I would hope most would take heed and learn from the KState situation last year. From Aaron's Fall Report and Coach Hughes' response to committee last year...
2023 Fall Report: Kansas State
FALL REPORT Aaron Fitt - November 9, 2023
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Pete Hughes was outspoken in his criticism of the Division I Baseball Committee after his Kansas State Wildcats were passed over for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite going 13-11 in the Big 12 and finishing No. 54 in the RPI — particularly since one of the teams that got a bid was Oklahoma, which went 11-13 in the conference and got swept by K-State. A weak nonconference strength of schedule hurt the Wildcats in the RPI, and that’s the one area Oklahoma had an advantage, finishing No. 40 in the RPI rankings.
And while Hughes won’t hold back from railing on the committee’s over-reliance on RPI (and the flaws inherent in that system, which disadvantages programs like K-State that are relatively geographically isolated), he did not simply grumble about the process and then go back to business as usual. Instead, he scheduled a very aggressive slate of road trips designed to give his team a real chance to construct a robust RPI — provided the 2024 Wildcats are good enough to win their share of those games.
It’s never a bad idea to schedule aggressively when you’ve got a team built to win, and that’s exactly what Hughes has heading into 2024. Thanks to some serious star power along with improved depth on the mound, Kansas State clearly has its most talented roster since its 2013 super regional club, which was also the last K-State team to make the NCAA tournament.
“It looks good on paper, it looks good with experience, it looks good with the key positions. But after last year, I don’t take anything for granted,” Hughes said. “We just have to play well against good teams. We know now that we’re defined differently when it comes to the overall body of work. So I think our team’s got a little chip on our shoulder, to be honest with you. we’ve got a lot of guys back that did not have to come back, because they love this program and they love the way this team’s shaping up and what it is capable of doing. I coached a tournament team last year and I do think we’re deeper than last year, we just have a couple more pieces, more depth, a couple more guys that can come off the bench and fill in if there’s an injury or a matchup you like, and not really lose too much. So that’s the key, I think, to be a super regional team — you have to have depth, you have to have moves from the sixth inning on, on your bench and in your bullpen. You have to be athletic and well rounded, and I think we have a chance to be that.”
As Hughes alluded to, the outlook for this Kansas State club would have looked very different if not for the return of three key players who turned down opportunities to seek greener pastures. ...