NCAA Baseball Tournament: 16 regional host sites officially announced

Soon, teams across college baseball will know their postseason fates. That began to some extent on Sunday evening, when the 16 regional host sites were officially announced for the NCAA Tournament.

In the college baseball postseason, each of the 16 hosts will be playing on home field. The 16 host sites will contain four teams, and they will play in a double-elimination format until just two teams remain. Ultimately, the winner will advance to super regionals, which would be played at the stadium of the top eight overall seeds should they still be alive after regionals weekend.

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There was plenty of speculation on how the 16 hosts would wind up in the NCAA Tournament. The first 13 or seeds in our Field of 64 Projections entering the day felt secure on the hosting line. Indiana State, Oregon State and Duke were also slated to host. Other teams, including Mississippi State, East Carolina and Dallas Baptist, were also in contention to host a regional. In the end, only 16 of those teams could get the nod.

The full NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday. The selection show is at 12 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN2. Here are the 16 hosts.

Athens (Georgia)

To no surprise, Georgia will be hosting a regional and bringing postseason baseball back to Athens. The Bulldogs are 39-15 on the season and went 17-13 during regular season SEC play. While they went one-and-done in the SEC Tournament, Georgia’s RPI sits at No. 6 and has them in line for a potential top eight seed.

College Station (Texas A&M)

Texas A&M has been one of the nation’s best teams for much of the season, both in the rankings and in RPI. The Aggies went 0-2 in the SEC Tournament and departed early from Hoover, but they still should be a top four or five overall seed, and could go even higher. Texas A&M is 44-13 overall, went 19-11 in the SEC during the regular season, and sits at No. 2 in RPI.

Chapel Hill (North Carolina)

North Carolina cruised through the regular season, going 22-8 during ACC play and winning the regular season ACC championship. The Tar Heels are 42-13 overall after going 1-1 in their Pool in the ACC Tournament. UNC sits at No. 4 in RPI, and should slot in as one of the top three overall seeds.

Charlottesville (Virginia)

Virginia had a very strong season, entering the postseason 41-15 overall and 18-12 during the regular season in ACC play. They went 1-1 in their pool in the ACC Tournament. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Virginia slide into the top ten, and they profile best in the 10-12 regional host range.

Clemson (Clemson)

Clemson has been ranked right around the top five for essentially the entire season. The Tigers went 20-10 against ACC opponents during the regular season, and are 41-14 overall entering regionals. Even after going 1-1 in their pool in the ACC Tournament, it would be surprising if the Tigers fell out of the top six overall seeds.

Corvallis (Oregon State)

Oregon State is one of the teams that was on the bubble to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Beavers have a 42-14 overall record and went 19-10 in the Pac-12 during the regular season, but didn’t win the regular season or conference tournament title and sit at No. 18 in RPI. There will surely be teams that feel like they should’ve hosted over them, but Oregon State is officially heading back to Corvallis for the postseason.

Fayetteville (Arkansas)

Arkansas lost both of the two games they played in the SEC Tournament early in the week, but they are still a surefire top eight seed and could finish in the top five overall. The Razorbacks are 43-14 and went 20-10 against SEC opponents during the regular season. They head into the postseason at No. 5 in RPI.

Greenville (East Carolina)

East Carolina is a team that feels like they should host, and they got the nod. The Pirates are 43-15 overall and went 19-8 in the regular season in the AAC. ECU made it to the semifinals in the AAC Tournament this week before ultimately falling to Wichita State. But a series victory over North Carolina and a strong non-conference resume (No. 9 in SOS, No. 2 in RPI), the Pirates are officially bringing a regional back to Greenville.

Knoxville (Tennessee)

What a year it has been for Tennessee. The Vols won a share of the regular season SEC title and were the No. 1 seed in Hoover after a 22-8 regular season mark against SEC opponents. After defeating LSU for the SEC crown, Tennessee is 50-11 overall and sits at No. 1 in overall RPI. It would be surprising to see anybody else as the No. 1 overall seed.

Lexington Regional

Kentucky is very likely to be one of the top three or four overall seeds. The Wildcats enter the postseason 40-14 overall and went 22-8 in regular season SEC play, earning a share of the regular season SEC title. Even though Kentucky went 1-2 in the SEC Tournament, they shouldn’t have any issues being one of the country’s top seeds.

Norman (Oklahoma)

Oklahoma dominated during Big 12 play in the regular season, going 23-7 and winning the regular season title. The Sooners enter regionals at 37-19 overall, and are No. 14 in RPI. Even with RPI at No. 14, Oklahoma could push for a top eight seed as they are 10-6 in quad 1 games and 13-7 in quad 2. If they aren’t in the top ten, they won’t be far from it.

Raleigh (NC State)

NC State wasn’t really close to being a regional host until late in the season, but they earned their way into bringing a regional to Raleigh. The Wolfpack are 33-20 overall and went 18-11 during regular season ACC play, and went 1-1 in the ACC Tournament. Where they fall is pretty wide open. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them push for the top ten due to their weekend resume, but somewhere in the 11-14 range feels more likely.

Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara)

UC Santa Barbara ran away with the regular season Big West championship, going 26-4 in league play on the year. They head into the postseason with a 42-12 overall record and sit at No. 13 in RPI. While the resume is lighter in comparison to some of the other hosts, the Gauchos have felt like a strong hosting contender and that was confirmed on Sunday night.

Stillwater (Oklahoma State)

Oklahoma State was in a good spot heading into conference tournament week, and they locked up their hosting status. After going 19-9 in Big 12 play in the regular season, the Cowboys won the Big 12 Tournament and enter the postseason 40-17 overall and No. 11 in RPI.

Tallahassee (Florida State)

Florida State started off 3-0 in the ACC Tournament, but fell just short of the title by falling to Duke on Sunday. Still, the Seminoles could have a pretty compelling case to be a top eight overall seed. They are No. 8 in RPI, 42-15 overall, and went 17-12 in regular season ACC play. If they aren’t in the top eight, they are sure to be in the top ten.

Tucson (Arizona)

Arizona is the biggest surprise to make it as a host. The Wildcats won the regular season and Pac-12 Tournament titles, but sit No. 31 in RPI. The committee appeared to not pay as close attention to RPI as previous years, and Arizona is hosting a regional.