2025 cbhsports NCAA College Baseball Regionals Predictions

Image Courtesy: Texas Longhorns

Regionals (May 30-June 2)

Nashville Regional (Nashville, TN)
1.Vanderbilt 42-16 (19-11) SEC
(4) Wright State 38-19 (25-5) Horizon League
(2) Louisville 35-21 (15-15) ACC
(3) East Tennessee State 41-15 (14-7) Southern

Carter’s Pick: 1.Vanderbilt in 6
Vanderbilt was playing at a two seed level for much of the season but the last few weeks of the season helped them reach the top overall seed over the SEC’s regular season champion Texas. They reached 19 SEC wins after winning conference series against Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky before winning the SEC Tournament Championship in Hoover, Alabama by avenging a series loss to Ole Miss in the championship game. The Commodores lost against Louisville on May 6 on the road. But now the Cardinals must travel to Nashville and prove they’re truly the better team. Louisville went .500 in a top heavy ACC and has victories against national seeds (1) Vanderbilt, (2) Texas, (5) North Carolina, (9) Florida State, (11) Clemson, and victories against fellow tournament teams Arizona, North Carolina State, Kentucky, and Western Kentucky. The Vandy Boys does not just have to worry about a Louisville team that has already beaten them. They also have to worry about a mid-major team instate, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. The Bucs have won 41 games this season and have upset then number 1 ranked Tennessee on the road have beaten Binghamton, the four seed in the Athens Regional, twice during the regular season. The top overall seed should not have much of a problem dealing with the four seed in their bracket but Wright State’s 38 wins are better than many on their level in the bracket. We only see a few four seeds if that advance to the super regionals every postseason but I’m not sure Wright State can get through the Commodores but they may be able to get a win in an elimination game if it comes to pass. Give me the Commodores to sweep through their regional and set up a potential matchup with Hattiesburg Regional favorites Southern Miss and Alabama.

Hattiesburg Regional (Hattiesburg, MS)
16.Southern Miss 44-14 (24-6) Sun Belt
(4) Columbia 29-17 (16-5) Ivy League
(2) Alabama 41-16 (16-14) SEC
(3) Miami 31-24 (15-14) ACC

Carter’s Pick: Alabama in 7
I projected the Southern Miss Eagles to be the national 15 seed ahead of Monday’s selection show. But, they ended up being 16. Southern Miss has been good this season, winning 44 games and 24 in a weaker Sun Belt, second in the league behind (13) Coastal Carolina during the regular season, and as the runner up in the Sun Belt Tournament after losing to the Chanticleers in just their first opportunity to face off this season. Being the national 16 seed means that you should get a stronger field heading to your home site and they definitely get it with the two seed heading to Hattiesburg this weekend and that is the Alabama Crimson Tide, another team with over 40 wins and an impressive 16-14 mark in the SEC in Rob Vaughn’s second season as the head coach. The Crimson Tide boast a win over (13) Coastal Carolina unlike their regional counterparts as well as wins over other tournament teams North Carolina State, North Dakota State, (14) Tennessee, Oklahoma, (4) Auburn, (6) LSU, (1) Vanderbilt, (7) Georgia, and Florida. Miami was unable to play all 30 ACC games but went 15-14 in the league. The Hurricanes’ 31 wins helped them get to the tournament but they are not on the same level as Southern Miss or Alabama. The Eagles’ opponent on Friday will be four seed Columbia, the champions of the Ivy League. The Lions games against teams that made this year’s NCAA Tournament getting swept by (12) Oregon and (7) Georgia but they have not played a team at the quality of a two or three seed thus far. They will be tested when they play Southern Miss on Friday night. Southern Miss and Alabama should match up three times this weekend and the Crimson Tide will win two of them and advance to set up a rematch with Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Corvallis Regional (Corvallis, OR)
8.Oregon State 41-12-1 Independents
(4) Saint Mary’s 35-24 (15-9) West Coast
(2) TCU 39-18 (19-11) Big 12
(3) USC 35-21 (18-12) Big Ten

Carter’s Pick: TCU in 6
Despite playing its first season as an independent after the destruction of the Pac-12, Oregon State was able to clinch a top eight seed. If the Beavers advance through this weekend, they will be able to host next weekend in the super regionals against the winner of the Tallahassee Regional as the national eight seed. They had to make a schedule that included teams from all over the country as a result and lost games to (4) Auburn and (12) Oregon but defeated former Pac-12 foe (15) UCLA. TCU has a bunch of experience playing spoiler in regionals as the two seed in the bracket. The Horned Frogs might have deserved to host but they will have to travel to the west coast all the way to Corvallis. They went to Fayetteville in 2023 and advanced through (3) Arkansas’ regional on its way to the College World Series but failed to make the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Horned Frogs are ready to make a run in this year’s tournaments after a strong regular season just one win short of 40 wins. However, they failed to beat (3) Arkansas and Kansas State the second weekend of the season in Arlington and lost two out of three to (16) Southern Miss on their home field. They will face USC, who appears in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade. The Trojans were able to score wins over UC-Irvine, (1) Vanderbilt, Arizona State, and even picked up a series win over in-city rival (15) UCLA a few weeks ago. Their 35 wins was good enough for an impressive 18-12 record in their first season in Big Ten. They could potentially see former conference foe Oregon State with a win over TCU on Friday. Saint Mary’s won the West Coast conference tournament, helping the Gaels clinch their first NCAA Tournament bid in school history. It will be a challenge for them when they face Oregon State but it won’t be impossible as the Beavers faced a much less difficult schedule than they normally do as an independent instead of a typical conference schedule in the former Pac-12. Oregon State has a history of protecting Goss Stadium but I think history repeats itself two years later and TCU advances to the super regionals.

Tallahassee Regional (Tallahassee, FL)
9.Florida State 38-14 (18-10) ACC
(4) Bethune-Cookman 37-21 (24-5) SWAC
(2) Northeastern 48-9 (25-2) CAA
(3) Mississippi State 34-21 (15-15) SEC

Carter’s Pick: Northeastern in 7
Florida State has one of the more challenging draws as the number nine national seed. The Seminoles did not play a tough non-conference schedule. They have won series against tournament teams Miami, (11) Clemson, Duke, and a single game over Florida. They were in position to be the highest seeded non-SEC team before dropping a series to (5) North Carolina during the last weekend of the regular season and losing to the Tar Heels again in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Northeastern, maybe the top mid-major team in the country outside of Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss, has won an impressive 27 games in a row entering Friday’s match up against Mississippi State. The Huskies defeated Kansas State twice and beat Central Connecticut State so they definitely have the talent to win the Tallahassee Regional. Their opponent as I mentioned above is Mississippi State, who fired head coach Chris Lemonis about a month ago on April 28. Since that date, the Bulldogs raced out to a 9-2 record that included a series sweep against Kentucky and a series win over instate rival (10) Ole Miss. The winner of Friday’s evening game in Tallahassee between the Huskies and Bulldogs could very well be the team that wins the Tallahassee Regional. The four seed is Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats have 24 conference wins as well as a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament title. They will be challenged more than they have for much of the season as they travel to face Florida State and potentially Northeastern and Mississippi State. They fell to Florida State on the road back on March 5 and look to avenge that loss on Friday afternoon. It should definitely take the winner of this regional seven games to do it and I believe Northeastern will defeat Mississippi State to open things, be the one to upset Florida State in the 1-0 game, and advance to the super regionals.

Auburn Regional (Auburn, AL)
4.Auburn 38-18 (17-13) SEC
(4) Central Connecticut State 31-15 (23-7) Northeast
(2) North Carolina State 33-19 (17-11) ACC
(3) Stetson 40-20 (24-6) ASUN

Carter’s Pick: 4.Auburn in 6
Most people expect Auburn to be a top eight seed entering Selection Monday but after losing both their final series of the regular season against Ole Miss and going one and done at the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M, the Tigers were not expected to land among the top four seeds. However, they were given the distinction of being the national four seed and were given a pretty good draw as a result. I am not saying Auburn did not have a great regular season. They certainly did with wins series wins over (1) Vanderbilt, (6) LSU (sweep), (14) Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi State but committee might have been justified more if they saw where they were swept by (2) Texas and (7) Georgia. The two seed in Auburn’s regional is the North Carolina State Wolfpack, who have experience making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, including their trip all the way to the College World Series semifinals in 2021. The Wolfpack have lost three games in a row as they head to “The Plains” but have the talent to win a regional with their series sweep over (11) Clemson the last weekend of April. Atlantic Sun champion Stetson is one of the few teams from a normal “one bid league” to appear in the NCAA Tournament as a three seed. The Hatters’ 40 wins overall and 24 victories in the ASUN suggests that they can definitely complete with the Wolfpack which definitely gives them a chance to advance in the regional. Central Connecticut State will get another shot to head down south to an SEC ballpark after winning the Northeast Conference. The Blue Devils played in the Fayetteville Regional in 2019 and will look to advance in this year’s Auburn Regional. However, the Tigers’ offense should propel them to the super regionals fairly easily in this bracket.

Conway Regional (Conway, SC)
13.Coastal Carolina 48-11 (26-4) Sun Belt
(4) Fairfield 39-17 (21-8) MAAC
(2) Florida 38-20 (15-15) SEC
(3) East Carolina 33-25 (13-14) American

Carter’s Pick: 13.Coastal Carolina in 7
Coastal Carolina’s dominant season did not deserve just the national 13 seed. I, along with many other people involved in college baseball media, believe the Chanticleers deserved a top eight seed, probably over (8) Oregon State, who played a weaker schedule in their first season as an Independent after the Pac-12’s demise and definitely above (11) Clemson, who they swept the season series against. They are on an 18-game win streak but instead of getting a good draw after a dominant regular season, they get the Kevin O’Sullivan-led Florida ball club that has made runs to the College World Series the last two Junes. If it were not for a few injuries, the Gators would’ve probably been in hosting contention with their strength of schedule in the tough SEC. They will look to make their third consecutive appearance in Omaha, and win it all unlike they did in 2023 when they fell to LSU in championship series. Many believe East Carolina is the best program to ever get to Omaha and the College World Series. They underachieved during the regular season but were able to bounce back and win the American Athletic Conference’s tournament and clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will be an uphill battle for the Pirates to make it out of Conway to the super regionals but in a regional with Coastal Carolina and Florida, they can definitely pull an upset as a sleeper here. Four seed Fairfield fell just a win short of 40 wins during the regular season but I find it hard to believe they can win the Conway Regional. Because I believe in the season Coastal Carolina has had to this point, I believe it will take them seven games to eliminate Florida from the regional but they will get it done.

Chapel Hill Regional (Chapel Hill, NC)
5.North Carolina 42-12 (18-11) ACC
(4) Holy Cross 31-25 (17-8) Patriot League
(2) Oklahoma 35-20 (14-16) SEC
(3) Nebraska 32-27 (15-15) Big Ten

Carter’s Pick: 5.North Carolina in 6
Like I mentioned above in the Auburn Regional prediction, North Carolina was screwed out of a top four seed. The Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament Championship including wins over national seeds (9) Florida State and (11) Clemson. They are a favorite to make it to Omaha and potentially win the national championship if they can advance through this bracket. Joining North Carolina are two teams from the old Big 8 and later the Big 12. Since Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Big Ten at the beginning of the 2010s, their rivalry with Oklahoma has subsided for the most part outside of a few football match ups in September throughout the last few years. The Sooners won 14 games in their first season in the difficult SEC. They will have a lot of challenges with the Tar Heels if both advance to the 1-0 game but first they must worry about their old rival in Chapel Hill on Friday night. Nebraska beat both Big Ten regular season co-champions (12) Oregon and (15) UCLA on their way to the tournament title for the league. They hope to continue their success against an old rival and then hopefully throughout the weekend. The Tar Heels draw Holy Cross on Friday afternoon. The champions of the Patriot League must be ready to face college baseball’s hottest team not named Coastal Carolina or Northeastern. They should sweep through their regional and advance to host a super regional.

Eugene Regional (Eugene, OR)
12.Oregon 42-14 (22-8) Big Ten
(4) Utah Valley 32-27 (13-11) WAC
(2) Arizona 39-18 (18-12) Big 12
(3) Cal Poly 41-17 (23-7) Big West

Carter’s Pick: 12.Oregon in 7
Oregon’s first season in the Big Ten was impressive. In non-conference play, the Ducks beat their instate rivals Oregon State four times in a row to end the month of April. They also swept USC on the road, and then won two out of three against fellow Big Ten host and fellow regular season conference champion (15) UCLA in the friendly confines of Eugene. Their 22 conference wins and series win against the Bruins helped them get the tiebreaker and get the one seed in the Big Ten Tournament. After beating Michigan State in the quarterfinals, Nebraska upset the Ducks in the semifinals keeping them outside of the top eight and ability to host in the super regionals if chalk holds in this round. Joining them in Eugene as the two seed is Oregon’s former Pac-12 foe Arizona. The Wildcats have a great baseball history and are capable of advancing in this NCAA Tournament. 39 wins overall and 18 in an underrated Big 12 this season will be a quality opponent for Oregon to play potentially in the 1-0 game if both teams advance to play each other on Saturday. Cal Poly is also a terrific team capable of advancing out of Eugene too. They might have gotten swept by (15) UCLA to begin the season but they were able get revenge against conference rival UC-Irvine (who swept them during the regular season) after winning 2 out of 3 against the Anteaters during the conference tournament on their way to a Big West tournament championship. The four seed facing Oregon on Friday night will be Utah Valley, who has just five more wins than they do losses and two more conference wins than losses. But they won the WAC Tournament and have a chance to advance. That being said, it may take Oregon seven games but they will advance to the super regionals.

Baton Rouge Regional (Baton Rouge, LA)
6.LSU 43-14 (19-11) SEC
(4) Little Rock 24-32 (8-16) Ohio Valley
(2) Dallas Baptist 40-16 (21-6) Conference USA
(3) Rhode Island 38-20 (22-8) Atlantic-10

Carter’s Pick: 6.LSU in 6
LSU may have gotten the easiest draw of any of the national seeds in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The 2023 national champions have a dynamic pitching staff and an offense capable of getting them to a national championship at the end of June. The Tigers have series wins over national seeds (3) Arkansas and (14) Tennessee and will look to begin their 2025 regional with a win over Little Rock on Friday afternoon. Dallas Baptist is a regional mainstay out of the Conference USA and their 40 overall wins and 21 wins in the league make them the biggest challenge for the Tigers this weekend. The Patriots shut out Oklahoma early in the season and went to TCU and beat the Horned Frogs so they are capable of pulling an upset off if chalk holds into the 1-0 game on Saturday. DBU will have to beat Rhode Island, the lone Atlantic-10 team in the field. They only beat (12) Oregon once in four opportunities back in their series from February 21-23 but any team that can win 38 games overall and 22 in their league deserves a shot to play postseason baseball. I bet most people in the Little Rock program expected that they would make the short trip up to Fayetteville to face (3) Arkansas in the Fayetteville Regional but instead the Trojans will face the Razorbacks’ SEC rival LSU to begin their weekend. A team that was eight games behind .500 overall and in Ohio Valley play caught fire in Marion, Illinois at the OVC Baseball Tournament and won five straight games to lock up their bid into the NCAA Tournament. It will be an uphill battle for the Trojans to keep up their play against LSU and their awesome pitching staff. The Tigers should easily win this regional as a result.

Clemson Regional (Clemson, SC)
11.Clemson 44-16 (18-12) ACC
(4) South Carolina Upstate 36-23 (19-5) Big South
(2) West Virginia 41-14 (19-9) Big 12
(3) Kentucky 29-24 (13-17) SEC

Carter’s Pick: 11.Clemson in 7
Like I mentioned above in my thoughts on the Conway Regional, the Clemson Tigers do not deserve to be as high as the eleventh national seed after getting swept by (13) Coastal Carolina on the road and at home. Plus, Clemson has hosted regionals the last two seasons and have failed to advance to the super regionals, losing to Charlotte and Florida. The Tigers have played a tough schedule outside of the ACC playing three NCAA Tournament teams the first weekend of the season including Oklahoma State, Arizona, and (10) Ole Miss, winning two of those three games and they also beat (7) Georgia on April 22. In ACC play, the Tigers played okay against fellow NCAA Tournament teams, winning their series against NC State but failing to do so against (9) Florida State, NC State before advancing all the way to the ACC Tournament Championship and falling to (5) North Carolina. The Tigers have another tough two seed in their bracket in the Big 12’s regular season champion West Virginia. The Mountaineers won 41 games (19 in the Big 12) and were in hosting contention for a lot of the season but their resume did not compare to most of the hosts that were selected on Monday. Their opponent on Friday afternoon is the Kentucky Wildcats who lived on the bubble this season with 29 wins and just 13 wins in the SEC. But, thanks to playing in that league, the wildcats were able to have the RPI and strength of schedule to make the field. They are definitely not the number two overall seed they were a season ago that made it to Omaha last June but they still have the same small ball style that Nick Mingione’s teams love to play with in Lexington. The four seed facing Clemson is 36-win South Carolina Upstate, a team that plays the tigers all the time so they will not be nervous. Watch out for a great game on Friday between the Mountaineers and Wildcats but I think the Tigers will finally advance to the super regionals after failing to do so the previous two years.

Fayetteville Regional (Fayetteville, AR)
3.Arkansas 43-13 (20-10) SEC
(4) North Dakota State 20-32 (13-15) Summit League
(2) Kansas 43-15 (20-11) Big 12
(3) Creighton 41-14 (17-4) Big East

Carter’s Pick: 3.Arkansas in 6
I’m going to keep my thoughts on the Fayetteville Regional a bit shorter so I can save my thoughts for my preview coming tomorrow. The Razorbacks have been the national three seed now the last three NCAA Tournaments but the Razorbacks have failed to use their awesome home environment to advance to the super regionals. The last two seasons, a Big 12 team has given Arkansas trouble. First, it was TCU in 2022 and then Kansas State in 2023. When they are playing their best, the Razorbacks may be the best team in the country. Their hitting depth, bullpen, and overall defense would pose challenges for every team in the country. The Kansas Jayhawks, the two seed headed to Fayetteville this weekend, could be the next Big 12 team to eliminate Arkansas from their own regional. Dan Fitzgerald has built up a great program in Lawrence over his years in Lawrence. As a result of the Jayhawks 43 wins overall (matching the Razorbacks) and 20 conference wins (also matching the Razorbacks), they were in hosting contention for most of the season and many believe they are a team of that quality. They will have to face Big East champion Creighton, who is led by Ed Servais, who will finish out his career as the Blue Jays’ head coach this postseason. While Kansas’ offense can challenge the Razorbacks it will be Creighton’s pitching staff that will be the thorn in the Razorbacks’ side if those two squads match up later in the weekend. North Dakota State’s 20-32 record may not be impressive on paper but the fact that the Bison were able to beat NCAA Tournament mainstay Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament championship to get a bid. If Arkansas wins this regional and advances to the supers, I believe they will need to do it quickly, in six games. And, I believe the Razorbacks can do it.

Knoxville Regional (Knoxville, TN)
14.Tennessee 43-16 (16-14) SEC
(4) Miami (OH) 35-21 (23-7) MAC
(2) Wake Forest 36-20 (16-14) ACC
(3) Cincinnati 32-24 (16-14) Big 12

Carter’s Pick: 14.Tennessee in 7
Tennessee cannot look ahead to a potential rematch in the super regionals against (3) Arkansas, a team that they lost too just a few weeks ago on the road. Truth be told Tennessee head coach (and former Razorback assistant) Tony Vitello must help his team, to avoid looking ahead, and get through another regional weekend in the friendly confines of Lindsey-Nelson Stadium. The Volunteers are mightily talented but are much more inexperienced than they were when they won the national championship last June. They have committed many errors through the last half of the season as they lost six of their last seven regular series before defeating (2) Texas in the SEC Tournament, helping them lock up a hosting spot. The two seed joining the Volunteers is Wake Forest, who won 36 games overall and 16 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons don’t have former Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns any more but are capable of advancing if they force Tennessee to make defensive errors SEC teams have made them make over the last month and a half or so. Wake Forest will face Cincinnati on Friday afternoon. The Bearcats won 16 games in the Big 12, matching the number of conference wins as the Demon Deacons. It will be interesting to see if the winner of that game can match up with the pitching of Tennessee if the Volunteers advance to Saturday’s 1-0 game. The four seed matching up with Tennessee on Friday night is Miami (OH). The MAC champions won an incredible 23 games in the league and even played Cincinnati already this season, in a 6-4 loss. In my opinion, Tennessee has no reason not to win their regional so I will pick them to win it in seven as I think Wake Forest or Cincinnati may cause Tennessee to make a few mistakes in the field throughout the weekend.

Athens Regional (Athens, GA)
7.Georgia 42-15 (18-12) SEC
(4) Binghamton 29-24 (13-11) America East
(2) Duke 37-19 (17-13) ACC
(3) Oklahoma State 28-23 (15-12) Big 12

Carter’s Pick: 7.Georgia in 6
Georgia has been dominant at home for the entire season and most of Wes Johnson’s two seasons as head coach of the program. The Bulldogs advanced to the super regionals and will look to go even further this season with a shot to host until a potential Omaha trip in a few weeks. The Bulldogs have series wins over (3) Arkansas and (4) Auburn (sweep) but were swept by (2) Texas in Austin. But, they do not need to worry about playing on the road because they can play at home as long as they continue to advance. Joining the Bulldogs in Athens this weekend as the two and three seeds are two teams that have made postseason appearances the last few years in two seed Duke and third seed Oklahoma State. The Blue Devils made it to the super regionals in 2023 but then failed to make it through the Normal Regional just a year ago in 2024. Their 37 wins overall and 17 in the ACC must make the other three teams in this regional make sure to focus on not letting them get hot. The Cowboys have hosted the last three seasons but have failed to advance every time. Their 28 wins suggest their roster is much worse than any of the previous three seasons but the chance to play somewhere other than O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater may help them focus in and potentially upset Duke or Georgia and advance to the super regionals since 2019. America East champion Binghamton will attempt to challenge Georgia on Friday afternoon. It will be tough with the Bulldogs’ strength of playing on Foley Field in Athens but they deserve to be in the tournament after winning their conference title. As a result, Georgia should advance to host a super regional next weekend.

Oxford Regional (Oxford, MS)
10.Ole Miss 40-19 (16-14) SEC
(4) Murray State 39-13 (17-8) Missouri Valley
(2) Georgia Tech 40-17 (19-11) ACC
(3) Western Kentucky 46-12 (18-9) Conference USA

Carter’s Pick: Georgia Tech in 7
Ole Miss’ late season push vaulted them back into hosting contention all the way up to the number ten national seed. Their overall resume includes 40 overall wins and turning their 16 SEC wins in the regular season into 19 after advancing all the way to the SEC Tournament Championship and falling to (1) Vanderbilt. The Rebels will be joined by two seed Georgia Tech, another 40-win team that expected to be a host after winning the ACC regular season title. Despite winning that regular season title, the Yellow Jackets lost regular season series to (11) Clemson and single games to (4) Auburn and (7) Georgia. Then, they failed to back up their regular season championship with a tournament title after losing to Clemson again in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Conference USA champion Western Kentucky makes its way to Oxford as the three seed after winning 46 games during the regular season and at the CUSA Tournament. The Hilltoppers failed to beat (1) Vanderbilt and Louisville but beat Kentucky during the regular season. They will get another shot against NCAA Tournament level competition this weekend when they face Georgia Tech on Friday afternoon. Another team from the state of Kentucky heading south for this weekend’s action is Ole Miss’ opponent on Friday night, Murray State. The Racers fell by just a run against the Rebels back when they faced off on March 5th but defeated Kentucky two weeks later on March 5th before winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. I anticipate it will be Ole Miss and Georgia Tech advancing onto the 1-0 game on Saturday and the Yellow Jackets upsetting the Rebels on their way to the super regionals.

Austin Regional (Austin, TX)
2.Texas 42-12 (22-8) SEC
(4) Houston Christian 32-23 (17-13) Southland
(2) UTSA 44-13 (23-4) American
(3) Kansas State 31-24 (17-13) Big 12

Carter’s Pick: 2.Texas in 7
The Texas Longhorns were the best team in college baseball for the first eleven weeks of the season. Much of their success was at the friendly confines UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin but they did beat (10) Ole Miss and Oklahoma State in Arlington the first weekend of the regular season before winning series against (4) Auburn (sweep), (6) LSU, (7) Georgia, and Mississippi State. Then, the first weekend in May, Texas went to Fayetteville and got swept by (3) Arkansas, who played their best baseball of the season that weekend. The Longhorns lost a series to Florida the following weekend before bouncing back and winning a series against Oklahoma to finish the regular season. They were an early exit from the SEC Tournament after losing to Tennessee in the quarterfinals but that will give them rest as they prepare for Houston Christian on Friday afternoon. UTSA dominated the American Athletic conference during the regular season, winning 23 games in the American before failing to win the conference tournament. The Roadrunners beat the Longhorns back on March 18th in Austin and won one of three games against Dallas Baptist too. This proves they definitely have a shot at advancing through this regional and if they match up with Texas at some point later in the weekend, the Longhorns will definitely be challenged. Texas’ former Big 12 conference foe Kansas State advanced to the super regionals after winning the Fayetteville Regional a year ago. The Wildcats fell to (5) North Carolina the first weekend of the regular season but then went to Arlington the next weekend and defeated (3) Arkansas and TCU. The Wildcats also won 17 games in the Big 12, winning series against West Virginia but failed to win against fellow tournament teams Oklahoma State and Kansas. The Longhorns’ opponent on Friday will be the Southland champions Houston Christian. The Huskies did not play much competition throughout the season but have an opportunity to play college baseball’s best in the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns will win this regional and advance on.

Los Angeles Regional (Los Angeles, CA)
15.UCLA 42-16 (22-8) Big Ten 
(4) Fresno State 31-27 (18-12) Mountain West
(2) UC-Irvine 41-15 (24-6) Big West
(3) Arizona State 35-22 (18-12) Big 12

Carter’s Pick: UC-Irvine in 7
UCLA got the overall 15 seed after sharing the Big Ten regular season title with fellow former Pac-12 member (12) Oregon after both won 22 games in conference play. The Bruins lost to (1) Vanderbilt on their home field before defeating the two seed headed to Los Angeles this weekend, UC-Irvine on March 18th but then losing to the Anteaters on the road in Irvine. The Bruins swept Nebraska the middle of March (before falling to the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten tournament title game) but lost their series to (12) Oregon on the road in Eugene. The Anteaters are definitely a quality two seed, winning 41 games and 24 in the Big West. UC-Irvine swept to Cal Poly during the regular season before losing to them in Big West Tournament championship game. UCLA’s former Pac-12 conference foe Arizona State heads to LA as the three seed. The Sun Devils won 18 games in their first season in the Big 12. They split with the Bruins in Los Angeles back at the end of February before winning series against TCU and Kansas and losing series to Arizona and Oklahoma State. The four seed Fresno State is just four games above .500 but won 18 games in the Mountain West. The Bulldogs won the MWC Conference Tournament Championship and will head to face UCLA winners of six of their last seven games. I do anticipate the top three seeds in this bracket fighting it out for the Los Angeles Regional with UC-Irvine advancing to the super regionals, setting up a potential matchup in Austin versus Texas.