ESPN rips NCAA selection committee insistence on using RPI after Field of 64 reveal

Tournament talk is all over the place right now after today’s announcement of the Field of 64 in college baseball. The committee has selected the teams and, from here, they’re each going to give it their all in order to get to Omaha. However, with that said, ESPN’s Kyle Peterson says the sport needs to fix the use of RPI before next year’s NCAA Tournament.

Peterson made his point on ESPN’s Selection Special where they revealed the field. When it came to the use of RPI in evaluating clubs, he described it as “busted” and “flawed.” That’s why, before next season, he says they need ‘to blow it up’ in order to fix some of the issues with the field and better determine who deserves to get a shot at a championship.

“I think it’s busted. We’ve got to fix it,” Peterson said. “There’s way too much credit given for trying. Listen – Indiana State’s a really good club. I’m sure I’m gonna get blasted for this. (But) Indiana State went 2-9 against the RPI Top-50.”

“I think the RPI itself is flawed and they’ve got to blow it up. And they’ve got to do it now,” said Peterson. “Like, we cannot wait for this. Because, if you’re on the west coast right now, it is stacked against you and it’s stacked against you from day one. It’s now a geographical RPI and that’s not right. That needs to change.”

A major point that many have noticed with the bracket is the word ‘geographical’ that Peterson used during his rant. When it comes to the western part of the U.S., only a handful of teams made it in. That included the Arizona Wildcats as one of the last four teams in. They finished their season at 33-24 as the committee chose them as part of the Fayetteville Regional.

Nothing about evaluation is an exact science. Not even the eye test can really get you the best field. Add in numbers and statistics like RPI and it becomes even muddier to dig through. Still, in Peterson’s opinion, this field is exactly what’s wrong with RPI. Now it’s on the NCAA to decide whether or not to hear thoughts like his out and see if they need to rework RPI moving forward.