Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock is one of the more underrated teachers in the game today, but even he is having trouble keeping the Tigers in regional contention.

The Tigers appeared to take a huge step forward back in 2007 when they earned an at-large bid to the Nashville Regional. But everything has been downhill since that point.

Last season, Memphis compiled a 21-32 overall record and had a 7-16 C-USA record. That was good enough for last place.

The Tigers hope to escape the basement in '10 with last season's dismal campaign serving as motivation.

There's good news and bad news, though. The Tigers welcome back six hitters that earned significant playing time in the field last season. However, they finished the '09 campaign with a dismal .272 batting average.

Memphis also welcomes back several pitchers that logged many innings last season. But again, this is a unit that ended last season with a horrible 6.30 ERA. Perhaps new pitching coach Fred Corral can get the staff under control.

There's no question the Tigers have some experience. But it must show on the field.

It's time to dissect Memphis.

Memphis' five keys

1. Use last season as motivation -- It wasn't too long ago the Tigers appeared to take a huge step forward with a trip to an NCAA regional. Now it was just last season that Memphis finished dead last in Conference USA. As tough as it might be to get over last season, the Tigers must use the campaign to their advantage from a motivational standpoint. The Tigers have a plethora of experience and also upgraded their coaching staff with the addition of well-known pitching coach Fred Corral. Now is not the time for the Tigers to get down. Now is the time for them to finish what they started back in '07.

2. Returning starting pitchers must be better -- The Tigers have some experienced starters with the return of Brennon Martin, Brach Davis and Ryan Fraser, but there's no doubt this unit must greatly improve. Martin had the second-best ERA on the staff last season. He compiled a 6-4 record and had a 4.66 ERA in 83 innings. He also struck out 59 and walked 18 and teams hit him at a .289 clip. Davis, meanwhile, went 2-5 and had a 5.71 ERA in 64 2/3 innings. He struck out 53 and walked 23 and teams hit .278 off him. There's also Fraser, who compiled a dismal 7.04 ERA in 47 1/3 innings last season. He struck out 29 and walked 31 and teams hit .316 off him. There's no question this unit must be better.

3. Returning relievers must rise to the occasion -- This should sound like a repeat if you just read our take on the starting rotation. As with the rotation, the Tigers have much work to do in the bullpen. Probably even more than the rotation. The Tigers finished last season with a 6.30 ERA, and the bullpen, for the most part, is to blame. Still, Memphis has a plethora of returning relievers. The list includes Marcus Barnes, Heith Hatfield, Jonathan Jones, Marc Ashley, Ben Paullus and Ryan Holland. Only Barnes, Hatfield and Jones finished last season with ERAs below 5.50. Memphis will be much improved if this unit at least shows some improvement.

4. Offense must improve -- The Tigers welcome back six hitters that earned significant playing time. They also only return two hitters that finished last season with batting averages better than .299. Those players are Drew Martinez and Tyler Huelsing. Martinez batted .309 with 11 doubles and 13 RBIs last season. Huelsing, meanwhile, batted .300 with a home run and 29 RBIs. Other key returnees include Shawn Ablett, Adam McClain, Trey Wiedman and Jacob Wilson. Also keep an eye on Chad Zurcher, Heith Hatfield and Robby Graham. There's no excuse, with the amount of experience this unit has, to finish the '10 season with a .272 batting average.

5. Produce more power -- The Tigers finished last season with a poor batting average and also didn't do much in the way of power production. The Tigers finished last season with just 34 homers as a team. That's pitiful. Leading power hitter Brett Bowen, who hit 10 homers last season, departed this past summer. That puts a lot of pressure on guys like Ablett and McClain to rise to the occasion from a power standpoint. This offense would be infinitely better if power production improves.