The 2025 NCAA Tournament continues with 16 teams playing in super regionals that will set the College World Series field of teams. Here is a look at the Baton Rouge, Chapel Hill, Auburn, and Fayetteville super regionals.
Baton Rouge Super Regional: West Virginia Mountaineers v. LSU Tigers – Two years removed from a national championship, LSU is in a position to get back to the College World Series with a good shot at winning it all again.
West Virginia stands in their way after the Big 12 regular season champions won the Clemson regional.
However, the Tigers have some pitching firepower in their arsenal in Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson. Both pitchers have a top 10 ERA in the SEC, and Eyanson leads the conference with a 2.50 ERA.
West Virginia’s offense will have to find a way to combat this with some good offense. In the Clemson regional, the Mountaineers progressively got better at offense, scoring more runs each time out.
This accumulated to a 13-run game in the regional championship win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Alfred Ezman picks – LSU. The pitching LSU will provide to West Virginia in Baton Rouge will be beyond anything they saw this season. Their team ERA is 3.73, which ranked seventh in the country.
The Tigers’ pitching also had two shut-out wins in the Baton Rouge regional this past weekend against Little Rock and Dallas Baptist.
Leif Skodnick picks – LSU. The Mountaineers are a program on the rise, and the transition from the retirement of Randy Mazey to Steve Sabins as head coach has been seamless, but they won’t make their first trip to Omaha this year.
Baton Rouge Super Regional Schedule
Saturday, June 7 – 2 p.m. EDT – ESPN
Sunday, June 8 – 6 p.m. EDT – ESPN 2
Chapel Hill Super Regional: Arizona Wildcats v. North Carolina Tar Heels – The North Carolina Tar Heels are trying to hit a repeat of last season and get back to Omaha for the College World Series. The Arizona Wildcats stand in their way after winning the Eugene regional last weekend.
The Tar Heels will have a big advantage with Jake Knapp on the mound. He won ACC Pitcher of the Year and pitched 8 1/3 innings against Holy Cross in the Chapel Hill regional.
In their three wins at Boshamer Stadium last weekend, North Carolina outscored their opponents 29-9.
The Big 12 Tournament champion Arizona Wildcats will be heading across the country to play in Chapel Hill with a chance to get to their first College World Series since 2021.
The offense for Arizona looked really good as they went 3-0 at P.K. Park in their regional. In their last two games against Utah Valley and Cal Poly, Arizona outscored them 28-4 and combined for 32 hits in those two games.
Alfred picks – North Carolina. The Tar Heels have an anchor in Jake Knapp to get them a win right out of the gate. Thus, in theory, they are one win away from going to the College World Series.
The ace’s presence will pay dividends for North Carolina in this series with a 1.98 ERA in over 95 innings.
Arizona has played Cal Poly and Utah Valley in their last three games. That competition is not the level they will see in Chapel Hill.
Leif picks – North Carolina. They cruised through the ACC tournament, running Clemson out of the building in the final, and had little trouble in the regional. Knapp is solid, and don’t be surprised to see freshman Ryan Lynch pitch in a big spot. Arizona has a great program, but advanced out of a comparatively weak regional.
Chapel Hill Super Regional Schedule
Friday, June 6 – Noon – ESPN2
Saturday, June 7 – Noon – ESPN2
Auburn Super Regional: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers v. Auburn Tigers – Two national seeds will matchup at Plainsman Park in Auburn for a shot at the College World Series.
Coastal Carolina has won 21 straight games dating back to a win over James Madison on April 25. During that stretch, they won the Sun Belt regular season and tournament championship along with sweeping through the Conway regional.
For any team, stopping them in the midst of this hot streak is a tall task. Coastal Carolina has proven they are not scared of anybody.
As for Auburn, they swept through the Auburn regional on the back of some good offense. The Tigers scored 28 runs in the three games they played.
The three freshman Auburn players who have continued to be weapons for head coach Butch Thompson’s team are Bub Terrell, Chase Fralick, and Chris Rembert. All three have batting averages north of .300.
Alfred picks – Auburn. This could be the closest super regional out of all of them. However, Auburn has their ace in Sam Dutton to get them off to a good start. Combine that with how good their offense was last weekend, that can throw a wrench in Coastal Carolina’s College World Series plans.
Leif picks – Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are hot, and while it’s hard to keep a winning streak alive when it gets to absurd lengths, Kevin Schnall’s team is on a run that defies belief. They may lose the streak, but they won’t lose the super regional.
Auburn Super Regional Schedule
Friday, June 6 – 9 p.m. EDT – ESPN 2
Saturday, June 7 – 3 p.m. EDT – ESPN 2
Fayetteville Super Regional: Tennessee Volunteers v. Arkansas Razorbacks – Two SEC titans will collide in Baum-Walker Stadium as Tennessee and Arkansas battle it out for a shot at the College World Series.
The two teams have already met in Fayetteville this season, as Arkansas won the series over Tennessee in two out of the three games that were played. That was the final series of the regular season.
The Razorbacks cruised through the Fayetteville regional and had seven of their players make the Fayetteville regional All-Tournament team. This included four position players and three pitchers.
The Razorbacks’ catcher, Ryder Helfrick, won the regional MVP award.
Two Golden Spikes finalists will collide in the Fayetteville super regional with Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy and Tennessee’s Liam Doyle. This best two-out-of-three series can also have implications on college baseball’s biggest individual award.
Alfred picks – Arkansas. The Razorbacks have shown how complete a team they are all season. Having already seen Tennessee during the regular season and breezing through their regional last weekend, head coach Dave Van Horn’s team realizes how good they are. Tennessee can definitely makes this a close matchup. However, Arkansas is starving for their first national championship, and their players are playing like it as of late.
Leif picks – Tennessee. The Volunteers are young, with 34 freshman and sophomores on the roster. Maybe they don’t have the experience of last year’s national championship squad, but they have just as much talent. Look for them to shock Arkansas.
Fayetteville Super Regional Schedule
Saturday, June 7 – 5 p.m. EDT – ESPN
Sunday, June 8 – 3 p.m. EDT – ESPN
Photo: Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn makes a pitching change against Washington State during an NCAA baseball game on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark. Van Horn and the Razorbacks are the highest remaining seed in the NCAA Tournament and are looking for the first national championship in program history. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
