Tournament of Champions Preview
This week if you want good baseball head down to Houston and go to a baseball field you are most likely going to be watching a game that is part of the Tournament of Champions. This Pre-Season Tournament is hosted by San Jac every year and every year this is one of the biggest JuCo Tournaments in the country.
This year 19 teams come from 4 different states (Louisiana x1, Arkansas x1, Florida x2, and Texas x15). 38 games over 4 days, 11 games between teams that are in the Top 25, 7 games between teams in the Top 10, 2 games against Top 5 teams, and a game between the top two teams in the country (#1 San Jac vs #2 Chipola).
Two teams play all ranked games this weekend, While one team plays 3 of their 4 against ranked teams. #2 San Jac, #1 Chipola, and #7 Howard.
The team that will have the toughest schedule this weekend will be Howard. Right off the bus, they will have to play #1 Chipola (the defending national champs). After that, they will play 3 in-state teams in #4 McLennan, #18 Grayson, and #2 San Jac. Howard always schedules this tournament well and this year it is for sure the case. Winning out would be huge for them heading into the rest of the season. On top of all this they just had their `17th Division 1 Signing of the season.
#1 Chipola plays the same schedule Howard does (#2 San Jac, #4 McLennan, #7 Howard). Due to the fact that they are ranked higher is the only reason they have it a bit easier. Honestly, though it is not any easier. When you play 4 games in 4 days against teams in the Top 20 that means that they are going to be good, challenging, and fun to watch.
Host’s #2 San Jac come in just behind Chipola. They play both #1 Chipola and #7 Howard. To finish out the weekend they will play #11 NW Florida and Weatherford. What a better way to prove you are the best team in the country than to have a tournament at your home field and say-“Come and play us, at home, we dare you.”
Of all the teams that are playing #14, Odessa has the most to lose this weekend. None of their 4 games this weekend are against ranked teams. They play Baton Rouge, Galveston, Navarro, and Alvin. They should make it through the weekend winning out and going home with a start of 4-0, but any loss will hurt them.
This weekend really has no team that could play spoiler if the were to win out. Once you get out of the ranked games then no un-ranked team plays a ranked team more than once. So if a team were to upset one team then it won't play that huge of an effect on the over rankings.
When this years Tournament of Champions is all said and done with the top 10 should look a lot different then what it does now.
