Ricky Nelson’s 2018 projected field of 64

This is what I think the field should be when it is revealed via an online selection show at 11:30 a.m. central tomorrow.

The committee and I have never agreed completely with our selections. If you don’t see your favorite bubble team below, then chances are you’ll be playing next week anyway.

My yearly at-large matches with the national selection committee: 2017: 16 of 21 2016: 16 of 21 2015: 16 of 20 2014: 18 of 20 2013: 16 of 21 2012: 19 of 22 2011: 19 of 22 2010: 19 of 21 2009: 19 of 22 2008: 20 of 23

Pool A (43) Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference: Pittsburgh-Bradford American Southwest Conference: Mary Hardin-Baylor Capital Athletic Conference: Christopher Newport Centennial Conference: Johns Hopkins City University of New York Athletic Conference: Hunter College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin: Illinois Wesleyan Colonial States Athletic Conference: Notre Dame Commonwealth Coast Conference: Wentworth Commonwealth Conference: Stevenson Empire 8 Athletic Conference: Nazareth Freedom Conference: Eastern Great Northeast Athletic Conference: Johnson & Wales (R.I.) Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference: Rose-Hulman Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Dubuque Landmark Conference: Juniata Liberty League: Rochester Tech Little East Conference: Eastern Connecticut State Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference: Worcester State Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association: Calvin Midwest Conference: Cornell Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Gustavus Adolphus New England Collegiate Conference: Southern Vermont New England Small College Athletic Conference: Bowdoin New England Women’s and Men’s Athletics Conference: Babson New Jersey Athletic Conference: Kean North Atlantic Conference: Maine Maritime North Coast Athletic Conference: Wittenberg North Eastern Athletic Conference: Morrisville State Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference: Aurora Northwest Conference: Pacific Lutheran Ohio Athletic Conference: Ohio Northern Old Dominion Athletic Conference: Washington and Lee Presidents’ Athletic Conference: Bethany Skyline Conference: Mount Saint Vincent Southern Athletic Association: Berry Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference: Colorado College St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Greenville State University of New York Athletic Conference: SUNY New Paltz University Athletic Association: Emory Upper Midwest Conference: Minnesota Morris USA South Athletic Conference: Meredith Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Pool B (2) Marymount Thomas More

Pool C (19) Augsburg Bethel DePauw Birmingham-Southern Cal Lutheran Carnegie Mellon Carthage Chicago Concordia Wisconsin Franklin & Marshall Hope Ithaca La Verne Mary Washington MIT Wellesley Saint Benedict St. Thomas Texas Dallas Springfield Trinity (Texas) Washington-St. Louis Wesleyan Wisconsin-Whitewater

Last 5 in: Carthage; Concordia Wisconsin; La Verne; MIT; Texas Dallas; Wesleyan. [I read my sheet incorrectly. ULV should be ahead of UTD].

This year there are plenty of arguments to be made against what I have. It was more of a slog near the end than in recent years. Good luck out there.

-Ricky Nelson