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NCAA Division I Baseball 64-team Tournament Regions Released: What to Watch For
The conference tournaments were finished by May 26, and the 32 automatic bids were decided. The NCAA Division I Baseball bracket was filled out with the other 32 teams on the selection show aired on ESPN 2 on May 27.
Four teams are in each region, and the format is double elimination from Friday, May 31, to Monday, June 3. The winner of each region will advance to the Super Regionals, a best two-out-of-three series with the higher-ranked team hosting. The winners of the Super Regional will go to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series and be in the final eight.
The regional format began in 1954 and expanded to 64 teams in 1999. The College World Series was founded in 1947 in Omaha.
All game times will be posted in the Eastern Standard Time Zone.
Arkansas is the overall fifth seed and will host the Regional in Fayetteville at Baum-Walker Stadium at Cole Field.
Teams:
No.1 Arkansas Razorbacks—Arkansas went 0-2 in the SEC Tournament, losing to South Carolina and Kentucky. Arkansas has won the SEC Tournament twice and made the College World Series 11 times. They finished in second place twice, the most recent time being in 2018 against Oregon State.
No.2 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs—Louisiana Tech lost to Dallas Baptist in the finals of the Conference USA Tournament 17-10. Although they have won their conference tournament four times, they have never made it to the College World Series.
No.3 Kansas State Wildcats—Kansas State went 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament and lost its second game to TCU. Although it has won its conference tournament six times, it has never made the College Baseball World Series.
No. 4 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks—Southeast Missouri State won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship 9-6 against Morehead State. They have won their conference tournament six times and have never made the College World Series.
Player to Watch: Arkansas left-handed pitcher Hagan Smith struck out 154 batters this season, breaking the Arkansas single-season strikeout record. He pitched 79 innings with an ERA of 1.48. Smith is the 5th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 Draft Rankings.
Schedule: Friday, May 31.
All game times will be posted in the Eastern Standard Time Zone.
Arkansas (43-14) is playing Southeast Mo. St. (34-25) at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
Louisiana Tech (45-17) plays Kansas St. (32-24) at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
Virginia is the 12th overall seed and will host the Regional Tournament in Charlottesville in Davenport Park at Disharoon Park.
No.1 Virginia Cavaliers—Virginia was eliminated in the ACC tournament by losing to Florida State, 12-7. Virginia has won its conference tournament three times and has made the College World Series six times. They won it all in 2015 and were the runners-up in 2014.
No.2 Mississippi State Bulldogs—Mississippi State went 2-2 in the SEC Tournament and was eliminated in a 6-5 loss to Tennessee. Mississippi State has won its conference tournament seven times and made the College World Series 12 times. They won the College World Series once in 2021 against Vanderbilt.
No.3 St. Johns Red Storm—St. Johns won the Big East Championship 4-2 against Georgetown. St. Johns has won its conference tournament ten times and made the College World Series six times.
No.4 Penn Quakers—Penn won the Ivy League Tournament Championship by beating Cornell 12-6. Penn also won the Ivy League Tournament last year and has won it three times in its history.
Player to Watch- Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall is the 38th-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 Draft Rankings. O’Ferrall hit a home run against Florida State and made a few great defensive plays. “Defense, I’ve been working on the little parts of it, the details that sometimes get lost. I honestly really enjoy it. So when it comes to games, I can just be athletic and let the game happen,” O’Ferall told World Baseball Network after losing to Florida State in the ACC tournament.
Schedule- Friday, May 31.
Virginia (41-15) will play Penn (24-23) at noon on ESPN+.
Mississippi St. (38-21) will play St. John’s (NY) (37-16-1) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Super Regionals- The Fayetteville and Charlottesville Regionals winners will play in the Super Regionals.
Arizona is the 13th overall seed and is hosting the Regional in Tucson at Hi Corbett Field.
Teams:
No.1 Arizona Wildcats—Arizona is the 13th overall seed. They won the final Pac-12 Tournament Championship with a 4-3 walk-off win against USC, the first time Arizona had won the Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona has made the College World Series 18 times and won it four times, with their most recent victory in 2012 against South Carolina.
No.2 Dallas Baptist University Patriot—Dallas Baptist won the Conference USA Tournament Championship 17-10 against Louisiana Tech and reentered the D1 Baseball.com Rankings at No. 25 last week. DBU has won its conference tournament five times and has never made the College World Series.
No. 3 West Virginia Mountaineers—West Virginia went 0-2 in the Big 12 Tournament, losing to TCU and Kansas State. Although West Virginia has won its conference tournament five times, it has never made the College World Series.
No.4 Grand Canyon Antelopes—Grand Canyon went 0-2 in the WAC tournament, losing to Tarleton State and UT Rio Grande Valley. Grand Canyon has won its conference tournament once but has never made the College World Series.
Player to Watch: West Virginia Infielder JJ Wetherholt is the eighth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 Draft Rankings. Wetherholt has eight home runs, 30 RBI, five stolen bases, and an OPS of 1.164 in 104 at-bats this season.
Schedule: Friday, May 31.
DBU (44-13) will play West Virginia (33-22) at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
Arizona (36-21) will play Grand Canyon (34-23) at 9 p.m. on ESPN+.
North Carolina is the fourth overall seed and will host the Regional in Chapel Hill at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium.
Teams:
No.1 North Carolina Tar Heels- North Carolina went 1-1 in the ACC Tournament and was eliminated by Wake Forest. North Carolina has won the ACC Tournament eight times and has made 12 trips to Omaha. They were the runner-ups in back-to-back seasons from 2006-2007 against Oregon State.
No.2 LSU Tigers—LSU won the SEC Tournament by beating South Carolina 12-11 in 10 innings. LSU has won the SEC Tournament 12 times. They won the College World Series last year against Florida and have won it seven times. LSU has gone to Ohama 19 times in its history. LSU entered the D1 Baseball.com Top 25 Rankings at No.24 this week.
No.3 Wofford Terriers—Wofford won the Southern Conference Tournament with a 15-9 win over Samford, making it two consecutive wins in their history. They have never made it to Omaha.
No.4 Long Island University Sharks—LIU beat Sacred Heart 11-6 to win the Northeastern Conference Tournament. They have won their conference tournament three times and have never played in the College World Series.
Player to Watch: LSU third baseman Tommy White is the 16th-ranked draft prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 Draft Rankings. Tommy White has 24 home runs this season and has the eighth most all-time in Division I Baseball history with 75. White has 69 RBI with an OPS of 1.141 in 255 at-bats this season. White hit a walk-off home run against Wake Forest in the semi-finals of the CBW to send LSU to the finals against Florida.
Schedule: Friday, May 31.
LSU (40-21) will play Wofford (41-18) at noon on ESPNU.
North Carolina (42-13) will play LIU (33-23) at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
Super Regionals: The Tucson and Chapel Hill Regionals winners will play in the Super Regionals.
You can watch every NCAA tournament game on WatchESPN.
This is part two of a four-part preview. Find part one here.
