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 Chapel Hill, Eugene, Conway, and Auburn regionals.
Chapel Hill Regional, Boshamer Stadium, Hosted by North Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels (42-12, 18-11 ACC, No. 5 National Seed)
After making the College World Series in 2024, the North Carolina Tar Heels have Omaha on their minds again heading into this postseason. Head coach Scott Forbes’ team is coming off winning the 2025 ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C.
The player to watch for the Tar Heels is starting pitcher Jake Knapp. Coming off a long-term injury, the grad-year right-hander won the ACC Pitcher of the Year award. He has a 2.17 ERA this season with an allowed opposing batting average of .188.
North Carolina is one of the best pitching teams in the country. They rank fourth in the nation in team ERA (3.42).
The Tar Heels have been in the national spotlight of college baseball as this is their 8th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They have two national runner-up awards in their program’s name, but have yet to win a national championship. That is the goal for North Carolina this time around.
Oklahoma Sooners (35-20, 14-16 SEC, No. 2 Seed in Chapel Hill Regional)
Year one in the Southeastern Conference for Oklahoma can be considered a success. Despite finishing below .500 in conference play, the Sooners have made the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season.
Oklahoma had a decent run in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. as they picked up two wins against Kentucky and Georgia. This was needed for head coach Skip Johnson’s team, as they had lost six of their last seven regular season games before the conference tournament.
The Sooners are led by star pitcher Kyson Witherspoon. This season, the top-tier MLB draft prospect has a 2.17 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 91 innings. He has also allowed an opposing batting average of just .191.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (32-27, 15-15 Big Ten, No. 3 Seed in Chapel Hill Regional)
Despite a lackluster regular season at times, the Nebraska Cornhuskers came alive when they needed to at the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha. They took home the title, securing back-to-back Big Ten Tournament championships.
Devin Nunez and Cayden Brumbaugh lead the charge for Nebraska on offense. They have .319 and .316 batting averages, respectively. Brumbaugh and his teammate, Riley Silva, are two guys to watch on the base paths as they both have 10 stolen bases each this season.
Holy Cross Crusaders (31-25, 17-8 Patriot League, No. 4 Seed in Chapel Hill Regional)
Holy Cross dominated the Patriot League this season, winning both the regular season and tournament titles. It is their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
Chapel Hill Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Holy Cross v. North Carolina – noon EDT – ACC Network
Nebraska v. Oklahoma – 5 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Eugene Regional, P.K. Park, Hosted by Oregon
Oregon Ducks (42-14, 22-8 Big Ten, No. 12 National Seed)
Oregon entered the Big Ten and immediately made an impact, showing they were one of the best teams in the conference. The Ducks took home a share of the Big Ten regular season championship alongside UCLA.
Despite a loss against Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament, Oregon put together a fantastic run to end the season. The Ducks have won 11 of their last 12 games. This stretch of play included series sweeps over Washington and Iowa, and back-to-back wins over St. Mary’s.
Grayson Grinsell is the pitcher leading the charge for Oregon. This season, he has 99 strikeouts in 92.2 innings of work, along with a 2.62 ERA. Ian Umlandt has been a big surprise as well with a 2.12 ERA in 59.1 innings of work.
The Ducks have a team ERA of 3.97, which ranks them 14th in the country.
Oregon had three pitchers named to the All-Big Ten teams. This includes Grinsell, who was named first-team All-Big Ten.
Big Ten Coach of the Year Mark Wasinowski has Oregon primed to make a run to the College World Series in Omaha. If they can accomplish this, it would be their first appearance in Omaha since 1954.
Arizona Wildcats (39-18, 18-12 Big 12, No. 2 Seed in Eugene Regional)
The Arizona Wildcats ended the season red-hot as they took home the Big 12 Tournament title at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. On top of that, they have won six out of their last seven games.
The top two hitters to watch on this Arizona team are Mason White and Brendan Summerhill. Summerhill is a big-time MLB draft prospect who has a .386 batting average. His season has been great, despite missing some time due to a hand injury. White is coming off a phenomenal Big 12 Tournament, where he won the Most Outstanding Player Award in the event. He leads the team in home runs this season with 16.
Arizona is a program with College World Series pedigree. Head coach Chip Hale is aiming to get the Wildcats back to Omaha, which would mark their 19th appearance.
Cal Poly Mustangs (41-17, 23-7 Big West, No. 3 Seed in Eugene Regional)
The Cal Poly Mustangs became a bid-stealer as they won the Big West Tournament, taking down UC Irvine in the process.
The Mustangs are one of the better-hitting teams in college baseball. They have a team batting average of .318, which ranks them 8th in the country.
Utah Valley Wolverines (32-27, 13-11 WAC, No. 4 Seed in Eugene Regional)
Utah Valley ended the regular season on a five-game losing streak. Despite that, the Wolverines got hot at the right time and won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament.
Eugene Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Cal Poly v. Arizona – 4 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Utah Valley v. Oregon – 9 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Conway Regional, Springs Brooks Stadium, Hosted by Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (48-11, 26-4 Sun Belt, No. 13 National Seed)
Coastal Carolina had possibly the best season out of any mid-major in college baseball. The Chanticleers won the Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles, leading to them hosting a regional.
Head coach Kevin Schnall’s team is riding an 18-game win streak, and a big part of that comes from the pitching. They rank second in the country in team ERA at 3.24.
The pitching effort from Coastal Carolina begins with Jacob Morrison, who won the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year award. He had a 1.90 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP with an allowed opposing batting average of .181.
Ryan Lynch is another pitcher to watch as he has been a great closer for Coastal Carolina. He has seven saves this season and has a 0.61 ERA.
Offensively, the Chanticleers are led by Caden Bodine, who is one of the best catcher prospects in the upcoming MLB draft. The first-team All-Sun Belt member had a great season with a .333 batting average and an on-base percentage of .477.
Coastal Carolina is in a great position to be the mid-major that makes the deepest run in the NCAA Tournament with Schnall, the Sun Belt Coach of the Year, at the helm.
Florida Gators (38-20, 15-15 SEC, No. 2 Seed Conway Regional)
The Florida Gators at one point started 1-11 in SEC play before storming back to .500 and finishing 14-4. While turning their season around, the Gators have been plagued by injuries. Yet, that hasn’t seemed to matter.
The starting rotation of Liam Peterson, Aidan King, and Pierce Coppola will be crucial for the Gators’ tournament success. Coppola has been injured for a lot of the season but did see action against Alabama on May 16. King was a member of the SEC All-Freshman team with a 2.76 ERA this season.
A run to Omaha came when fans least expected it from Florida last season. They can most definitely accomplish that again. If they get to the College World Series, it would be the 15th time they would reach there in program history.
East Carolina Pirates (33-25, 13-14 AAC Play, No. 3 Seed in Conway Regional)
The regular season was a down year for East Carolina for their usual consistent standards. What remained consistent was that they have yet another NCAA Tournament appearance. It is the 7th straight year the Pirates are in the field.
Head coach Cliff Godwin’s team went on a big run to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament. They scored six or more runs in every game they played in the tournament at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
The Pirates are looking to make it to the College World Series for the first time in program history.
Fairfield Stags (39-17, 21-8 MAAC, No. 4 Seed in Conway Regional)
The Fairfield Stags won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament after finishing second in the conference during the regular season. It is the third NCAA Tournament ever for Fairfield.
Conway Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
East Carolina v. Florida – noon EDT – ESPN 2
Fairfield v. Coastal Carolina – 6 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Auburn Regional, Plainsman Park, Hosted by Auburn
Auburn Tigers (38-18, 17-13 SEC, No. 4 National Seed)
After a lackluster 2024 season for the Auburn Tigers, head coach Butch Thompson and his team find themselves with the fourth national seed and hosting at Plainsman Park. The Tigers collected big series wins over the course of the season against teams like LSU, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.
The Tigers’ lineup is headlined by big MLB draft prospect Ike Irish. He leads the team in hitting with a .352 batting average, 16 home runs, and 52 RBI. He is also a good base-stealing threat with 10 stolen bases this year.
A talented core of freshmen also helps to back up Auburn’s hitting. Chase Fralick, Bub Terrell, and Chris Rembert all made the SEC’s All-Freshman team. Fralick and Rembert are batting above .335 this season, and Terrell has been solid as well with a .284 batting average.
Rembert was also a member of the second-team All-SEC list.
With Auburn’s pitching, Sam Dutton is the ace of the starting rotation to take note of. The second-team All-SEC pitcher has a 3.58 ERA in 14 starts. He has also struck out 89 batters this season while walking only 15.
The Tigers have been to the College World Series this decade back in 2022. As the number four national seed, best believe the goal is to get back to Omaha again.
N.C. State Wolfpack (33-19, 17-11 ACC, No. 2 Seed in Auburn Regional)
A season ago, N.C. State found themselves making it to the College World Series for the fourth time in program history and the second time in four years. It goes without saying that getting back to Omaha will be the goal for head coach Elliott Avent and company this time around.
All-ACC second team member Chris McHugh is the team’s leader when it comes to offense. He has a .378 batting average and 48 RBI this season. The first baseman also has an OPS over 1.000.
N.C. State is also a top-five pitching team in the ACC with a team ERA of 4.89. The headliners of their pitching staff include Ryan Marohn. The starting pitcher has a 3.72 ERA and 81 strikeouts this season. In relief, Andrew Shaffner and Jacob Dudan have combined for 12 saves this season.
A solid pitching staff holding its own will be key to the Wolfpack making another deep tournament run.
Stetson Hatters (40-20, 24-6 A-Sun, No. 3 Seed in Auburn Regional)
A controversial ending to the Atlantic Sun (A-Sun) Tournament gave Stetson the automatic qualifier bid into the NCAA Tournament over Florida Gulf Coast, and thus, the conference tournament title.
The strength of the Hatters is their pitching. Their team ERA of 4.22 ranks them 18th in the country. The pitching staff is headlined by A-Sun Pitcher of the Year, Jonathan Gonzalez.
Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (31-15, 23-7 NEC, No. 4 Seed in Auburn Regional)
The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils won their ninth Northeast Conference Tournament over the Long Island Sharks. This is the third NCAA Tournament appearance for the Blue Devils this decade.
Auburn Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Stetson v. N.C. State – 3 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Central Connecticut State v. Auburn – 7 p.m. EDT – ESPN+
Important to Note
The winner of the Chapel Hill Regional will play the winner of the Eugene Regional in the super regional round.
The winner of the Conway Regional will play the winner of the Auburn Regional in the super regional round.
