…will a gap in talent/success grow between UH and Rice?
I would assume that we now have a decisive recruiting advantage in this rivalry now that we’ll be in the Big 12, right?
Nah, Those eggheads will cook up something in their labs, to level the playing field. 
Our record would show that most of the time we have.
I’m not sure how important conference is in baseball recruiting. I was curious about how conference realignment will hit baseball conference competitiveness, here’s what I found. I’m not doing a deep dive, this is just based on last season’s results. I used Warren Nolan’s site for RPI.
Conference RPI Rank
SEC 0.5661 1
Big 12 0.5584 2
ACC 0.5507 3
Pac-12 0.5430 4
American 0.5154 5
CUSA 0.5129 6
So there’s a clear top 4, with the AAC as the best of rest.
BIG12 loses RPI #4 & 62
BIG12 adds RPI #78, 84, 152, & 233(us)
AAC loses #78, 84, & 233
AAC adds #34, 58, 92, 179, & 255(rice)
The B12 will overall take an initial step down.
The AAC will get a little stronger at the top, but overall will be about the same.
UH and rice both currently suck.
These numbers change enough year to year that attempting to prognosticate with them might be a worthless endeavor. But I thought it was interesting.
No.
Rice has been down since Wayne Graham left.
Baseball is probably the least affected by not being in a “power” conference.
Year after year you see teams from non power conferences with incredible talent.
Cal-State-Fullerton
UCSB
Coastal Carolina
Dallas Baptist
LaTech
ECU
ULALA
SELA
Kennesaw
Texas St.
UTSA
Southern Miss
Grand Canyon
Missouri St.
UC-Irvine
SEMO
Liberty
South Alabama
Campbell
VCU
NMSU
These are just some teams that are consistently good to great every year. The get very talented players and are better than 60-70% of “Power” conference schools.
So honestly if you have a good staff , a good program then there is not really a recruiting advantage….
Of course your SEC schools, maybe PAC and a few Big 12….but that’s it……everyone else is pretty much on the same ground.
So when Rice has a good coach/program again there is no advantage between UH and Rice.
Not even close to being true.
In the last TWENTY years we are 18-40 against Rice.
Even in the past TEN years when Rice has been down we are about .500 against them.
So no, we have not had any advantage over Rice….
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Sorry, i am talking football, my bad.
No worries.
Both Rice and UH suck now.
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Uhh hmmm. You left out one. No worries, I got it. SHSU SHSU SHSU. Ok we good now. 
Edit: Tidbit-- since 2007 NCAA Appearances.
UH-- 5, UT-- 8, SHSU- 8, TCU- 10.
Since 1987 when SAM went from D2 to D1 for Baseball.
SHSU-- 14, UH-- 14 NCAA Appearances
The main roles conference play are $ for facilities (matters a lot in baseball) and strength of schedule, which helps with regionals/seeding. Both can be mitigated at a school in a lower-revenue conference, depending on geography. Schools can make a commitment to facilities, and midweek games can boost your SOS, provided you are located in the south or on the west coast.
Also, it is a 64 team field. Much more like basketball where non-football schools can be powers (i.e. Gonzaga, Villanova, etc.)
A talent success gap grew between us and Rice just from us joining the American so ofc it will continue to grow now that we’re part of P4 conference. I think the better question will be, can we close the gap between us and our future conference mates? Fingers crossed on that one.
A talent gap grew between us and Rice when we joined the American?
First I’m not sure what talent gap you are talking about because even since we joined the American we have played about .500 ball against Rice.
Secondly, any talent gap you are talking about had nothing to do with UH joining the American……It was Wayne Graham retiring.
Alright let me alter my take somewhat. Since we joined the American we erased the gap that existed between our respective programs. In the four years before we joined the American, we went something like 0-12 against Rice. Since joining we’ve pulled even with them in H2H results as well as tourney/league results. Credit it to Wayne retiring if you want but he didn’t hang them up until 2018, so there’s that. Either way it doesn’t change the reality of our situations. We’re moving into a P4 league and Wayne Graham ain’t coming back to coach Rice.
Yes, when Wayne was up there in age he did fall off before retiring so I’ll give you that….I still think it had more to do with that then conference affiliation….
We were actually better in Conference-USA than the American.
Just so happens Rice was one of the best in the country at that time.
If Rice ever gets the right guy , they will become a monster once again no matter what conference they are in.
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Idk, Rice never made the tourney before Wayne got there and they haven’t made it since he left. Don’t really see any reason to think they’ll ever be a power in the sport again.
I actually concur with that. Their heyday as a power in baseball appears to be over.
It’s just like Nebraska in football. At one time, they were the best of the best.
But now, it’s bleak, and the future doesn’t look much brighter.
Well you guys have your option on the matter and that’s cool….
From my end of it I know if the right coach comes in there Rice can be a top ten to fifteen again.
I can tell you that there are many elite level kids that would go to Rice in a heartbeat with the right coach.
Kids in the Houston area love Rice and so do their parents……the top echelon kids will go to Rice when the school hires the right guy….that is the only thing missing.
You don’t have to believe me and that’s fine….but my insight is a little deeper than just looking at records and comparing them to a football team from the 70’s and 80’s.
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Even if they hire the right guy he’ll just leave after a few good seasons. That’s the reality of life for schools outside the P4.
Don’t underestimate Rice, they have the resources, much like Duke. Just don’t have the admin will. They get a Khator type leader who wants an elite athlete dept, lookout
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