By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Columnist

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The Texas A&M softball team might have to leave home for the NCAA Regionals, which could be a good thing even if playing at the Aggie Softball Complex would be better.

The fifth-ranked Aggies certainly have earned the right to host a four-team regional on May 16-18, but the NCAA has to geographically balance the 64-team field. So there's a chance A&M could be shipped East, even though the Aggies are the Big 12 regular season champs. The Eastern team with the highest RPI is Hofstra at No. 28.

Baylor, last year's Big 12 winner, was sent to Hofstra, where the eighth-seeded Lady Bears went unbeaten and outscored the opposition 25-4 to win the four-team regional. Baylor returned home to beat Michigan in the Super Regionals, earning the school's first trip to the Women's College World Series.

It was a very negotiable path for Baylor, even though the Lady Bears were only the No. 8 national seed.

Oklahoma (No. 3) and A&M (No. 4) earned higher seeds based on their nonconference success, but their playoff paths proved a bit tougher than Baylor's.

Oklahoma, which won the Big 12 tournament, also was sent East. But the Sooners had a much tougher time at the University of Massachusetts. OU was unbeaten but by scores of 5-2, 2-0 and 6-3. Maybe it was a sign of what was ahead as OU was upset at home in the Super Regionals by 14th seed DePaul, denying the Big 12 three teams at the WCWS.

There's no doubt A&M benefited from the 12th Man during its march to Oklahoma City last year. A&M bounced back from a loss to Houston in regionals to win three straight, then had to win Game 3 of its Super Regional series against a good Florida team.

A&M has been even better at home this year, going 22-1 with the loss coming to Louisiana-Lafayette, a Top 25 team.

It will be interesting if A&M's travel plans will be helped or hurt by a top-heavy Big 12. The Aggies and Sooners are the league's only teams with RPIs in the Top 20.

OU was 10th in the latest ratings, and if that holds, it means the Sooners likely will go on the road if they advance to the Super Regionals. That also might make the NCAA want to give OU a regional.

In 2006, A&M was sent East to the Amherst Regional as the 13th overall seed. The Aggies lost two games to Lehigh, ending a frustrating season. A&M finished fourth in the Big 12, then went 1-2 at the Big 12 tournament that year.

This team would handle a trip to the East Coast much better, but they'd just as soon stay here.

Of course, before the NCAA Tournament begins, the Aggies have some unfinished in Oklahoma City. A&M has never won the Big 12 Championship in softball.

A&M had five players taken in the NFL draft, the most since 2003. But only tight end Martellus Bennett went in the first three rounds. He was selected in the second round by Dallas with the 61st pick; the Cowboys open their rookie minicamp on Friday.

Former head coach Dennis Franchione had to be pleased that center Cody Wallace, defensive tackle Red Bryant, defensive end Chris Harrington and offensive tackle Corey Clark also were drafted. They were solid players, strong leaders and excellent Aggies.

But the fact that they didn't go higher, and that two or three more Aggies didn't join them, were signs why Franchione wasn't around to enjoy the draft.

The sooner new coach Mike Sherman and his staff starts molding first- and second-round draft choices on a regular basis, the quicker the Aggies win. It's pretty simple. Having NFL-caliber players on campus doesn't guarantee success, but it helps.

The football players hurt most this weekend by the coaching change had to be the undrafted Aggie seniors -- cornerback Marquis Carpenter, wide receiver/return specialist Kerry Franks, defensive back Stephen Hodge, defensive tackle Henry Smith, wide receiver Earvin Taylor, tight end Joey Thomas and linebacker Misi Tupe.

Sherman and his staff weren't in position to tell NFL scouts or general managers what it was like to be around those guys.

"I don't think the new coaching staff would go out on a limb [to endorse a player] or downgrade a guy," said Scott Wright of NFLDraftcountdown.com. "Although [Sherman] could help future classes, because he comes from the NFL. "He's got a lot of contacts there, and guys will be calling him up -- scouts, general managers and coaches -- and ask what's the inside scoop on this guy."

That's just another dividend that A&M could reap from the Sherman hire.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

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