My 2011 projected field of 64

Here are the teams that I think should be announced on the NCAA selection show on Monday morning at about 10 a.m. central. The link to the selection show should appear at the NCAA D-III volleyball page. This link is another option.

A bit of background – I was 19-of-21 on my at-large projections last season, 19-of-22 in 2009 and 20-of-23 in 2008. So, if your team isn’t listed below, there’s still plenty of hope. Plenty. But I’ll get them all one of these years.

I spend a lot of time on this every year, but it is what it is – an exercise of five parts science and one part art. Like always, it was difficult toward the end, and a few teams will have legitimate gripes – over my very, very unofficial picks, and/or, more importantly, over the NCAA’s tomorrow morning. I think it’s obvious what teams on the list below are close to being on the other side.

Assuming these teams submitted bids, here are my projected host schools: Carthage, St. Thomas, Calvin, Eastern, Cortland, Randolph-Macon, Springfield, Cal Lutheran.

Christopher Newport could host the South instead of R-MC. In fact, CNU is probably the favorite to land the gig, but I like the head-to-head win and a change of scenery. Occidental could step in for Cal Lutheran in the West. My projections would require six flights (five in the West and Emory).

EDIT: Actual hosts are Washington-St. Louis, Concordia-Moorhead, Cal Lutheran, Calvin, Christopher Newport, Clarkson, Springfield and Eastern (at Neumann).

As a reminder, here are the 42 Pool A teams.

POOL B (2) Clarkson Skidmore

POOL C (20) Cal Lutheran Case Western Reserve (Bethel) Chapman Chicago Elmhurst Emory Hiram Hope Middlebury Mount Union Northwestern Otterbein Puget Sound (Pacific Lutheran) Saint Benedict Southwestern St. Thomas Tufts Washington and Lee (Stevenson) Wisconsin-Eau Claire Wisconsin-Stevens Point

On the table when my last bid was awarded: Bethel, McMurry, Millikin, New York, Pacific Lutheran, Stevenson, Wellesley.

Agree or disagree? Please leave a comment. I’d like to read your opinions. However, I will be away from the site until about 9:30 p.m. central. I’ll get back to you then.

For a refresher, you can see the FAQ for more details about the selection process.

-Ricky Nelson