The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 29. Here is World Baseball Network’s preview of the Lincoln regional.
Lincoln Regional – Haymarket Park, Lincoln, Neb.
No. 1 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (42-15, 2307 Big Ten) – No. 13 National Seed
The Cornhuskers return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years and seeks to advance out of the regional round for the first time in 21 years, but they’ve got a tall task against them with Ole Miss and Arizona State coming to Lincoln. The Huskers wente 3-7 against regional hosts, having beaten Florida State 10-1 on Feb. 22, they also went 1-2 in a series at Auburn Feb. 27 to March 1, lost to Kansas 5-3 at home on April 7, lost two of three at Oregon April 10-12, lost to Kansas on the road 9-7 on April 21, and they lost a semifinal at the Big Ten tournament to Oregon 8-0.
Dylan Carey, Drew Grego, and Case Sanderson lead the offense, with Carey leading the Huskers with 14 homers and 63 RBIs. Grego has 44 RBIs on the year, and batting leader Sanderson (.370/.493/.551) drove in 48 runs this season. Six of the Huskers regulars get on base at better than a .400 clip, and the club has hit 129 doubles and 13 triples, so this is a team that takes advantage of free passes and then pounds the baseball to make opponents pay.
Pitching-wise, starters Carson Jasa, Gavin Blachowicz, and Ty Horn all have ERAs under 4.00, and Jasa leads the team with 109 strikeouts against 45 walks in 81 1/3 innings.
They’ll need both pitching and offense to get past both Ole Miss and Arizona State, as this is one of the tougher regionals in the 2026 tournament.
No. 2 – Ole Miss Rebels (36-21, 15-15 SEC)
Nebraska got to host a regional because they’re No. 10 in the RPI, and Ole Miss barely missed out, having fallen to 18th in the RPI after the SEC Tournament. Now in his 26th season in Oxford, Mike Bianco has led the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament 20 times, and erased the “Ole Miss Ain’t Here Again” joke about the program when Ole Miss returned to Omaha in 2014 after a 42-year hiatus. They came back again in 2022 to win the school’s first national championship in a men’s team sport.
Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta have clubbed 20 homers each for the Rebs, Will Furness has 52 RBIs, six of the regulars have driven in more than 30 runs, and Ole Miss has outscored opponents 393-278 this season.
Cade Townsend (3.81 ERA, 59 IP, 81K, 15BB) and Taylor Rabe (4.08 ERA, 57 1/3 IP, 81K, 8BB) have developed into solid starters. They went 8-13 against other regional hosts this year, but the Rebels have better than a puncher’s chance to escape Lincoln with a regional title.
No. 3 – Arizona State Sun Devils (37-19, 19-11 Big 12)
The Sun Devils lost to West Virginia 7-3 in the Big 12 tournament semifinals and went 0-3 against regional hosts during the season, losing to Mississippi State and Texas A&M in an early-season tournament. They’re now 45 years removed from their last national title and it’s been 16 years since the Sun Devils made it to Omaha.
Landon Hairston is the main threat at the plate, posting an absurd 1.415 OPS with a .413/.518/.897 slash line with 20 doubles, 28 homers and 79 RBIs. Nu’u Contrades and Dean Toigo each have 17 homers and Dominic Smaldino has 16, giving Arizona State quite a bit of pop.
Junior Cole Carlon is the team’s best starter, having posted a 3.51 ERA in 77 innings of work, striking out 124 while walking just 29.
No. 4 – South Dakota State (20-31, 12-15 Summit League)
Ranked No. 239 in the RPI, South Dakota State won the Summit League tournament to earn their second-ever NCAA Division I tournament bid. They did take two of three games in an early-season non-conference series from Tarleton State, and were 2-4 overall against teams that got into this year’s tournament. Hopefully, the Jackrabbits will enjoy the trip down to Lincoln and savor the memories for years to come.
2026 Lincoln Regional Schedule
Fri., May 29 – No. 1 Nebraska (42-15) vs. No. 4 South Dakota St. (24-31), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Fri., May 29 – No. 2 Ole Miss (36-21) vs. No. 3 Arizona St. (37-19), 9 p.m., ESPNU
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Nebraska Dylan Carey (15) celebrates a RBI double during an NCAA baseball game against Baylor on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. Nebraska won 4-1. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
