The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 29. Here is World Baseball Network’s preview of the 2026 Hattiesburg regional.
Hattiesburg Regional – Pete Taylor Park
No. 1 – Southern Miss Golden Eagles (44-15, 22-8 Sun Belt) – Number Nine National Seed
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles will host their own regional at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss. This is the tenth straight season the Golden Eagles have been in the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Eagles won the Sun Belt regular season title and the tournament title. They have won 13 out of thier last 14 teams, which gives them lots of momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Eagles are led by Matthew Russo offensively. In 2026, he had a .317 batting average with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, and 56 RBIs. Southern Miss has six players batting over .300 this season, including Russo. Kyle Morrison leads the Golden Eagles in home runs with 16.
Southern Miss has the 2026 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year within their staff. Grayden Harris brought home the award after a great 2026 season. In 84 1/3 innings of work, Harris has a 3.20 ERA with 100 strikeouts. He also has an 8-1 record on the mound in his sophomore season.
Colby Allen is another big-time pitcher to watch for the Golden Eagles. The reliever has a 2.57 ERA in 70 innings of work with 86 strikeouts. Allen has made five starts this season for Southern Miss. This provides the Golden Eagles with another arm they can go to for starts in the NCAA Tournament.
Southern Miss is looking to get to a super regional for the first time since 2023.
No. 2 – Virginia Cavaliers (36-21, 14-16 ACC)
The Virginia Cavaliers have made the NCAA Tournament under their first-year head coach, Chris Pollard, who was at Duke in 2025.
The Cavaliers will have to compete in a regional outside of Charlottesville. This will be something to watch as Virginia has not been average in road games and neutral-site contests. In 2026, the Cavaliers have a 13-13 record away from Charlottesville.
A.J. Gracia is the player to watch on this Virginia team. He is a top 15 2026 MLB Draft prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. This season, Gracia has a .338 batting average with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs. He is the leader of the Cavaliers’ offense.
With the third-lowest team batting average in the ACC (.275), a big part of Virginia’s NCAA Tournament success will be whether or not teammates of Gracia step up in the Hattiesburg regional.
No. 3 – Jacksonville State Gamecocks (46-13, 23-7 C-USA)
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks just had their best season in program history. The Gamecocks won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles.
They are a fearless team that has beaten tough, power conference competition in 2026. Jacksonville State has wins over Auburn and Cincinnati this year. Both of those teams are in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 4 – Little Rock Trojans (36-26, 16-11 OVC)
The Little Rock Trojans are back in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season after winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title once again. The Trojans are a sneaky four-seed that won three games last season in the Baton Rouge regional hosted by LSU.
2026 Hattiesburg Regional Schedule
Fri. May 29 – Little Rock vs Southern Miss – 2 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Fri. May 29 – Jacksonville State vs Virginia – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN+
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Southern Mississippi infielder Matthew Russo (19) during an NCAA baseball game on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Decatur, Ga. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
