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As Missouri State’s first season in Conference USA hits the finish line, one sport stands out as benefiting from the new league more than any — except for football, the driver of the proverbial bus.
Coach Joey Hawkins’ baseball Bears took a big step up in competition from their recent years in the Missouri Valley Conference. C-USA is rated the nation’s No. 9 baseball league, with the Valley lagging in 25th among 30.
That’s why there’s no need to be disappointed about Missouri State’s 7-5 loss to Liberty on Sunday morning at the C-USA Tournament semifinals in Kennesaw, Ga. The Bears (34-19) are going to be one of three league teams (with Liberty and regular-season champ Jacksonville State) headed to the NCAA Tournament next week.
Along with facing a rugged nonconference schedule, Missouri State found C-USA even better than anticipated. Six teams are in the top 90 on the all-important Ratings Percentage Index. Just one year ago, despite going out the Valley door as regular-season co-champions and league tourney runner-up, the Bears didn’t sniff an NCAA at-large.
Once-great in baseball, the Valley was a wasteland for a Missouri State baseball program that aspires for more. Hawkins was one of the biggest supporters of the move — aside from then-football coach Ryan Beard — when it was announced two years ago.
“We’re grateful for the transition. It’s been tough. It’s a really hard league,” Hawkins said prior to the C-USA tourney. “Just look at the numbers of the teams in the conference tournament, you feel like anybody can win a given game.
“When you’re playing those teams week in and week out, it helps your resume as you go through a full season. We believe we’re a multi-bid league and we should be every year.”
Playing better competition has helped a talented Missouri State team raise the level of its play.
“It’s been huge,” said junior third baseman Curry Sutherland, a graduate of Logan-Rogersville High School. “We’ve got to see a lot better competition throughout the year, a lot better pitching and the team just feels more prepared, day in and day out. It’s been a big difference.”
The Bears can feel safe going into Selection Monday with an RPI of No. 23, best of all C-USA teams. They were 12-8 against a non-league schedule rated No. 9, with a combined seven wins over likely NCAA Tournament teams Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Louisiana in addition to C-USA regular-season champ Jacksonville State and runner-up Liberty.
Bears bow out in completion of suspended game
Missouri State baseball outfielder Caden Bogenpohl doffs his batting helmet after hitting a grand slam against Valparaiso on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at Hammons Field. The Bears won 25-7 in 7 innings. (Photo by Mary Ellen Chiles)
The semifinal against Liberty began Saturday night with the Flames taking a 6-4 lead into the sixth inning, when rain suspended the action. The Bears drew within a run on Caden Bogenpohl’s infield RBI single in the seventh, but Liberty quickly answered with a run of its own in the bottom half.
One more comeback — after two rallying wins to open the tourney against Kennesaw State and Dallas Baptist — wasn’t in the cards. Missouri State has spent 12 days in Georgia after finishing the regular season against the host school. The loss at least gave the Bears a four-hour jump start on the long bus ride home — and didn’t further tax a pitching staff that will need to be at its best next weekend.
“If you look at the game as a whole, we just didn’t play good enough,” Hawkins said afterward on the Bears’ Radio Network. “You can’t make four errors and expect to beat anybody, including a really good Liberty team, who is going to be a regional team as well.
“A lot to be proud of from the regular season and the conference tournament. Our tough schedule, regular season nonconference and C-USA prepared us. We’ll get on the bus, head home and figure out what’s next.”
Taking care of business
Missouri State didn’t have an at-large bid comfortably clinched when it traveled to Kennesaw nearly two weeks ago. Setting up shop for an extended stay, the Bears won two of three over Kennesaw State before tense pool play wins in the tourney over Kennesaw and Dallas Baptist.
That will be enough for a return to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2022.
“I’ve told them since we were at (Louisiana) opening weekend, that every game is a postseason game, if you want to be an at-large team,” Hawkins said. “So we’ve been in this postseason mindset for a while, and it’s been a fun ride.
“We put this team through the ringer when it comes to who we played, where we traveled to. Everything. You look at our resume … we’re more than deserving and we’re more than ready. But we’re ready to get back to Springfield for a few days.”
There will be more fun to come. It would be nice if their regional assignment is close enough for fans to travel by ground transportation. The best chances for that are to be assigned to Kansas (Lawrence), Nebraska (Lincoln) or their old postseason friends at Arkansas (Fayetteville) where there is plenty of NCAA history between the programs.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is Monday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
Lyndal Scranton is a Springfield native who has covered sports in the Ozarks for more than 35 years, witnessing nearly every big sports moment in the region during the last 50 years. The Missouri Sports Hall of Famer, Springfield Area Sports Hall of Famer and live-fire cooking enthusiast also serves as PR Director for Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri and is co-host of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Contact him at Lscranton755@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LyndalScranton. More by Lyndal Scranton