Stance on No. 1 Overall Seed Easy Way to Sort Informed, Bandwagon Hog Baseball Fans

What can history tell us about what to expect based on Razorbacks' seeding in NCAA playoffs?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Wanna know how to tell if the guy on social media who just posted about Razorback baseball is bandwagoner killing time until football starts or a true deeply passioned diamond stud? He's either complaining that Arkansas isn't ranked No. 1 in the latest poll or rooting for it to happen after this weekend.

🆕 @d1baseball Rankings ⚾️

1. Wake Forest
2. Arkansas
3. Stanford
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. West Virginia
7. Clemson
8. Coastal Carolina
9. Connecticut
10. Oregon State

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) May 15, 2023

Anyone who is a true fan of college baseball knows the only thing more cursed than the Defense Against the Dark Arts position in Harry Potter is first place in college baseball. There hasn't been a single No. 1 overall seed win the College World Series this entire century. The last time it happened was in 1999 when Miami went the distance from the top spot. Remember in 2021 when Arkansas went the entire season without losing a series and also won the SEC Tournament to claim the overall No. 1 seed? They lost in the second round to NC State. Didn't even make the College World Series. Cursed.

Just look at who all has won national championships and the seed at which they came in:
2022 – Ole Miss (No. 43)
2021 – Mississippi St. (No. 7)
2020 – Cancelled
2019 – Vanderbilt (No. 2)
2018 – Oregon St. (No. 3)
2017 – Florida (No. 3)
2016 – Coastal Carolina (No. 24)
2015 – Virginia (No. 33)
2014 – Vanderbilt (No. 13)
2013 – UCLA (No. 12)
2012 – Arizona (No. 11)
2011 – South Carolina (No. 4)
2010 – South Carolina (No. 13)
2009 – LSU (No. 3)
2008 – Fresno St. (No. 51)
2007 – Oregon St. (No. 33)
2006 – Oregon St. (No. 14)
2005 – Texas (No. 12)
2004 – Cal. St. Fullerton (No. 26)
2003 – Rice (No. 5)
2002 – Texas (No. 5)
2001 – Miami (No. 2)
2000 – LSU (No. 2)

Only six times in the past 20 seasons has a national seed managed to win the College World Series. The same amount of teams have won it as the No. 24 seed or worse in that time. The good news for Arkansas is if you extend it out to the entire century, teams slotted either No. 2 or No. 3 have also won it six times. 

So how has it panned out for the Razorbacks as a national seed over the years?
2004 – No. 8, lost first two games of CWS.
2007 – No. 7, lost in regional championship game.
2018 – No. 5, CWS runner-up.
2019 – No. 5, lost first two games of CWS.
2021 – No. 1, lost in super regional.

Last season's semifinal run was the second longest the Razorbacks have ever made behind championship game appearances in 1979 and 2018, and the Hogs weren't seeded. While that team found a way to pull of a dramatic regional win at Oklahoma State before coasting in Chapel Hill against North Carolina, the current iteration of the Razorbacks has struggled away from Baum Walker, so getting a national seed is important for the Razorbacks. 

Just so long as that seed isn't No. 1. That's something no reasonably informed fan would ever wish on his or her favorite college team. 

True Hog fans will wish Wake Forest all the best against Virginia Tech this weekend and in the ACC Tournament while investing remaining hopes and dreams in health and healing above Razorback wins between now and regionals. Meanwhile, leave the need to be an overall No. 1 seed to those outing themselves as climbing onto the bandwagon just in time to catch the bus to the nearest Jello shot competition.

HOGS FEED:

FORMER HOG DOMINECK DETAILS WHY HE LEFT ARKANSAS, HOW HE'S ADJUSTING TO LIFE IN COLORADO

VAN HORN CONSIDERED PULLING HOLLAN IN COMPLETE GAME GEM, BUT NOT FOR LONG

RAZORBACKS GET COMPLETE GAME FROM HUNTER HOLLAN TO TAKE SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES ON SUNDAY

NEW OFFENSE UNDER DAN ENOS MAY HAVE SOME CLUES WITH LATEST TIGHT END COMMITMENT

HOGS GET JUST ENOUGH OFFENSE TO TAKE DOWN NO. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA

ARKANSAS HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER HAS FUN WITH AUBURN AFTER RECRUITING INVITE THAT WAS SERIOUSLY WRONG

TAKEOVER OF ESPN RADIO SHOW PROVED HOG FANS WANTED TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN TRANSFER PORTAL LATE IN WINDOW

DESPITE GUT-WRENCHING LOSS, RAZORBACK SOFTBALL WAKES UP TO GOOD NEWS

SLOW NEWS DAY, SPECULATION MAKES DEVO DAVIS RADIO APPEARANCE BIGGER NEWS THAN NORMAL

RAZORBACKS COACH DAVE VAN HORN STARTING HAGEN SMITH ON FRIDAY NIGHT BUT NOTHING FINAL ON REST OF WEEKEND.

PLAYERS NOW HAVE AN UNTAPPED BARGAINING CHIP THAT CAN SLOW THINGS DRAMATICALLY IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL

NO EXPLANATION WHY UNIVERSITY PULLED MAKHI MITCHELL RETURN POST

DEVO HAS GROWN MAN DECISION TO MAKE AFTER COMBINE, G LEAGUE SNUB

DEADLINE COMING FOR ANY PLAYERS TO TRANSFER OUT, BUT RAZORBACKS CAN BRING PLAYERS ALREADY IN PORTAL TO TEAM

CASE FOR DAVE VAN HORN AS TOP COACH IN SEC BECOMING FAIRLY CLEAR AS THIS SEASON HAS PROGRESSED

OLE MISS ASSISTANT POSES GREATEST THREAT ARKANSAS HAS FACE IN RECRUITING IN DECADES

POST INDICATES LONGHORNS MAY REPLACE AGGIES AS OPPONENT IN ARLINGTON

DAVE VAN HORN HAS FANS JUMPING BACK ON THE BANDWAGON

RAZORBACKS SWEEP MISSISSIPPI STATE, TIE FOR FIRST PLACE WITH VANDY

HOG FEED: WOULD SAM PITTMAN LET TIGHT END RE-COMMIT GO THROUGH ALL THAT AGAIN?

OLD-TIMERS MAY WANT TEXAS FOOTBALL ON SCHEDULE, BUT WHAT DO YOUNGSTERS WANT FOR HOGS' REGULAR OPPONENTS?

RAZORBACKS GUARANTEE MISSISSIPPI STATE WON'T SWEEP THEM WITH SERIES OPENING WIN

POST-SPRING TOP 25 OUT BUT HOGS NOT ON IT, BUT WHY ARE LONGHORNS IN THERE AT NO. 10?

ARKANSAS BASEBALL SCHEDULE

FAYETTEVILLE WEATHER UPDATE

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