NCAA Baseball Chairman addresses controversial placement of teams with selection committee representation
There were some controversial decisions made with the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament and some bubble teams were frustrated after being left out.
Adding to their frustration is the fact that some bubble teams that got into the NCAA Tournament had representatives from their school on the NCAA Baseball committee.
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Committee chairman Matt Hogue, who is the Athletics Director at Coastal Carolina, spoke with ESPN after the bracket was revealed and shared how the NCAA Baseball Committee ensures that there is no bias.
“I think that’s a fair question,” Matt Hogue said. “We have a very strict safety net procedure within the NCAA’s protocols and rules. If any schools are discussed that have committee members representing them, they have to leave the room. They can’t be a part of the discussion.
“They also cannot be a part of the voting procedure. So there are recusal protocols in place and other protocols to keep that fair and balanced.”
Coastal Carolina and Indiana were among the bubble teams to make the NCAA Baseball Tournament while having a representative on the committee.
While Hogue said that they had to leave the room while those bubble discussions took place, some coaches of teams who were left out were still frustrated with how everything played out.
Charleston coach Chad Holbrook blasts NCAA Baseball Committee
One coach who was clearly frustrated with the NCAA Baseball Committee was Charleston head coach Chad Holbrook.
The Cougars were considered by many experts to be on the right side of the bubble heading into Selection Monday but did not make the tournament.
Holbrook joined the Field of 64 and expressed his disappointment.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of a bad dream. … Our kids didn’t fall short. They deserved to be in. I feel like the metric we fell short in is we didn’t have a voice in the room. Because what we did between the white lines, we deserved to keep playing. It’s a total joke,” Chad Holbrook said.
“You’re talking to a coach that’s been fired for going 13-17. I understand what a mediocre regular season is, and I guess were in the point in time of NCAA Baseball where mediocre regular seasons are being rewarded.”
Prior to coaching at Charleston, Holbrook was the head coach at South Carolina from 2013-17. He was fired following the 2017 season after the Gamecocks finished 35-25 (13-17).
This year Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida, LSU and Alabama all went 13-17 in the SEC and made the NCAA Tournament.