NC State baseball: Where will the Pack be headed for NCAA?
NC State baseball is going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament. That much was made certain by a run to the ACC Tournament championship game this past week in Charlotte. Going into the event, some outlets, notably D1Baseball.com, had NC State (36-21) squarely on the bubble for making the field after some late-season ACC struggles.
Wins over Wake Forest and Miami in pool play followed by a semifinals triumph over Pittsburgh not only eliminated any doubt about NC State making the tournament, but the successes may have even raised the Wolfpack up a seed line.
That’s not necessarily the consensus from D1Baseball.com and Baseball America this morning, however.
Sunday evening, the NCAA announced the 16 teams that would be hosting, which included four of NC State’s counterparts in the ACC plus an in-state rival in East Carolina. The 16 regional hosts are:
Auburn
East Carolina
Florida
Georgia Southern
Louisville
Maryland
Miami
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Oregon State
Southern Miss
Stanford
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
Virginia Tech
Collectively, NC State baseball went 6-7 against teams that are hosting in the regional, including 2-0 vs. East Carolina, the only likely rematch that the Wolfpack would have among that group.
The full bracket will be revealed Monday at noon on ESPN2, including which of those 16 seeds are the top eight, which means if those seeds advanced they would host Super Regionals. There is little doubt that Tennessee, who went 53-7 overall this season and 25-5 in the SEC, will be the No. 1 overall seed after capturing the SEC Tournament title Sunday.
The Vols had a season not unlike Arkansas a year ago, whom NC State stunned in the Super Regionals on the Pack’s way to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. In the case of D1Baseball.com, NC State could face a similar opportunity but a round earlier this year. Their final projections have the Wolfpack a two seed in the regional hosted by the Volunteers.
Ivy League champion Columbia would be the three seed and SWAC title-winner Alabama State the four seed.
Baseball America’s mock bracket Saturday also had NC State going to Knoxville, but after losing the ACC title match, the Wolfpack slid down a seed line in their final projected field. NC State is instead going to Statesboro, Ga., in the Georgia Southern regional at a three seed, where the two seed is at-large Georgia. Columbia rounds out the region.
Baseball America has Georgia Southern as the No. 16 overall seed, which means the winner of that regional will face the winner of the No. 1 overall seed Tennessee’s region. NC State baseball rival Wake Forest was sent to Knoxville as the two seed in Baseball America’s mock bracket.
Two or three seed does not matter significantly, since the path remains the same in the regional. More noteworthy to follow is where NC State is sent.
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