If you think the Missouri Valley is not a major player in the college baseball scene, think again. The MVC has been anything but a mid-major in baseball. Fifteen times, a MVC team has reached Omaha, with Wichita State taking home the national title in 1989. Though the last time a Valley team reached Omaha was 2003 (Missouri State), MVC schools have earned respect from their peers for their success on the diamond.

For the most part, they have fared well against the bigger conferences. Check out how the six tournament teams did against major non-conference competition.

9-7 vs. the Big 12
4-3 vs. the Big 10
0-1 vs. ACC
2-5 vs. SEC (counting the three teams not in the tourney, MVC went 3-7)
0-3 vs. Pac-10

Looking at these numbers, I would say the MVC sits in the middle of the pack with the major conferences, which means some great baseball will be played this week here in Springfield.

Taking a look at the six teams who have made it here

1) Wichita State Shockers
Record: 46-17 (20-4 MVC)
RPI: 20
Record vs. Tourney Teams: 12-3

Impressive Wins: The Shockers took two of three from Long Beach St. early, as well as beating Kansas both times they faced each other. The 5-3 win over Nebraska was an eye-catcher, and the sweep of Penn State looks better and better each week.

Bad Losses: Losing one to Richmond at home did not help their cause, and going 0-2 against Oral Roberts was not so great either, despite ORU being a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

Offense: The Shockers lead the Missouri Valley with a .301 team batting average. The two to watch at the plate though are 2B Damon Sublett and 3B Conor Gillaspie. Sublett leads the team with a .358 average (sixth in MVC), with five homers and 41 RBIs to his credit. Gillaspie bats .340 with five home runs and 51 RBIs. The Shockers are not a power team, but if a home run is needed, catcher Tyler Weber (.302) leads the team with nine.

Pitching: Wichita State leads the conference here as well, with a team ERA of just 2.63. The Shockers have a solid rotation in RHP Travis Banwart (9-4, 2.34 ERA), RHP Aaron Shafer (6-2, 2.57 ERA), and LHP Ross Musgrave (6-2, 2.69 ERA). Should any of the starters fall into trouble, Wichita can rely on LHP Anthony Capra (6-0, 1.61 ERA) or LHP Noah Booth (6-1, 1.02 ERA) to save them from further damage.

Key Stat: Speed. The Shockers have stolen 111 bases on the season, while their opponents have only stolen 46 against them. Speed on the mound and on the base paths gives Wichita State a huge advantage.

Outlook: Wichita State is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, so winning this is not mandatory. However, a slim chance to host a regional will keep the Shox focused this week, so I am not expecting any letdowns. Given their record against the field, it will be hard to bet on anyone but the Shockers to win it all this week.

2) Creighton Bluejays
Record: 40-13 (19-5 MVC)
RPI: 44
Record vs. Tourney Teams: 10-5

*NOTE: Before I go any further, the above spelling IS correct, as Creighton does not separate blue and jays, rather keeping it as one word.

Impressive Wins: The Jays took two of three from in-state rival Nebraska, but it was the final game against the Huskers: a 9-2 rout in front of over 18,000 at Rosenblatt Stadium that was the sweetest win by far. Creighton also beat Missouri in their lone battle this season.

Bad Losses: Three words. South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits took it to the Bluejays in a 13-4 rout in Omaha that definitely put a black mark on the Creighton resume.

Offense: CU is led by Missouri Valley Player of the Year Darin Ruf. The sophomore first baseman currently bats .377 with seven home runs and 53 RBIs. Catcher Chris Gradoville is also one to watch, batting .345 with five homers and 53 RBIs of his own. Creighton bats .290 as a team, good for a fourth place tie in MVC play.

Pitching: CU has the MVC Pitcher of the Year as well in LHP Ben Mancuso (9-2, 2.25 ERA), but if you want a sleeper, go with switch pitcher (you heard me right, a switch PITCHER) Pat Venditte, who is 7-2 with a 2.00 ERA. Venditte leads the team in strikeouts (77) and opponents are batting just .191 against him. RHP Andy Masten (4-3, 1.00 ERA) is the team closer with 15 saves on the year.

Key Stat: Fielding. Creighton leads the MVC with a .977 fielding percentage. The Jays are a team that will not beat itself defensively, so teams must hit cleanly and keep the CU bats at bay to have a chance to win.

Outlook: I think Creighton is in the NCAA Tournament no matter what; given the fact they have only lost 13 times this season. A few wins definitely will help, though, and if they can avoid Wichita State, they have a good chance to win the tournament.

3) Bradley Braves
Record: 30-19 (13-11 MVC)
RPI: 121
Record vs. Overall Teams: 6-9

Impressive Wins: There are no big-name teams that Bradley conquered this season, but they did win series over Evansville and Southern Illinois, and they did get a game from Wichita State this season.

Bad Losses: Bradley started 3-7 this season, and the teams they lost to explain their low RPI. The Braves lost twice to Belmont, Arkansas State and Tennessee Tech, which looks really bad in the eyes of the NCAA.

Offense: The offense starts and ends with 2B Ryan Curry. He led the Missouri Valley with a .428 batting average with five home runs, 20 doubles and 44 RBIs. SS Dan Brewer is one to watch as well. Brewer bats .309, and leads the Braves in home runs (nine) and stolen bases (20).

Pitching: Bradley has their best pitcher in junior RHP Chris Wright (4-1, 2.95 ERA). Expect a start at some point from either RHP Collin Brennan (3-5, 3.79 ERA) or Michael Christl (5-6, 5.31 ERA), but if Bradley wins their first round matchup, I would not be surprised to see RHP Brad Altbach (6-2, 2.73 ERA), who usually plays the role of closer; take the mound for a start.

Key Stat: Strikeouts. As a team, Bradley struck out 334 times, while their opponents only struck out 263 times. That is a big difference, especially for a team with a winning record.

Outlook: It is somewhat surprising to see Bradley as the third seed, but they need to make the most of it. Winning the tournament is the only way the Braves can make the NCAA tournament, and though it can be done, the chances appear very slim for Bradley to emerge as tournament champions.

4) Evansville Purple Aces
Record: 34-21 (13-11 MVC)
RPI: 65
Record vs. Tourney Teams: 7-8

Impressive Wins: It is never easy to win a game in Oxford, Miss., but the Aces did just that, beating the Ole Miss Rebels 2-1 in an early season series. Evansville also beat another SEC squad, taking down Kentucky 5-4 two weeks ago.

Bad Losses: Losing 5-1 to Lipscomb was bad (even if Lipscomb beat Vanderbilt), and getting swept at Oregon State looks worse and worse with the recent downfall of the Beavers.

Offense: Opponents know if they want to snuff out early sparks from Evansville, keeping Jim Viscomi off base is essential. Viscomi, who bats .377 and leads the team with 22 stolen bases, is the best early threat Evansville has. Kasey Wahl bats .356 and is the power hitter for UE, leading the Aces in home runs with eight.

Pitching: Beware of LHP Kai Tuomi (10-2, 2.12 ERA) who is the real ace of Aces for Evansville. He is proof that Canada has a wealth of baseball talent. RHP Ben Norton (8-4, 2.46) is a solid starter as well. Their closer, RHP Matt Brinkman (4-2, 1.73) already has 10 saves on the season, and has a solid 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Key Stat: Hit by Pitch. Evansville pitchers have hit 36 batters on the year. Their teammates have taken their lumps, having been hit an incredible 73 times this season.

Outlook: I am picking the Aces as the dark horse team to win it all. Evansville has a good 1-2 pitching punch and some good bats as well to go with it. If the Aces can get it all together, they can make some noise. They will need to, though, as I think reaching the tournament final is vital to an at-large NCAA tournament bid.

*RANDOM NOTE: I have picked two dark horses in previous tournaments for CSTV.com, and both have fared well. Oral Roberts won the Fayetteville Regional last year, and the Iowa State Lady Cyclone basketball team reached the Big 12 Tournament final as a #5 seed. Maybe the Purple Aces can keep the luck going.

5) Southern Illinois Salukis
Record: 34-20 (13-11 MVC)
RPI: 63
Record vs. Tourney Teams: 6-9

Impressive Wins: The Salukis have not won a lot of impressive games this season. They did, however, beat Big East power Louisville 4-3 in a tournament at Hattiesburg, Miss.

Bad Losses: Not many really bad losses on the Saluki resume as well, which helps their cause. A 9-8 loss at Murray State is the one loss I would try to hide from the NCAA Selection Committee

Offense: The leader of the SIU offense is sophomore C Matt Kelly, who is second in the conference with a .384 average. He has two home runs and 62 RBIs to his credit. OF Aaron Roberts is eight in the MVC, batting .352, and is one of the best freshmen in the conference.

Pitching: With an ERA of 4.29, the Salukis rank sixth in the MVC and last among the tournament teams. The ace on the staff is RHP Cody Adams (11-4, 3.10 ERA). LHP Shawn Joy (5-2, 3.30) and RHP Jordan Powell (6-7, 5.10) round out the rotation. Freshman RHP Bryant George (3-1, 3.15) is the closer for SIU with 11 saves.

Key Stat: Home Runs. The Salukis are last in the conference, hitting just 16 home runs all season. Opponents have hit 29 home runs on the Salukis.

Outlook: If they can hit well, they could surprise some people. However, their lack of power is a concern, and the Salukis lack of big wins this season means they will have to win the tournament to get a chance for Omaha. Their chances of doing that are pretty slim.

6) Missouri State Bears
Record: 22-32 (7-17 MVC)
RPI: 126
Record vs. Tourney Teams: 4-11

Impressive Wins: The Bears did pick up a couple of solid non-conference wins this season, including a 12-0 shutout of Minnesota and a 7-2 win over Kansas.

Bad Losses: Missouri State lost two to Dallas Baptist, and they were part of a 14-game losing streak midway through the season, in which EVERY loss was a bad one for the Bears.

Offense: The Bears are led by C Paul Kyle, who is batting .314 with three home runs and 34 RBIs. Junior OF Nolan Keane is the best power hitter for MSU, batting .313 with eight homers for the year.

Pitching: LHP Ross Detwiler (4-5, 2.09 ERA) is a much better pitcher than his statistics show. In fact, Detwiler should be a first-round MLB draft pick, and if his teammates gave him run support, he would have won a lot more games for them. Keep an eye on freshman RHP Tim Clubb (6-3, 3.90) as well.

Key Stat: Saves. The Bears are last in the conference with five saves. Every other team in the tournament has over 10 games saved this season.

Outlook: The only reason Missouri State is here is because they are the host school. Granted, you can never count anyone out in baseball, you can never count a team who has received new life from the postseason and you can never count out a team with a home field advantage. However, the Bears have played so poorly this season that their chances of winning the tournament are about as good as me getting a date with Heroes star Ali Larter (and those are some huge odds).

With all of that said, it should be a great four days in Springfield, and we will get started with Creighton and Southern Illinois at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Bradley and Evansville will follow, and Wichita State and Missouri State will close out the action tomorrow night. Stay tuned to CSTV.com, as we will have continuing coverage of the 2007 ConAgra Missouri Valley Tournament.