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Last season at Long Beach State, Watts-Brown was given a bullpen role after initially being a starter, and he then blossomed. Since his outing against TCU on April 8, his ERA has elevated from 2.61 to 4.50. Still, Holliday made one thing clear: not much will change within the pitching rotation moving forward. Presumably, Watts-Brown still holds the status of the team’s ace pitcher.

“We’ll evaluate and we’ll see where they’re all at (Monday),” Holliday said. “We were just trying to play it smart but play it to win.”

Holliday displeased with Big 12 representation Six Big 12 baseball programs attained a bid to an NCAA regional, marking the largest total since 2017, when the conference sent seven teams to the field of 64.

Still, it could have been larger.

Over the course of the season, Holliday hasn’t been coy regarding his belief for how underappreciated baseball in the Big 12 is. He reiterated his disdain for the national outlook on the conference when Kansas State (35-24, 13-11 Big 12) was not awarded a regional bid Monday morning.

Just three weeks prior, the Wildcats and Cowboys were tied at first place in the Big 12 standings, competing in a three-game series in Stillwater, with K-State even winning Game 1. KSU went 2-2 at the Big 12 Tournament, with a trip to the semifinals. Ace pitcher Owen Boerema and firstteam All-Big 12 closer Ty Neighbors portray that of a postseason team in Holliday’s eyes.

“That’s disappointing for (Kansas State), I had a lot of respect for their team,” he said. “I’m disappointed for them that they would carry such a good conference record that deep into the season and get left out, and that’s a tough thing.”

Stillwater Regional schedule

Friday, June 2

Game 1 – Washington vs. Dallas Baptist, 12 p.m.

Game 2 – Oklahoma State vs. Oral Roberts, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 3

Game 3 – Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 12 p.m.

Game 4 – Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 4

Game 5 – Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 12 p.m.

Game 6 – Winner G4 vs. Winner G5, 6 p.m.

Monday, June 5

Game 7 – Winner G6 vs. Loser G6 (if necessary), 6 p.m. (Times subject to change for TV purposes) sports.ed@ocolly.com