grading out

The college season in Mississippi is in the books. Time for a final grade report.
Mississippi State: A. The Bulldogs, not even picked to make the NCAA field by many preseason forecasters, won a regional title and came within one victory of a trip to the College World Series. Maybe they overachieved. Or maybe the 38-25 finish is indicative of progress for John Cohen’s program. State fans surely hope the latter is true.
Ole Miss: C. This could have been a D. The Rebels were projected as an NCAA Tournament team, but they were swept in a season-ending doubleheader at Arkansas and wound up missing both the SEC and NCAA tourneys as a result. The 30-25 finish, even considering the injuries Mike Bianco’s club endured, was a disappointment.
Southern Miss: B. But this bordered on a C because of the Golden Eagles’ late fade. They squandered an opportunity to win the C-USA regular season title outright at home, then saw their offense run dry in a 1-2 performance in the C-USA Tournament that was played practically in their own backyard. USM got a regional bid and went 0-2. Thud. Still, a 39-19 record and a share of the C-USA title rates some praise.
Delta State: D. The Statesmen perked up at season’s end but still needed to make a strong showing in the Gulf South Conference Tournament to extend their season. They bowed out in three games. At 30-19, they missed the NCAA Division II regionals for the third straight year. They expect better in Cleveland.
Belhaven: A. The Blazers won the tough Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament title in their first year in the league and made the NAIA field. BU fell short of a second straight NAIA World Series trip, but a 45-18 year is a good one.
William Carey: B. Though their final record was just 31-27, the Crusaders made a nice run at season’s end, reaching the SSAC title game against Belhaven and earning an NAIA regional bid.
Mississippi College: C. The Choctaws, though faced with replacing a number of key players, were ranked in preseason in NCAA D-III. They struggled much of the year and finished 24-18, bowing out in the opening round of the American Southwest Conference playoffs a year after reaching an NCAA regional title game.
Millsaps: C. The Majors went 0-2 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and wound up 24-18. That’s one win fewer than they put up in 2010, which was also a down year for a program that usually makes a bid for D-III postseason play.
Tougaloo: D. The Bulldogs (record unavailable) beat Belhaven for the first time ever, which has to be worth something.
Blue Mountain: C. The Toppers went 16-35 in their first year of competition. They were 4-20 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference, a pretty strong NAIA league.