NCAA Baseball Division I Tournament Preview

Following a crazy conference tournament weekend, the NCAA selection committee announced the 64-team field for the Division I baseball tournament on Monday.

The first round of the tournament is the Regionals. There are 16 regional hosts with each having four teams in the regional. This round is a double elimination format. The regionals start on Friday June 1 and will run through Monday June 4, if necessary.

Top 8 National Seeds

As you see can below, only one of the national seeds is a conference champion. The committee awarded these at-large national seeds due to their regular season record and RPI rating. Once again, the SEC has three national seeds this season.

1. Florida (SEC at-large)
2. UCLA (Pac 12 champ)
3. Florida State (ACC at-large)
4. Baylor (Big 12 at-large)
5. Oregon (Pac 12 at-large
6. North Carolina (ACC at-large)
7. LSU (SEC at-large)
8. South Carolina (SEC at-large)

Gainesville Regional – McKethan Stadium (All games can be seen on ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Raleigh Regional)

1. Florida (#1 National Seed) (42-18)
2. Georgia Tech (36-24)
3. College of Charleston (37-20)
4. Bethune-Cookman (34-25)

Opening Matchups: College of Charleston vs Georgia Tech (1pm) & Bethune-Cookman vs Florida (7pm)

Projected Winner: Florida

“Sleeper” team: Georgia Tech

Raleigh Regional – Doak Field

(Regional Winner faces winner of Gainesville Regional)

1. North Carolina State (39-17)
2. Vanderbilt (33-26)
3. UNC Wilmington (38-21)
4. Sacred Heart (25-30)

Opening Matchups: UNC Wilmington vs Vanderbilt (2pm) & Sacred Heart vs NC State (7pm)

Projected Winner: Vanderbilt

“Sleeper” team: UNC Wilmington

Charlottesville Regional – Davenport Field

(Regional Winner faces winner of Columbia Regional)

1. Virginia (38-17-1)
2. Oklahoma (38-22)
3. Appalachian State (39-16)
4. Army (41-13)

Opening Matchups: Appalachian State vs Oklahoma (4pm) & Army vs Virginia (8pm)

Projected Winner: Virginia

“Sleeper” team: Appalachian State

Columbia Regional – Carolina Stadium (All games can be seen on ESPNU/ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Charlottesville Regional)

1. South Carolina (#8 National Seed) (40-17)
2. Clemson (33-26)
3. Coastal Carolina (41-17)
4. Manhattan (33-25)

Opening Matchups: Coastal Carolina vs Clemson (Noon) & Manhattan vs South Carolina (4pm)

Projected Winner: South Carolina

“Sleeper” team: Clemson

Eugene Regional – PK Park

(Regional Winner faces winner of Gary Regional)

1. Oregon (#5 National Seed) (42-17)
2. Cal State Fullerton (35-19)
3. Indiana State (41-17)
4. Austin Peay (38-22)

Opening Matchups: Indiana State vs Cal State Fullerton (5pm) & Austin Peay vs Oregon (9pm)

Projected Winner: Oregon

“Sleeper” team: Cal State Fullerton

Gary Regional – U.S. Steel Yard

(Regional Winner faces winner of Eugene Regional)

1. Purdue (44-12)
2. Kentucky (43-16)
3. Kent State (41-17)
4. Valparaiso (35-23)

Opening Matchups: Kent State vs Kentucky (4pm) & Valparaiso vs Purdue (8pm)

Projected Winner: Kentucky

“Sleeper” team: Purdue

Houston Regional – Reckling Park

(Regional Winner faces winner of Waco Regional)

1. Rice (40-17)
2. Arkansas (39-19)
3. Sam Houston State (38-20)
4. Prairie View A&M (28-23)

Opening Matchups: Sam Houston St vs Arkansas (2pm) & Prairie View A&M vs Rice (7pm)

Projected Winner: Rice

“Sleeper” team: Sam Houston State

Waco Regional – Baylor Ballpark

(Regional Winner faces winner of Houston Regional)

1. Baylor (#4 National Seed) (44-14)
2. Dallas Baptist (39-17)
3. UT-Arlington (36-23)
4. Oral Roberts (37-23)

Opening Matchups: Texas-Arlington vs Dallas Baptist (2pm) & Oral Roberts vs Baylor (7pm)

Projected Winner: Baylor

“Sleeper” team: Dallas Baptist

Los Angeles Regional – Jackie Robinson Stadium

(Regional Winner faces winner of College Station Regional)

1. UCLA (#2 National Seed) (42-14)
2. San Diego (40-15)
3. New Mexico (36-22)
4. Creighton (26-28)

Opening Matchups: New Mexico vs San Diego (6pm) & Creighton vs UCLA (10pm)

Projected Winner: UCLA

“Sleeper” team: San Diego

College Station Regional – Olsen Field (All games can be seen on ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Los Angeles Regional)

1. Texas A&M (42-16)
2. TCU (36-19)
3. Mississippi (35-24)
4. Dayton (31-28)

Opening Matchups: Mississippi vs TCU (1:35pm) & Dayton vs Texas A&M (7:35pm)

Projected Winner: Texas A&M

“Sleeper” team: TCU

Coral Gables Regional – Alex Rodriguez Stadium

(Regional Winner faces winner of Baton Rouge Regional)

1. Miami (36-21)
2. UCF (43-15)
3. Missouri State (39-20)
4. Stony Brook (46-11)

Opening Matchups: Missouri State vs UCF (2pm) & Stony Brook vs Miami (7pm)

Projected Winner: Miami

“Sleeper” team: Missouri State

Baton Rouge Regional – Alex Box Stadium

(Regional Winner faces winner of Coral Gables Regional)

1. LSU (#7 National Seed) (43-16)
2. Oregon State (38-18)
3. Belmont (39-22)
4. Louisiana-Monroe (31-28)

Opening Matchups: Belmont vs Oregon State (3pm) & Louisiana-Monroe vs LSU (8pm)

Projected Winner: LSU

“Sleeper” team: Oregon State

Chapel Hill Regional – Boshamer Stadium

(Regional Winner faces winner of Tucson Regional)

1. North Carolina (#6 National Seed) (44-14)
2. East Carolina (35-22-1)
3. St. John’s (37-21)
4. Cornell (31-15-1)

Opening Matchups: St. John’s vs East Carolina (1pm) & Cornell vs UNC (6pm)

Projected Winner: UNC

“Sleeper” team: East Carolina

Tucson Regional – Hi Corbett Field (All games can be seen on ESPNU/ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Chapel Hill Regional)

1. Arizona (38-17)
2. New Mexico State (35-22)
3. Louisville (39-20)
4. Missouri (32-26)

Opening Matchups: Louisville vs New Mexico State (7pm) & Missouri vs Arizona (11pm)

Projected Winner: Louisville

“Sleeper” team: New Mexico State

Palo Alto Regional – Sunken Diamond (All games can be seen on ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Tallahassee Regional)

1. Stanford (38-16)
2. Pepperdine (34-21)
3. Michigan State (37-21)
4. Fresno State (40-26)

Opening Matchups: Michigan State vs Pepperdine (4pm) & Fresno State vs Stanford (9pm)

Projected Winner: Stanford

“Sleeper” team: Pepperdine

Tallahassee Regional – Dick Howser Stadium (All games can be seen on ESPN3)

(Regional Winner faces winner of Palo Alto Regional)

1. Florida State (#3 National Seed) (43-15)
2. Mississippi State (39-22)
3. Samford (39-21)
4. UAB (32-28)

Opening Matchups: Samford vs Mississippi State (Noon) & UAB vs Florida State (6pm)

Projected Winner: Florida State

“Sleeper” team: Samford

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