The three most intriguing regionals in the NCAA Baseball Tournament
This NCAA Baseball Tournament is shaping up to be a good one. The full Field of 64 was unveiled on Monday, and there are some big-time matchups set to take place across NCAA regionals over the weekend.
In each regional, the No. 1 seed will take on the No. 4 seed in the opening round, and the No. 2 seed will face the No. 3 seed. The winners advance to face each other on Saturday. The regional portion of the NCAA Tournament is double-elimination, and the last team remaining without two losses will advance to super regionals next weekend.
Once the full bracket was released, a few regionals stood out as more intriguing than the rest.
You can find the full TV schedule for NCAA Tournament regionals HERE.
The three most intriguing regionals in the NCAA Tournament
Clemson Regional
1. Clemson (No. 4 overall seed)
4. Lipscomb
Clemson is one of the better stories of this college baseball season. In the first season under the new coaching staff led by Erik Bakich, the Tigers earned a national, top five seed. After an early-season sweep at the hands of UCF and then a 2-8 start to ACC play, getting to this point is remarkable. But it won’t be an easy path to super regionals.
No. 4 seed Lipscomb won the automatic bid out of the ASUN, going 36-24 overall and 23-7 in conference play. They will face Clemson on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, broadcasted on ESPN+.
Also joining the Clemson Regional is No. 3 seed Charlotte, the automatic bid out of Conference USA. The 49ers were 34-26 overall on the season, playing the seventh-hardest non-conference schedule. They then completed a 17-12 regular season during conference play. Charlotte has seen Clemson before this season, as the two teams met back in February in a game that was won 9-5 by the Tigers.
Tennessee rounds out this regional as the No. 2 seed. The Vols are a strong two seed, and were in the hosting discussion going into the SEC Tournament. They finished the regular season 38-19 overall and 16-14 in the SEC. Tennessee has shown that they can be one of the best teams in college baseball this season, but their road struggles have been on display, going just 4-12 away from home so far. Tennessee and Charlotte will play at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, with the game on ESPNU.
Whichever team emerges from the Clemson Regional will certainly have earned it. But getting to the end is going to be an absolute grind. The winner of this regional will face the winner of the Auburn Regional, which features Auburn, Southern Miss, Samford and Penn.
Stillwater Regional
1. Oklahoma State (No. 11 overall seed)
4. Oral Roberts
2. Dallas Baptist
3. Washington
Despite losing in the Big 12 Tournament title game, Oklahoma State held on to become a regional host as the 12th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the Cowboys were not given an easy field. Oklahoma State put together a 41-18 record that included a 15-9 clip in the Big 12. After losing their first game in the tournament to Oklahoma, the Cowboys won four straight to advance to the title game before falling to TCU.
Oklahoma State’s opponent on Friday will be No. 4 seed Oral Roberts, who won the Summit League Tournament. Oral Roberts went 46-11 this season and lost just ONE conference game. Even though their competition might not have been impressive, going on a run like that is hard to do. Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts will face off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, broadcasted on ESPN+.
The No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional is Dallas Baptist, who was a very, very strong contender to host a regional of their own. The Patriots went 45-14 this season and 25-5 in Conference USA games. But they fell short in the conference tournament, losing to Charlotte in the winner-take-all championship game. Many believe that Dallas Baptist should have hosted a regional. They are an extremely strong contender to win the one they found themselves in.
Dallas Baptist might have an impressive resume, but so does No. 3 seed Washington. The Huskies finished the year 34-18 overall and 17-12 in the Pac-12, going 1-2 in the Pac-12 Tournament. For much of the final weeks of the season, Washington was viewed as a strong No. 2 seed. Them falling to a 3 is at least a little bit surprising. The opening day matchup between Dallas Baptist and Washington will be a pivotal one, but the winner certainly stands at least a chance against top-seed Oklahoma State. The Patriots and Huskies will meet at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, and the game will be on ESPN+.
Oral Roberts and Dallas Baptist have met already this season, as the Patriots swept the Golden Eagles back in March. Oral Roberts has also seen Oklahoma State, and actually defeated the Cowboys twice during midweek games.
Columbia Regional
1. South Carolina (No. 15 overall)
4. Central Connecticut State
One of the biggest questions entering Sunday night was whether or not South Carolina would host a regional. Well, they will, but another team that had a very strong case to host is right there with them. For South Carolina, they enter regionals in need of a bit of a turnaround. The Gamecocks were one of the best teams in the nation for much of the year, but stumbled to the end by losing five of their last six SEC weekend series. They then went 1-2 in the SEC Tournament.
South Carolina will face off against Central Connecticut State on Friday. The Blue Devils won the Northeast Conference Tournament, and went 36-12 overall on the year and 25-5 in conference play. First pitch on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Unfortunately for South Carolina, they probably have the best No. 2 seed in any regional. That would be Campbell, who won the Big South Tournament. The Fighting Camels had a record of 44-13 overall, 22-5 in conference play, and the No. 13 overall RPI. That’s in addition to the No. 13 non-conference strength of schedule and the No. 8 non-conference RPI. That’s a hosting-caliber resume.
Facing off against Campbell will be No. 3 seed NC State. The Wolfpack found their way into the tournament this season despite a 13-16 ACC record and a No. 118 non-conference strength of schedule. Going 35-19 overall, though, NC State finished No. 23 in RPI. It was a rocky season for the Wolfpack, but they are an intriguing matchup for Campbell, and South Carolina, and they won’t have to travel too far. First ptich for Campbell and NC State is 1 p.m. ET on Friday on ACC Network.