A trend emerged in interim Alabama baseball coach Jason Jackson’s press conferences this week in Hoover. Win or lose, with each impressive performance by the Crimson Tide, a question would arise postgame: Had Alabama done enough to bring a regional to Tuscaloosa?

Jackson said his team was in a “good position” after shutting out Kentucky on May 23. He credited his team’s effort a day later after nearly upsetting Florida. On Thursday, after besting Auburn, Jackson heard the same question and smiled at the cameras.

“Yes,” he said before elaborating in a later answer.

“I think it would mean a lot,” Jackson said, “It would mean a lot to our fan base, it would mean a lot to our athletic department, but it would also mean a lot to our players, all of our staff and all the people that have put a lot of time and effort into kind of getting this thing where it is. Our facility is built to host. I think our fan base is hungry for it. So I think it would mean a lot to a lot of people. We’re excited about that opportunity if we get it.”

Alabama has its most SEC wins (18) since 2009 and the most overall wins (41) since 2010. Before a 2-2 showing in the SEC tournament, Alabama was 10th in NCAA’s RPI. It was No. 11 as of Friday night. In the latest projections by D1Baseball.com, the Tide was a host school along with Auburn. Multiple opposing coaches also credited both Jackson and the program’s turnaround since head coach Brad Bohannon was dismissed amid a betting scandal.

The top 16 seeds of the tournament will welcome three other programs to start the road to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series. At this point, it would be a surprise if Alabama wasn’t included among them for the first time since 2006.

But, after the Tide’s tournament-ending loss to Vanderbilt, Jackson got one last chance to make his case:

“Well, I hope that our resume speaks for itself. … We were in the top 3 in the league in pitching and hitting, the only team to do that in the league. We led the league in run differential at plus 48, and I think we led the league in four or five different pitching categories. I think the biggest thing is if you look back through history you’d see that teams that get 17, 18 wins, the track record of them hosting is pretty good, so we’ve history on our side kind of working in our favor. I know it’s a tough job, but I feel good about where we’re at. I think our guys have done a great job, and they’ve earned it.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].