The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 29. Here is World Baseball Network’s preview of the 2026 Tallahassee regional.
Tallahassee Regional – Dick Howser Stadium
No. 1 – Florida State Seminoles (38-17, 19-11 ACC) – Number 10 National Seed
The Florida State Seminoles are hosting a regional in Tallahassee for the 38th time. They have hosted the most regionals out of any team in college baseball history.
The Seminoles will be playing in the tournament without their star hitter, Myles Bailey. However, that does not mean that head coach Link Jarrett’s team is short on firepower. Hunter Carns has had a big-time season for Florida State with a .311 batting average and 11 doubles in 161 at-bats.
Florida State’s huge weapon is found within its pitching staff. Wes Mendes won the 2026 ACC Pitcher of the Year award in 2026. In 89 innings, he has a 2.93 ERA and 117 strikeouts. He has also allowed an opposing batting average of just .209. Mendes is one of the best pitchers in all of college baseball and will be a problem for opposing lineups this postseason.
Florida State’s other starters, Trey Beard and Bryson Moore, both have sub-5.00 ERAs and have combined for 147 strikeouts this season.
The starting rotation for the Seminoles can be enough to get the team to Omaha once again. Florida State has been to the College World Series 24 times and is still in search of its first national championship.
No. 2 – Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (37-21, 21-9 Sun Belt)
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are back in the NCAA Tournament after making their magical run through the 2025 postseason that nearly ended in their second national title.
Walker Mitchell, Blake Barthol, and Dean Mihos have been the hitting leaders for Coastal Carolina this season. All three players have batting averages north of .300. All three of them have also combined for 131 RBIs this season.
The Chanticleers also have big-time draft prospect Cam Flukey back and healthy within their pitching staff. He pitched in the Sun Belt Tournament and went four innings against the Appalachain State Mountaineers.
Despite winning just one of their last four games, the Chanticleers have the recent tournament pedigree that makes them a dangerous team to deal with. Head coach Kevin Schnall knows what it takes to get his team to the College World Series.
No. 3 – Northern Illinois Huskies (35-17, 21-12 MAC)
The Northern Illinois Huskies are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1972. The Huskies won the Mid-American Conference tournament title for the first time after winning 21 conference games this season.
The performance in the MAC Tournament was a huge turnaround. Heading into the tournament, Northern Illinois was on a four-game losing streak. The Huskies flipped that into a four-game win streak to earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
No. 4 – St. John’s Red Storm (33-24, 15-6 Big East)
The St. John’s Red Storm are back in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big East regular season and tournament titles. It is the second time in three seasons that the Red Storm is in the NCAA Tournament.
2026 Tallahassee Regional Schedule
Fri. May 29 – St. John’s vs Florida State – 3 p.m ET – ACC Network
Fri. May 29 – Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina – 8 p.m. ET – ESPN+
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Florida State catcher Hunter Carns (25) dons his headgear during an NCAA regional baseball game against Bethune Cookman on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
