The Addition of the Long-Time Conference USA Baseball Team to the Pac-12 Holds Nothing but Positives
The Pac-12 conference used to know what it was like to be a top college baseball conference like the SEC and ACC are today. Twenty-nine of all Men’s College World Series titles in history belong to the Pac-12. However, in recent years, the once-prominent conference has seen a decline in performance on the diamond. The conference has been dismantled and rearranged multiple times in the last two academic years and will now soon see change again. Two new schools will join the Pac-12 for baseball in the 2027 season, with the hopes of bringing this conference back to its former glory.
Dallas Baptist University’s baseball team will join the Pac-12 for a limited time in the 2027 baseball season. This change will not only be impactful for the conference looking to regain dominance, but also will provide more opportunities for the Patriots, who have formerly been an independent team. Despite being an independent team, the Patriots have excelled in the last decade. Currently, the program is on a streak of 11 consecutive postseason tournament appearances. Only four other teams have held that stat, three of which are Florida, LSU, and Vanderbilt. Adding this program, which has seen as much success as some of the most iconic teams in college baseball, is a smart move for the development and regrowth of the Pac-12.
DBU is a program that snuck its way into the Top 25 rankings each season and made sure they stayed in to force a spot in the Round of 64 to kick off the postseason. The Patriots saw success outside of college ball this year as well, when they became the team with the ninth most players selected in the MLB Draft, with 38 total athletes drafted. Conference USA baseball has not given the Patriots the level of competition they need to prove and develop their skill each year. They rely on games like their 11-0 victory against Oklahoma on March 4th to gain strength-of-schedule points and remain ranked. Joining a conference where they will regularly face teams like San Diego State and recent powerhouse Oregon State will push this team in ways they haven’t been before. Overall, this addition is positive both for Pac-12 baseball’s development and for Dallas Baptist to gain more opportunities for success.
