why?

Apparently Andre Sam, a Louisiana native who followed Lance Guidry from Marshall, has RE-ENTERED the portal.

In addition, Miami folks are saying that Guidry has been recruiting him to follow him to Miami...

First question: wasn't the portal closed a few weeks ago??

Secondly: when is the NCAA going to address tampering?! Given how quickly college sports have devolved into an even more unscrupulous professional league, isn't there ANYTHING they can do regarding this??

At this point, why even make these kids go to classes anymore?

Guerry, with all the activity in the portal after spring ball have you heard about any players or possible positions we may be pursuing?

Also, what do think will happen with the baseball staff? Will there be any changes? Do you expect a mass exodus of players?

Coach Robertson left to coach the d-line back home at South Carolina. I knew it was a chance once the team in Baton Rouge poached THEIR coach, as it made too much sense.

With that being said…Guerry, do you know the state of the staff? We saw news that we had a LB coach from Cincy, but no formal announcement. Now Robertson leaves…where do we stand with coaching needs?

Tulane received a commitment from Gregg Glenn, a 6’8” PF transfer from Michigan. He was a 4-star from Pompano Beach, FL last year. Huge pick up for Coach Hunter.

Mock drafts are not my thing. It amazes me how many non-experts in my business think they know a whole lot about guys they never watched once during their college careers. But I've been following the mocks a little more closely this year because of Tyjae Spears and Dorian Williams.

If I were an agent, I'd sell my left arm to represent Spears. He had the best final eight games of any running back in the country. He had the best single run (the UCF TD in the AAC title game) of anyone in the country. He can run inside and outside, catch passes, break tackles, cut by defenders, pick up blitzes and be a great team guy. In other words, he does it all, and he has that "it" factor that separates the greats from the rest. My only concern is his injury history and the way he started sluggishly this past year. He cannot afford to start the same way in the NFL. I wrote what I thought was a really good feature on him and Deuce Vaughn before the Kansas State game as two truly elite backs getting ready to compete against each other, but Spears, who definitely is better than Vaughn, was used primarily as a decoy and a wildcat back that day.

The consensus is Spears is somewhere between the fifth and seventh best back in the draft, which is loaded with quality running backs. Other than Bijan Robinson, I would not put anyone higher than Spears, but I can't say I've studied the other guys, so that opinion is based on Spears himself rather than a true analysis. He appears likely to go in the third round, and I have not seen anyone in the last week predicting him to go higher. I believe whatever team gets him will realize pretty quickly they have an every-down back who can be a star, but we'll see.

I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other on Dorian Williams, who was an excellent college player. I know he has the right attitude, though. Like Spears, he is rated as high as the fifth best linebacker in the draft, although he likely will go in the fourth round (third day) unless he gets taken with one of the compensatory picks at the end of the third round.

No one else is likely to to be drafted, but Nick Anderson will prove people wrong in whatever camp he end up. I I like his chances of making a roster as an undrafted free agent. He plays bigger than his size.

Here is the list as I get them:

Nick Anderson New Orleans

Macon Clark Chicago

Duece Watts Green Bay

Tyrick James Kansas City

Shae Wyatt San Franciso

Larry Brooks Cincinnati

Will Wallace Washington

Lummie Young Indianapolis

Is in the transfer portal.

I talked to Nick Anderson yesterday a day after he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Saints, and he was a terrific, candid interview as always, giving exact details about his draft day experience. Here is what he said:

NICK ANDERSON

On signing with Saints:

"Overall going into draft day I had interest from maybe about 12 to 13 teams. The teams that showed the most interest were the Seahawks, the Jets, the Saints, the Broncos, the Buccaneers and the Chargers. I waited around. Some teams had told me that I was possibly going to be a mid-day three pick, so I really just was anxious. Things started shifting towards the end of the draft. It came down to the Bengals, the Seahawks and the Saints. Those were my final three. Overall I had been talking to the Seahawks heavy. They got to the seventh round and they had a pick and I honestly thought they were about to make the pick, but they went in a different direction towards a running back. Cincinnati was one of the first teams in the seventh round to talk free agency, so they offered me a deal, but it wasn’t sufficient, so it came down after the draft to Seattle and the Saints. I was talking to the (Seahawks) linebackers coach, the special teams coordinator and also talked to Pete Carroll right after the draft. They were fighting trying to get me up there, but when the Saints called, it was a no-brainer. That’s where I wanted to be. That’s the spot I feel like I would be most comfortable in. Really to me, beating somebody out, I was going to have to do that no matter which NFL team I did it in, so to have it be somewhere I’m comfortable with a great organization in a city that I already lived in for the past four years, I said it’s a no-brainer and I might as well stay home.

On if tweet by NFL insider was accurate about his contract including a $15,000 signing bonus and $10,000 guaranteed whether he made roster or not:

“It is accurate. I know it’s a total of $25K. The Saints were always transparent. They said they had interest and definitely thought I was worth a draft pick but said they might not have any when it came time to draft, but they said it I was still going to be there after the draft that they would do everything in their power to come and get me. They held to their word. Afterwards, I think my agent maybe asked for an $8K signing bonus and some guarantees and the Saints went all out and gave me a pretty good amount of money for being an undrafted free agent. It really just told me too how much they wanted to make me part of their organization and really just showed their interest level in me.

“Also I went to the Saints local day and had a great workout. Had a great time spending with Mickey Loomis and the linebackers coach (Michael Hodges) and just really felt the genuine love there. They also had me doing offensive drills playing a little fullback/running back deal, and they talked to me on the phone yesterday and said they still wanted me to do that. They wanted me to play linebacker and also play on the offensive side of the ball and do all core special teams. I just felt like the Saints overall were a 10 out of 10 the place for me to go and make the 53-man roster and really have a solid role on the team.”

On confident about his chances:

“I feel most confident that they give their guys a legitimate chance to be successful in that organization and give them a chance to come in and show what they can do and be a part of the team. I’m just really looking forward to being in the NFL. It’s crazy. It’s still a very surreal moment, but to be playing for a team that I grew up only three hours away watching is truly a blessing.”

On his tweet a week before the draft that he was the best linebacker in college football:

“That’s just one of the things. Everybody wants to get drafted. I know for a fact that there’s not 259 guys that are better than me, but God always works it out. My path has never been straight, going from high school to junior college and then coming to Tulane and having to work my way up, so it’s something I’m used to. But God gave me exactly what I asked for. I said that I wanted to play for the Saints. I never said I wanted to get drafted by the Saints. He worked everything out. I’m really blessed and thankful.”

On his actual height and channeling the 5-9 Sam Mills (he wore his jersey at Tulane’s Pro Day):

“I’m 5-10. Most definitely I know I can. I’m really looking forward to bringing back his legacy for the community of New Orleans, for the NFL in general. He was a dynamite player and somebody that I really looked up to. J.J. McCleskey was actually the first person to introduce me to who Sam Mills was because that was his teammate, and he made that comparison when I first got to Tulane, and that’s something that has rung true. To see me now being a New Orleans Saints and playing linebacker for the Saints just like Sam Mills did, I’m looking forward to bringing that legacy back and really showing that no matter the size, what God has for you is going to always be for you.”

On Tulane having only two guys drafted:

“I definitely feel like more guys should have gotten drafted, but when it comes down to it the only difference between being drafted and being signed is when you’re drafted, you were more or a priority and they pay you a little more, but at the end of the day everybody still has to come in and make the 53-man roster. To see that almost everybody except Tylo Phillips right now, and I think he's going to get a rookie minicamp invite somewhere, but to see that everybody has gotten the foot in the door really just shows what we told the team last year in the spring, that team success definitely brings individual success and a year later we see that. Everybody wants to add winners to their roster, and us putting in all that hard work and grinding out and having the season we did is definitely continuing to pay off and has gotten almost 11 guys opportunities to chase their dreams. That’s just one of the things that I’m really grateful for. We out there and saw all our sacrifices come through.”

On watching draft:

“I watched it here in New Orleans at my house. I’m not going to lie. It was probably the most stressful day of my life simply because there is a lot of unknown. A team can be telling you one thing and then they get in the draft and go a completely different direction. That was my reality. I came into the draft really thinking I was going to be a New York Jet, and it didn’t work out. I started talking to Seattle really late in the draft. I didn’t really think they had any interest, and the next thing I know, a couple hours later I’m on the phone with Pete Carroll. It’s one of those things that’s really crazy, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. I definitely took a couple laps around the block throughout the day just waiting, but God worked everything out and got me exactly where I needed to be.”

On process:

“I was signing with the Saints by the time they got to the last five picks.”

The Tulane baseball team that played four games this week was the one I expected to see at the beginning of the year, but the Wave still lost three of four because of its bad bullpen, which has no one that can be counted on to get outs at any time. On Tuesday and again in yesterday's completion of Friday's suspended game, Tulane blew a 10-8 lead in the ninth inning, recording only one out on Tuesday before falling behind and getting zero outs yesterday before a questionable safe call at home plate ended the game (ECU still very probably would have won if the runner had been called out because the go-ahead run would have been at second base with one out).

This Tulane team can be competitive with anyone in the AAC, and it clearly continues to play hard even though there have been no tangible results from that effort. Its record of 12-31 is the worst in school history through 43 games. Interestingly, I just found out Tulane finished 18-36 instead of 19-35 in 1990 despite the. media guide listing it as 19-35 (the website has it right), so this team has a better chance to beat that, for whatever it is worth, particularly lf it continues to hit as well as it has in the last three weeks, when it scored 8 or more runs nine times in 12 games.

Uhlman had a more positive outlook after this weekend, when Tulane lost 11-10 and 8-6 and won 8-0 behind a complete game shutout from Ricky Castro, finishing all three games Saturday in what has to be an unprecedented occurrence. The 1-2 combo of Dylan Carmouche and Castro will give this team hope going into the AAC tournament no matter what its seed is (an 0-2 performance there is still likely because of the bullpen). Despite this team's glaring weaknesses, I would not be shocked if it gets on a little bit of a run in the final three weeks. They showed a lot of toughness yesterday that will bode well down the stretch if they do not slack off.

UHLMAN

"We didn't get our best start from our Friday night guy (Carmouche, who gave up three runs in the first and got out of bases loaded jam to prevent more), but it was super gritty. He had his best two innings at the end (leaving with a 8-4 lead). He kept us in it. Our offense kept us in. We got the lead. I just told them I was proud of their effort to play two full games and three innings of a third game in one day, I've never done that in my career. To have the kind of staying power that they have, those are the kind of things that can take teams and move them forward in a good way. I think we're there that way. It comes down to a 27-man roster and you only have so many bullets. We still had enough arms in the pen on Saturday night. We just couldn't collect enough outs before they had a six-run inning. We had two outs and then they got four singles and two homers. I told them that they're close and we just have to keep pushing."

On rebounding from crushing conclusion to first game on Saturday, when ECU hit a series of seeing-eye ground-ball singles to score five times in the last two innings), by jumping all over ECU in game 2.

"You have to feel for Michael (Fowler) and Chandler (Welch) at the end. What do you say to a pitcher who got ground balls and did his job. To be able to just pick themselves up and run out a three-run homer and get a couple more and keep extending the lead and have Ricky pitch the way he did. We played good defense. It's there. I don't have an explanation for why the final score doesn't reward us, but I'm just really proud of their effort and their toughness. To be at the park for 12 hours is not easy to do. Tip of the hat to the other team, too. They had to do the same thing. It was just a long, tough day of baseball."

On Teo Banks hitting three home runs in opener, having three doubles in the next two games and adding an RBI single (he was 7 of 14 with eight RBIs and seven runs scored):

"The thing that I really appreciate about Teo is that he never blamed anyone or anything when it wasn't going well for him at the start of the year. He took going to the bench like a pro. He continued to work hard with purpose. There's a difference between working hard and working with purpose. He just kept hanging in there and we kept running him out there and showing him confidence, and we did that because he showed confidence in himself and a work ethic. He's playing like the kid that played in the conference tournament--aggressive and free and electric. It's been fun to watch him reassert himself as a premier player in the league. We're getting a lot of that from the offensive side and getting some tough breaks on the mound as well."

On if some of those ground balls should have been fielded in opening-game loss when they kept getting through the infield:

"They just found space, whether we were shifted in areas that they found the space. We had some of those, too. Brady Marget punched the ball through the other side. That's the nature of doing business on defense nowadays is playing to the tendencies of guys. The good news is when you're playing in the right spot, you are able to make plays that maybe are hits (otherwise). On the other side it feels a little tougher to take when they hit them out of the shift. I just think they found space."

On if this is the hitting he envisioned going into the year:

"That is dead on. What you are seeing is what we thought we had. Sometimes it takes longer and guys have to settle in and the game humbles you and you have to be able to bounce back through adversities. For me it bodes well for the direction these guys are trying to take it. It doesn't feel good because of what the record is, but I can assure you the tone and the temperament of our clubhouse is in a pretty good space right now."

On Chase Engelhard not being on travel roster:

"He's working through some things physically right now that he's trying to get himself right. James (Agabedis, his replacement at second base) has had a really tough spell. The good news is he's played fairly well on defense and he gives us a left-handed presence and he's taken walks, so that part's been good, but we certainly would like to have more production down there."

On Castro:

"He was spectacular, wasn't he. When he's sinking it and his change is working, he can kind of slow them down and then his 92 (miles per hour fastball) looks like 94 or 95. There was one at-bat he threw one right by (Jenkins-Cowart in the 9th). He was beyond outstanding. We were sitting there wondering how we were going to get through three games in a day, but Carmouche's five innings (before the suspension on Friday night) and Ricky's complete game, those two guys in different ways did masterful jobs."

On if Friday's game could have been completed Friday:

"No. As soon as we called it and moved it to Saturday, there were sheets of rain."

On three games in one day:

"Never. Ever. That's a first."

He just tweeted his decision today.

A healthy Canady is a heck of a player, but I have learned he is not expected to play this year because his knee injury in late October was really serious. In addition to the torn ACL, he tore his meniscus and had other ligament damage.

Lance Robinson is not at Canady's level, but he is a proven starter to go along with Jarius Monroe and there are plenty of younger guys hoping to work their way into the picture to provide depth.