In Bieser’s third year at Mizzou, the baseball program is having its best season in a decade. The Tigers are 31-15-1 and ranked No. 24 by Baseball America and No. 24 in the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index. The latter plays a crucial role in shaping the 64-team NCAA tournament field. Mizzou hasn’t played in an NCAA regional since 2012 and hasn’t earned an at-large NCAA bid since 2009. The latest projection by D1baseball.com has the Tigers as a No. 2 seed in a regional at Oregon State.
In the most grueling conference in college baseball, that’s not easy, especially for Bieser’s baseball program, one that’s up against more challenges than most teams across the Southeastern Conference, starting with the breezy and occasionally frosty conditions at Taylor Stadium, which sits on top of a hill on the southwest corner of Mizzou’s campus, where the wind seems to swirl like no other place in town.