The 2025 NCAA Tournament is set to begin on May 30 with 16 regionals set to take place. Here is World Baseball Network’s preview of the Austin, Los Angeles, Oxford, and Athens regionals.
Austin Regional, Disch-Falk Field, Hosted by Texas
Texas Longhorns (42-12, 22-8 SEC, No. 2 National Seed) – Heading into the season, the was a lot that was going to be found out about Texas baseball. The Longhorns were joining the SEC and had a new head coach in Jim Schlossnagle, who had led Texas A&M to the national championship series the year before.
The season has been a massive success with Texas sitting as the number two national seed heading into the NCAA Tournament. The team won the SEC regular season championship in year one in their new conference.
Catcher Rylan Galvan and pitcher Dylan Volantis already have hardware to their names. Both players were named first team All-SEC members, and Volantis won the SEC Freshman of the Year award.
Texas is also getting a big-time player back in Max Belyeu after an injury had sidelined him. He was the 2024 Big 12 Player of the Year and his presence is monumental for the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament.
Led by the SEC Coach of the Year in Schlossnagle, college baseball’s winningest program will be hunting down the national championship as one of the heavy favorites.
UTSA Roadrunners (44-13, 23-4 AAC, No. 2 Seed in Austin Regional) – The Roadrunners seemed to be on the right path to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC) title in Clearwater, Fla. However, a tough loss to Tulane brought that hope to an end.
Despite that defeat, UTSA finished as AAC regular season champions, which rightfully earned them a spot as a two seed in an NCA Tournament regional. The Roadrunners defeated the Austin host, Texas, in a midweek matchup back on March 18, 8-7, in extra innings.
Mason Lytle Jr. will be a player to watch for the Roadrunners as he won the AAC Newcomer Position Player of the Year Award. This season, he has a .372 batting average with a .430 on-base percentage. His 65 RBI make him the main catalyst for the Roadrunners’ offense.
Kansas State Wildcats (31-24, 17-13 Big 12, No. 3 Seed in Austin Regional) – Kansas State will look to carry over their NCAA Tournament pedigree from a season ago, as they made the Charlottesville super regional.
Something to watch out for with the Wildcats is how they play at Disch-Falk Field in the road environment. Kansas State was only 7-18 on the road this season, which is what hurt their overall record.
Houston Christian Huskies (32-23, 17-13 Southland, No. 4 Seed in Austin Regional)
Houston Christian is on a six-game winning streak dating back to May 13. In the Southland Tournament, wins over Lamar, UT Rio Grande Valley, and New Orleans earned them the conference tournament title.
Austin Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Houston Christian vs. Texas – 2 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Kansas State vs. UTSA – 7 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Los Angeles Regional, Jackie Robinson Stadium, Hosted by UCLA
UCLA Bruins (42-16, 22-8 Big Ten, No. 15 National Seed) – Much like their fellow counterparts who were new to the Big Ten, the UCLA Bruins had a massively successful first season in their new conference. Head coach John Savage’s team won a share of the Big Ten regular season title along with the Oregon Ducks.
The Bruins were also on the footsteps of winning the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Neb. before they lost to Nebraska in the championship game.
The star player to watch out for on UCLA is Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Roch Cholowsky. The sophomore has vastly improved upon his freshman All-American season in 2024 with a big breakout in 2025.
He has a .369 batting average, a .507 on-base percentage, and 23 home runs this season. For all intensive purposes, Cholowsky is one of the best players in college baseball.
Michael Barnett Jr. is the team’s pitching leader. The junior has 11 wins to his name this season and was named second-team All-Big Ten.
For the first time since 2022, UCLA is back in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are looking to make a run back to the College World Series. They have not been to Omaha since 2013 when they won their program’s sole national championship.
UC Irvine Anteaters (41-15, 24-6 Big West, No. 2 Seed in Los Angeles Regional) – The UC Irvine Anteaters will not have to travel far to begin their run in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. In fact, they have already played the host, UCLA, twice this season. They won one of the games against the Bruins and lost the other.
The Anteaters won the Big West regular season title and came up just short in the Big West Tournament as they lost to Cal Poly in the championship game.
This is UC Irvine’s second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which shows what a good job Big West Coach of the Year Ben Orloff has done for the team. The team also has two big weapons in Big West Field Player of the Year, Colin Yeaman, and Big West Pitcher of the Year, Ricky Ojeda.
For a long part of this season, the Anteaters were expected to host. This is what makes them a dangerous two seed in this regional.
Arizona State Sun Devils (35-22, 18-12, No. 3 Seed in Los Angeles Regional) – It was a solid year for Arizona State in their first season in the Big 12. A total of 18 conference wins was enough for them to finish in the top five of the standings.
An important thing to note about the Sun Devils is that they are on a four-game losing streak. Their final weekend series resulted in them getting swept by Oklahoma State, and then they lost their first game of the Big 12 Tournament to BYU.
Fresno State Bulldogs (31-27, 18-12 Mountain West, No. 4 Seed Los Angeles Regional) – The Bulldogs won the Mountain West Tournament, which clinched them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It is their 11th conference tournament title in their program’s history.
Los Angeles Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Fresno State vs. UCLA – 4 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Arizona State vs. UC Irvine – 9 p.m. EDT – ESPN U
Oxford Regional, Swayze Field, Hosted by Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels (40-19, 16-14 SEC, No. 10 National Seed) – After a solid series win against Auburn to end the season, the Rebels went on a tear in Hoover, Ala. during the SEC Tournament. They made it all the way to the SEC Championship game where they came up short and lost to Vanderbilt, the number one national seed.
It has been a wonderful comeback year for Ole Miss after they finished below .500 a season ago. Now, the Rebels are primed to make a run to the College World Series for the first time since 2022, when they won their program’s only national championship.
A couple of names to watch include pitchers Hunter Elliott and Connor Spencer. Both arms were named to the SEC All-Tournament team. Elliott is the Rebels’ ace with a 3.09 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 78 and 2/3 innings.
Spencer has been great for Ole Miss in the closer role with seven saves this season and a WHIP below 1.00.
The Rebels’ lineup is led by Luke Hill, who has a .329 batting average this season. This team has plenty of home run-hitting options as they rank 10th in the country in long balls with 105 this year as a team.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (40-17, 19-11 ACC, No. 2 Seed in Oxford Regional) – Head coach Danny Hall will be making his final run in the NCAA Tournament with a motivated Georgia Tech team. The Yellow Jackets won the ACC regular season title and felt that they had a regional host-type of resume.
Despite winning just one game in the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C., Georgia Tech won their final three weekend series of the season against Western Carolina, Louisville, and Duke.
Drew Burress is the star hitter to know on this Yellow Jacket team. In 2025, he has a .339 batting average, 18 home runs, and 61 RBI. Kent Schmidt leads Georgia Tech in hitting with a .400 batting average and 40 RBI along with that.
Georgia Tech ranks 13th in the country in hitting with a .315 batting average and is the best hitting team in the ACC.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (46-12, 18-9 C-USA, No. 3 Seed in Oxford Regional) – For the first time in program history, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won the Conference USA Tournament. They defeated Jacksonville State in the conference championship game in extra innings.
The Hilltoppers are strongest in their pitching. They rank third in the country in team ERA (3.35). Drew Whalen leads the charge for this dominant pitching staff as C-USA Pitcher of the Year and has a 3.17 ERA with 88 strikeouts.
Murray State Racers (39-13, 17-8 Missouri Valley, No. 4 Seed in Oxford Regional) – The Murray State Racers took down Missouri State to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship. It is the first time they won the conference tournament and have been in the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Oxford Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Western Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech – 4 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Murray State vs. Ole Miss – 8 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Athens Regional, Foley Field, Hosted by Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs (42-15, 18-12 SEC, No. 7 National Seed) – The Georgia Bulldogs are a national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Last year, they came up just short of heading to the College World Series as they lost to N.C. State in the super regional round.
Georgia is the best power-hitting team in college baseball. They lead the country with 133 home runs this season. The leaders on the team in home runs include Robbie Burnett, who has hit 20 home runs this season, and Slate Alford, who has hit 17. The Bulldogs have eight players in double figures in home runs.
Brian Curley’s performance pitching will be huge for Georgia during their NCAA Tournament run. He has a 3.21 ERA and a WHIP below 1.00. He also has 78 strikeouts in 61 and 2/3 innings of work.
This Georgia team led by head coach Wes Johnson has sprung on to the national scene in the past couple of seasons. The goal of getting to the College World Series will be bigger than ever with the memories of the end of last season still lingering.
Duke Blue Devils (37-19, 17-13 ACC, No. 2 Seed in Athens Regional) – The Duke Blue Devils find themselves in the NCAA Tournament again for the fourth time this decade and the 12th time in program history.
A good quality about this Blue Devils’ team is their defense. They are tied for the second-highest fielding percentage in the ACC at .977, along with Stanford and North Carolina. They rank as a top 30 team in the country on defense nationally.
Ben Miller will be the big-time hitter to watch in this Duke lineup. He has a .323 batting average and 18 home runs this season. He ranks at the top of the ACC in home runs among other great players like Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress and North Carolina’s Luke Stevenson.
The Blue Devils are looking to make it to the College World Series for the first time since 1961.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (28-23, 15-12 Big 12, No. 3 Seed in Athens Regional) – It was not quite the season Oklahoma State expected as they clawed their way into a three seed after starting the year ranked 17th in D1 Baseball’s preseason rankings.
Nonetheless, the Cowboys won 10 of their last 12 games to end the season. This included series sweeps of UCF and Arizona State, as well as a series win, and a Big 12 Tournament win over Baylor.
Binghamton Bearcats (29-24, 13-11 American East, No. 4 Seed in Athens Regional) – Binghamton stormed through the American East Conference Tournament to win their 6th conference tournament title. They scored 50 runs in the first three games of the tournament.
Athens Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Binghamton vs. Georgia – noon EDT – SEC Network
Oklahoma State vs. Duke – 6 p.m. EDT – ESPN U
Important to Note – The winner of the Austin Regional will play the winner of the Los Angeles Regional in the super regional round. The winner of the Oxford Regional will play the winner of the Athens Regional in the super regional round.
Photo: Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle (22) delivers the ball to relief pitcher Jason Flores (4) during an NCAA baseball game against Texas St. on April 1, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, file)
