The format for the conference tournament is similar to the College World Series – two four-team brackets will play a double elimination tournament from Wednesday to Saturday, and the two bracket champions will meet in a single championship game on Sunday (televised by CSTV). The first bracket features second-seeded Houston, #3 Tulane, #6 East Carolina and #7 Marshall. Regular season champion Rice leads the second bracket, and is joined by #4 Memphis, #5 Southern Miss and #8 UAB.

#1 Rice finished their first season in Conference USA with a 22-2 conference record, and enters the tournament with a 46-10 record. The Owls are currently the consensus #1 team in the country, and have all but sewed up a national seed when the NCAA Tournament field is announced on Memorial Day. After losing their first game in conference play, Rice reeled off 17 straight conference wins before being felled by Clemens Award semifinalist Brad Lincoln of Houston. The Owls are led by a Clemens candidate of their own, as senior Eddie Degerman leads a deep pitching staff that led the league with a 3.07 ERA and strikes out more than one batter per inning. Degerman, who sports a 10-1 record and 1.65 ERA, is joined in the rotation by Craig Crow (7-1, 2.73), Joe Savery (4-1, 2.00), Bobby Bell (7-0, 4.21) and Will McDaniel (6-1, 3.10). The bullpen is also a strength, as Cole St. Clair (5-2, 1.68, 9 saves) leads the nation with a .144 batting average against and Bobby Bramhall (4-1, 2.44) and Bryce Cox (3-1, 5.97) have been solid contributors throughout the season. The underrated lineup finished the season second in the league in batting average (.317), runs (438), home runs (66) and fielding percentage (.972). Brian Friday (.387-7-48) leads a lineup that features as many as eight .300 hitters. Freshman Aaron Luna leads the team with 13 homers, while Joe Savery, Josh Rodriguez and Tyler Henley have all driven in at least 45 runs.

#2 Houston (36-19, 18-6 C-USA) won seven of their eight conference series, losing their final series of the season to Rice after winning the Friday night game. An invitation to the NCAA Tournament should be forthcoming regardless of this week’s results, though a solid showing could land Houston a shot at hosting a regional next weekend. The team is well-balanced, though the offense has been as hot as a firecracker since the beginning of April. The Cougars are led by two-way star Brad Lincoln – their ace finished the season with an 11-1 record and 1.67 ERA while also contributing a .288 average with 11 homers and a team leading 50 RBI at the plate. Three other starters also contributed to Houston’s 3.58 ERA (second best in the league), as Ricky Hargrove (7-5, 2.90), Luis Flores (5-3, 3.35) and Matt Farrington (5-4, 4.31) should all see action during the conference tournament. Closer Clayton Boone leads the bullpen with a 3.58 ERA (3-1, 4 saves) and is joined by frequent contributor Shea Hancock (2-2, 4.29, 2 saves). The offense boasts six starters who finished the season over .300. Despite not homering until April, Matt Weston leads the Cougars with 14 longballs. Isa Garcia sparks the offense while leading the team with a .342 average, 46 runs and 17 stolen bases.

#3 Tulane (39-17, 15-9 C-USA) has also punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament next week, and is playing for a chance to host a regional at Zephyr Field in June. After opening the season with a 20-14 record and losing six of their first nine conference games, the Green Wave rushed through the final seven weeks with a 19-3 record. Tulane posted a league-best .978 fielding percentage. Sean Morgan leads the pitching staff with an 8-4 record and 3.23 ERA. He is joined in the rotation by Billy Mohl (8-0, 4.15), Brandon Gomes (5-6, 4.96) and Stephen Porlier (7-3, 4.57). Trey Martin (6-0, 2.13) bridges the gap between the starters and closer Daniel Latham, who saved 14 games for the Wave while posting a 4.70 ERA. Freshman outfielder Warren McFadden leads the offense with a .390 average while first baseman Mark Hamilton provides the power with a team leading 17 home runs and 61 RBIs.

#4 Memphis (30-26, 13-11 C-USA) was the biggest surprise in Conference USA this season, grabbing one of the top seeds after finishing last in the conference last season. The Tigers swiped a league-leading 80 bases this season while finishing third in batting average (.315) and runs scored (426). The offense is led by first baseman Adam Amar, who led the league with a .410 average while hitting 10 home runs and driving in 60 runs. Designated hitter Joey Lieberman and outfielder Will Petersen each reached double digits in homers, and six starters sport batting averages over .300 entering the tournament. The pitching staff is more of a question mark, as ten different pitchers started for the Tigers this season. Scott McGregor is the ace, leading the team with 13 starts and 73 innings pitched while accumulating a 6-3 record and 5.67 ERA. Ben Grisham (1-2, 4.79), Lance Scoggins (2-3, 5.96) and Philip Utley (4-4, 6.22) join McGregor in the rotation. Drew Jaudon (4-1, 4.68), Dusty Davis (3-1, 5.07), and Matt Yokley (2-3, 5.35) get the most frequent calls from the bullpen.

#5 Southern Miss (37-19, 13-11 C-USA) is solidly on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid, and should give the conference its fourth bid on Memorial Day. The Golden Eagles slug their way to success, leading the league with a .319 batting average, 76 home runs and 461 runs scored during the regular season. Marc Maddox leads C-USA with 18 homers and is second with 67 RBIs. Eight starters finished the season with .300 batting averages, led by Trey Sutton’s .371 mark, while Toddric Johnson hits .366 and led the team with 61 runs scored. The rotation is anchored by Cliff Russum (7-5, 4.19) and Scott Massey (6-3, 5.45). Other probable starters during the tournament are Barry Bowden (2-2, 4.50) and David Clark (3-2, 6.61). Closer Daniel Best anchors the bullpen with 11 saves and a 6-2 record while posting a 1.88 ERA. Ryan Belanger (8-0, 2.91) and Patrick Ezell (1-3, 5.23) are also available when the bullpen phone rings.

#6 East Carolina (32-24, 10-14 C-USA) finished a disappointing first season under Billy Godwin by losing 10 of their final 15 games. The Pirates are well-balanced, finishing near the middle of the conference with a 4.40 team ERA and a .309 batting average. Brody Taylor has the best numbers of the starters, leading the staff with a 7-2 record and 3.28 ERA. T.J. Hose (3-3, 3.84), Dustin Sasser (5-6, 4.35) and Shane Mathews (5-3, 5.25) also posted solid numbers while starting for most of the season. Jason Neitz (2-1, 2.36) is the main weapon out of the bullpen, which collected just three saves during the season. All eleven Pirates who came to the plate at least 100 times batted over .290, led by catcher Jake Smith’s .351 average. Smith also hit 12 homers while driving in 63 runs, and is joined in the middle of the order by first baseman Adam Witter’s 14 longballs and 42 RBIs. East Carolina has an outside shot to make the NCAA Tournament, but will likely need to win the conference tournament to advance.

#7 Marshall (22-30, 6-18 C-USA) reaches the conference tournament in their first season in C-USA. The Thundering Herd struggled down the stretch, losing their last eight conference games and eleven of their last fourteen games overall. Marshall’s strength is its offense, which is led by designated hitter Brendan Murphy (.321-15-70), third baseman Adam Frederick (.340-9-37) and catcher Rich Russell (.355-6-34). The starting rotation features Jeremy Slone (3-7, 4.75), Chris Koutsavlis (6-6, 6.18) and Brian Chrisman (3-7, 8.86). Closer Brian Knippelmeyer posted five saves, while Andrew Blain (1-0, 2.25), Bryson Meyers (2-0, 3.00), and Brendon Bump (0-0,4.37) contribute to a solid bullpen for the Herd.

#8 UAB (19-36, 6-18 C-USA) snuck into the tournament on the final day by rallying to defeat Tulane. It was a tale of two seasons for the Blazers, who ran out to a 13-7 record on March 19th before losing their next nineteen games (and first 10 C-USA contests). They have a true ace in Jim Crew, who led the team with a 6-3 record and 3.53 ERA. He’s joined in the starting rotation by Lyle Northington (3-6, 6.01) while ten other Blazers have started a game in 2006. Drew Murray is the main contributor out of the bullpen, posting a 2-6 record and 5.50 ERA. Catcher Danny Sawyer leads the UAB offense, batting .307 while hitting 6 homers and driving in 45 runs. Third baseman Ryne Lovdahl had a team-high eight longballs.

With four teams already in solid position for the “big dance”, the level of play should be high at the C-USA Tournament this week. The host Owls have the deepest pitching staff while the Cougars are the most balanced team on the other side of the bracket, so look for Rice to defeat cross-town rival Houston in the championship game on Sunday.