An in-depth look at the Clemson Regional

Kentucky will be headed to the Clemson Regional for its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, paired with No. 1 seed Clemson, No. 2 seed West Virginia and No. 4 USC Upstate. Regional play will begin on Friday, with the Regional Final taking place on Sunday (or Monday if needed).

The Regional would mark Kentucky’s first clash with Clemson since 1997 (swept by the Tigers on the road), but the ‘Cats are fairly familiar with the other two teams. The ‘Cats and Upstate Spartans last met in Spartanburg to kick off the 2024 season, where Nick Mingione’s team came away with the sweep. Kentucky and West Virginia last met in the 2023 Lexington Regional, where the ‘Cats run-ruled them 10-0 en route to a Regional win.

Here’s an in-depth look at the teams Kentucky will be playing against for a trip to a Super Regional against the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional (No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Dallas Baptist, No. 3 Rhode Island and No. 4 Little Rock).

Clemson Tigers (44-16)

All-time record vs. Kentucky: 6-3 (Last meeting: Clemson def. Kentucky 10-3 on February 23, 1997)

Clemson is the No. 11 overall national seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will host a Regional for the third consecutive season (sixth time since 2016). The Tigers entered the 2025 ACC Tournament as the No. 5 seed with a 41-15 record and won three games before falling to No. 3 seed North Carolina 14-4 in the Championship Game.

After a rough stretch from April 24-May 11 in which Clemson lost eight of 10 games, it finished the season strong winning six of its last seven. It had four players selected to All-ACC Teams in sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan Knaak (First Team), senior right-handed pitcher Lucas Mahlstedt (First Team), junior outfielder Cam Cannarella (Second Team) and sophomore DH Collin Priest (Third Team).

As a team, Clemson hit for a .279 team batting average (159th in NCAA) with a 4.95 team ERA (68th in NCAA) this season. Heading into Tournament play, the Tigers are No. 9 in the RPI Rankings with a 10-10 Q1 record, a 14-5 Q2 record, a 9-1 Q3 record and an 11-0 Q4 record. With the 16th ranked strength of schedule, Clemson went 26-7 in 33 home games, 10-7 in 17 road games and 8-2 in 10 neutral games.

Although it has made the Men’s College World Series 12 different times, its last appearance came back in 2010. Since then, the Tigers have made 11 Tournament appearances with 10 Regional losses. They made the Clemson Super Regional (first time since 2010) last season, but were bounced in two games by Florida.

West Virginia Mountaineers (41-14)

All-time record vs. Kentucky: 2-12 (Last meeting: Kentucky def. West Virginia 10-0 on June 4, 2023)

West Virginia is the No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional, securing its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. It was a strong season for first year head coach Steve Sabins, as the Mountaineers headed to the 2025 Big 12 Conference Tournament with a 40-13 (19-9 record). They were crowned Big 12 Regular Season Champions and earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but fell in the semifinals to No. 4 seed Arizona.

The Mountaineers had four players selected to All-Big 12 Teams, including junior catcher Logan Sauve (First Team), senior left-handed pitcher Griffin Kirn (First Team), senior outfielder Kyle West (Second Team) and senior right-handed pitcher Jack Kartsonas (Second Team). WVU opened Big 12 play 18-4, but stumbled into the postseason having lost six of its last seven regular season games.

As a team, West Virginia hit for a .298 team batting average (55th in NCAA) with a 4.28 team ERA (21st in NCAA) this season. Heading into Tournament play, the Mountaineers are No. 28 in the RPI Rankings with a 5-8 Q1 record, a 11-3 Q2 record, a 14-3 Q3 record and an 11-0 Q4 record. With the 99th ranked strength of schedule, West Virginia went 17-7 in 24 home games, 23-5 in 28 road games and 1-2 in 3 neutral games.

In his final season as head coach before retirement, Randy Mazey led the Mountaineers to an appearance in the Chapel Hill Super Regional last season before dropping two straight games to North Carolina. The season prior, WVU landed in the Lexington Regional where it was eliminated by Kentucky. The program has never reached the Men’s College World Series.

USC Upstate Spartans (36-23)

All-time record vs. Kentucky: 1-10 (Last meeting: Kentucky def. USC Upstate 9-3 on February 18, 2024)

USC Upstate rounds out the Clemson Regional as the No. 4 seed, as it earned the auto-bid in the Big South Conference. The Spartans will be making the first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, as it won both the Regular Season title and the Tournament title.

The Spartans were well represented in the Big South honors, as eight players (and two honorable mentions) were named to the All-Big South First and Second teams. This included junior outfielder Scott Campbell (First Team), sophomore shortstop Vance Sheahan (First Team), junior catcher Preston Lucas (First Team), senior DH Johnny Sweeney (First Team), sophomore right-handed pitcher Amp Phillips (First Team), sophomore outfielder Scott Newman (Second Team), sophomore left-handed pitcher Chris Torres (Second Team), sophomore right-handed pitcher Darin Kuskie (Second Team) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Cooper Ellingworth (Second Team).

Phillips, who transferred in from Spartanburg Methodist, was named the Big South Newcomer of the Year with a 3.58 ERA in 78 innings pitched this season.

As a team, USC Upstate hit for a stellar .319 team batting average (7th in NCAA) with a 5.40 team ERA (98th in NCAA) this season. Heading into Tournament play, the Spartans are No. 87 in the RPI Rankings with a 1-1 Q1 record, a 5-13 Q2 record, an 8-2 Q3 record and a 22-7 Q4 record. With the 117th ranked strength of schedule, Upstate went 18-12 in 30 home games, 14-9 in 23 road games and 4-2 in 6 neutral games.