Where the final Field of 64 projections see South Carolina playing in the NCAA Tournament
In just a few short hours, South Carolina will officially know which regional it will be heading to for the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is at noon on ESPN2. Until the official announcement is made, no one really knows where the Gamecocks, or for that matter, any team that will be a two-seed or lower is going.
But fortunately, there have been multiple projections over the last few weeks that have somewhat narrowed down or given a good idea of where each team may go.
Shortly after the host sites were revealed, the D1Baseball NerdCast hosted a livestream Sunday night to predict the final Field of 64. In this projection, Kendall Rogers, Aaron Fitt and Mark Etheridge see South Carolina playing in the Chapel Hill Regional as a two-seed.
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The Gamecocks would face three-seed Coastal Carolina for their first matchup of the tournament. North Carolina would be the host and No. 3 national seed and play four-seed Western Michigan.
Much like D1Baseball, Baseball America has been on top of posting daily projections as the selection show approaches. For the site’s final prediction, South Carolina would be the two-seed in the Clemson Regional.
In this scenario, the Gamecocks would also play three-seed Coastal Carolina in the first round. Meanwhile, Clemson, the host and No. 6 national seed, would play Penn.
For many fans, this would be the most enticing regional to be in. Obviously, South Carolina has a deep, in-state rivalry with Clemson. And it’s also important to remember these two teams didn’t finish their three-game series during the regular season. So a date in the postseason would be fitting, especially since a lot has changed since they last met in March.
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Another potential destination that has been floating around with the Gamecocks’ name is the Raleigh Regional. NC State was one of the 16 teams to earn a hosting bid on Sunday after a 33-20. South Carolina faced the Wolfpack in the winner’s bracket of the Columbia Regional in 2023, winning that matchup 6-3. The Gamecocks went on to win that regional and advance to a Super Regional for the first time since 2018.
It’s tough to say where this team will ultimately be playing this weekend. But it definitely feels more than likely they will be staying on the east coast, specifically in the Carolina’s. East Carolina could also be in the mix as an option. South Carolina went into Greenville and won a regional there back in 2018, Mark Kingston’s first season as head coach.
