Conference USA Baseball 2003 Accomplishments
Conference USA placed four teams in the NCAA Tournament (East Carolina, Houston, Southern Miss and Tulane). Only the SEC (7) had more teams in the field.
For the fourth time in the last five years, a Conference USA team hosted an NCAA Regional when Southern Miss welcomed Baylor, Murray State and Southern University to the Hattiesburg Regional.
For the fourth consecutive year, C-USA had a team advance to the NCAA Super Regional. Houston made its third Super Regional appearance in four years before falling to eventual National Champion Rice, two games to one.
Two teams finished the season ranked in the Top 20. Southern Miss was ranked as high as No. 15 (Baseball America), while Houston finished as high as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball).
Seven C-USA teams (East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, TCU and Tulane) posted at least one victory over a nationally-ranked non-conference opponent in 2003.
Conference USA teams combined to win 15 games against teams that were nationally-ranked at the time they played.
Six times Conference USA defeated a team ranked in the Top 10, including a pair of victories over the top-ranked team in the country.
Six Conference USA teams (East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, Southern Miss and Tulane) posted 34 or more victories. All six of those teams won at least 35 games in the previous season.
Five different Conference USA players were honored as All-Americans.
Three C-USA players earned Freshman All-American honors.
Conference USA has five players that earned National Player of the Week honors last season.
A total of 27 players were selected in the June Major League Baseball Draft, including a record three first round selections.
Five Conference USA schools ranked among the Top 35 in home attendance.
Conference USA Baseball History
In its first eight seasons, Conference USA has developed into one of the nation's top college baseball conferences. Here's a look at some of the league's accomplishments:
One College World Series appearance
Four NCAA Super Regional appearances
23 NCAA Regional bids
147 players selected in the major league draft
49 victories over Top 10 non-conference opponents
24 wins over Top 5 non-conference foes
57 All-Americans
35 Freshman All-Americans
34 National Players of the Week
