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Updated NCAA Tournament projections move Tennessee Baseball back into host spot

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•05/23/25•

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(Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) May 22, 2025; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee shortstop Gavin Kilen (6) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a solo homer to give Tennessee the lead in the 10th inning in the third round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. Tennessee eliminated Texas with a 12-inning 7-5 victory. Kilen drove in all three runs in extra innings.
(Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) May 22, 2025; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee shortstop Gavin Kilen (6) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a solo homer to give Tennessee the lead in the 10th inning in the third round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. Tennessee eliminated Texas with a 12-inning 7-5 victory. Kilen drove in all three runs in extra innings.

D1Baseball.com on Friday moved Tennessee up to the No. 15 overall seed in its updated Field of 64 projections, putting the Vols back in position to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament. 

The move came after Tennessee, the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament, beat No. 1-seed Texas 7-5 in 12 innings on Thursday. The Vols beat No. 9 Alabama 15-10 to open their postseason on Wednesday.

D1Baseball.com now has Tennessee as the No. 15 national seed, hosting No. 2 West Virginia, No. 3 Miami and No. 4 Miami (Ohio) in the Knoxville Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Arkansas was the No. 2 national seed, opposite of the Vols. 

Up Next: No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Tennessee (43-15) will now face No. 4 Vanderbilt (40-16) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on SEC Network in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The other half of the semifinal will be decided Friday when No. 2 Arkansas faces No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 3 LSU plays No. 14 Texas A&M. 

Baseball America projects Tennessee to be the No. 14 national seed, hosting No. 2 West Virginia. No. 3 East Tennessee State and No. 4 Bryant in the Knoxville Regional. Opposite of the Vols in the Baseball America bracket is No. 3 Vanderbilt. 

11.7 College Baseball has Tennessee as the No. 12 seed, hosting No. 2 West Virginia, No. 3 ETSU and No. 4 Murray State. 11.7 noted on social media on Friday morning that the Vols win “the (head-to-head) argument vs Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama with Top 10 RPI.”

Tennessee is now No. 10 in RPI, while Alabama is No. 12, Florida is No. 16 and Ole Miss is No. 17. 

Tennessee Baseball’s postseason history under Tony Vitello

The Vols have been the No. 1 overall seed twice in the last three years under head coach Tony Vitello, who led Tennessee to its first national championship last season, beating Texas A&M in three games in the College World Series Final. 

Tennessee has hosted three of the last four years and reached Omaha and the College World Series in three of the last four seasons. 

The Vols last season Northern Kentucky, Indiana and Southern Miss in the Knoxville Regional, then beat Evansville in three games in the Super Regional round. 

Tennessee beat Florida State, North Carolina and then Florida State again in Omaha on the way to the CWS Final against the Aggies.

In 2023 the Vols went on the road and won the Clemson Regional, then beat Southern Miss on the road in Super Regionals. They were eliminated by LSU, the eventual national champion, in the College World Series. 

Notre Dame upset No. 1 Tennessee in the Knoxville Super Regional in 2022. The Vols won the Knoxville Regional in 2021, hosting for the first time since 2005, then swept LSU in the Super Regional, before going 0-2 in Omaha. 

Tennessee in 2019 returned to the NCAA Tournament forth the first time since 2005, but lost to host North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional. 

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