I think the goal is to win the conference regular season, win the AE tourney, get to the NCAA and shoot for a regional championship which would be a superb rebuilding season. I don't expect this team to go to past the Super Regional with the amount of talent lost last year. Before the season I did but most likely out of ignorance or fan bias. But after realizing that we lost a ton of talent and that Coach wouldn't have enough time to take advantage of that magical run for recruiting purposes you start to realize that it is unfair to expect so much out of a young team.
I also think we can't be too judgmental of a team that is playing a tough schedule and has been all around the South without having played a single game at home. Its tough to build confidence when your are flying out 1000+ miles away playing ball. Its also tough when you have to play talented teams early in the season like a #1 UNC. Its just too early to hit the panic button.
The chances of getting an at-large in this conference on any given year are quite small so our path is the same. Win the AE and make it to the NCAA. Remember, last year's team went all the way to the World Series and their RPI was in the 60s not good enough to receive an at-large even after beating Miami, LSU, UCF, and Missou St....