Nebraska Baseball Will Start the Season Unranked

It might seem a little early, but Collegiate Baseball released their 2011 preseason poll and Nebraska didn't make it onto the list of the Top 40 teams in the nation. After the past two seasons in which the Huskers failed to make the NCAA tourney, I guess that's to be expected. 

The Huskers were in the "others receiving votes" category. 

Big 12 Teams ranked include: 

#6 - Oklahoma

#7 - Texas 

#8 - Texas A&M 

#37 - Kansas State

#39 - Baylor

Another thing to note - there wasn't a single Big Ten team ranked in the top 40. Keep that in mind as Nebraska transitions to the Big Ten next year. It will be imperative that the Huskers continue to schedule schools like Texas in order to keep their RPI high. 

There have been some discussions about changing the postseason format so that the NCAA tourney isn't so skewed towards cold-weather schools, but I wouldn't hold my breath on southern schools accepting any changes. 

I love Nebraska baseball. A couple years ago, I covered it so heavily that I was starting to get to be one of the more well-known guys regarding college baseball. I encouraged most of the other SB Nation sites to cover it more than they were, something I felt pretty good about at the time. 

Since then, two things happened. First, I realized what a strain I was putting on myself, doing the Nebraska football yearbook editing and trying to cover college baseball at the same time. Second - I realized that I wasn't spending as much time with my kids. 

Last year, I had two kids playing competitive soccer. This year, I'll have three, one of which who will also be coaching his own competitive team. Clearly - there will be little time for me to cover Nebraska baseball. 

This is where you come in. I hope that when the season rolls around, we can find someone who'll provide baseball coverage, if for no other reason than I'd like to know more about what's going on. If that's you, or a couple of you, please let me know.