Arkansas (37-20) faces Missouri State (34-19) for the third time this season to begin NCAA Tournament play, this time at Hoglund Park in the NCAA Lawrence Regional.
First pitch between the No. 2 seed Razorbacks and the No. 3 seed Bears is set for 5 p.m. Friday, May 29, on ESPNU with (play-by-play) and (analyst) on the call. With a win, Arkansas would play the winner of the other NCAA Lawrence Regional opener, No. 1 seed Kansas or No. 4 seed Northeastern at 12 p.m. Saturday, May 30, on ESPN+. A loss against Missouri State would pit them against the loser of that game on Saturday 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, on ESPN+.
NCAA Lawrence Regional Friday, May 29 Game 1 – No. 15 Kansas vs. Northeastern – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 2 – Arkansas vs. Missouri State – 5 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, May 30 Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 31 Game 5 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Monday, June 1 Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD
On the Mound Friday, May 29 Missouri State – LHP Max Knight (4.69 ERA) Arkansas – RHP Gabe Gaeckle (3.99 ERA)
Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle will start on the mound Friday night against Missouri State. The right-hander from Aptos, Cali. has made 19 appearances this season, including 11 starts on the hill this season with a 6-3 record, 3.99 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 67.2 innings of work. Gaeckle, who is holding opposing hitters to a .277 batting average, came out of the bullpen against Texas in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals and earned his sixth win of the season, tying his career high with six innings pitched and matching his season best with nine strikeouts in the Razorbacks’ 8–1 victory. .
Tune In Victor Rojas (play-by-play) and Connor Wanhanen (analyst) have the call of the entire NCAA Lawrence Regional on the ESPN family of networks. Arkansas’ opening game of the regional against Missouri State will air nationally on ESPNU. The matchup between the Razorbacks and Bears can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) on the call from inside Hoglund Ballpark.
History Lesson Arkansas is 60-32 against Missouri State with a 38-16 mark in games played inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium. In games played under Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks are 22-13 and 14-9 at home against the Bears.
Arkansas split their regular season meetings with Missouri State. On March 31 on the road in Springfield, the Razorbacks lost a lead in the 10th inning and fell 15-14 to the Bears. A few weeks later, the hogs avenged their loss to Missouri State with a 12-4 victory on April 21 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas doesn’t just have a storied history with Missouri State in the regular season. The Razorbacks will face the Bears for the 10th time ever in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks and Bears are in the same regional for the fourth time since the NCAA went to its 64-team format in 1999.
Missouri State defeated Arkansas once in the 1999 Fayetteville Regional before winning the crazy 2017 Fayetteville Regional, which was played despite many rain delays. The Razorbacks and Bears were both in the 2022 Stillwater Regional but they did not end up facing off.
Missouri State has a 5-4 advantage on Arkansas in the postseason. The Razorbacks will look to change that in Friday night’s game.
It is time for postseason college baseball and the road will end in Omaha like it always does in just a few weeks. Enjoy my preview of all 16 regionals in the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament below:
Los Angeles Regional (Los Angeles, CA) No. 1 seed UCLA 51-6 (28-2) Big Ten (4) Saint Mary’s 34-25 (15-12) West Coast (2) Virginia Tech 30-24 (15-15) ACC (3) Cal Poly 36-22 (22-8) Big West
UCLA was the pre-season favorite to win the national and they followed through, winning 51 of their 57 games between the regular season and Big Ten Tournament, on their way to both a Big Ten regular season and conference tournament title.
Shortstop Roch Cholowsky is the engine of the Bruins offense, slashing .329/.461/.662 with 71 runs, 72 hits, 10 doubles, 21 home runs, 59 runs batted in and 35 walks. Senior right-hander Michael Barnett and junior right-hander Logan Reddeman anchor the UCLA’s weekend pitching rotation, striking out a combined 153 batters to only 37 walks.
The Bruins went 3-0 against SEC tournament teams Tennessee, Texas A&M and Mississippi State while they swept USC and won three of four games against No. 11 national seed Oregon. They will be a favorite alongside national No. 2 seed Georgia Tech to win it all.
Saint Mary’s will attempt to pull an incredible upset by defeating UCLA. The Gaels won the West Coast conference tournament with a 5-0 record and wins over Pepperdine, Gonzaga, and San Francisco twice to clinch an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong (15 home runs and 49 runs batted in) and redshirt sophomore infielder Jacob Johnson (12 home runs and 50 runs batted in) power the Gaels offense while senior right hander John Damonzonio leads their pitching staff with a 2.71 era, 7-2 record, and 81 strikeouts to only 19 walks through 76.1 innings pitched.
The two seed in the Los Angeles Regional is Virginia Tech, who won 30 games during the regular season, with half of them being in ACC play. The Hokies’ took single losses to No. 12 national seed Texas A&M, No. 14 national seed Mississippi State, and the No. 2 seed headed to Chapel Hill Tennessee, and lost series to national No. 2 Georgia Tech, the No. 2 seed headed to Hattiesburg Virginia, and the No. 2 seed headed to Athens Boston College. So, the Hokies weren’t as successful as they wanted to be in conference play but they made it in and must take advantage of their opportunity if they want to advance.
Freshman infielder Ethan Ball is far and away the power guy in the Virginia Tech offense, recording 41 runs, 61 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. Senior Luke Craytor, juniors Madden Clement and Brett Renfrow, and sophomore Chase Swift are four arms that the Hokies trust as they begin their run across country against Cal Poly.
Cal Poly will make the short three-hour trip to Los Angeles as the three seed in the Los Angeles Regional. Similar to Virginia Tech, the Mustangs rely on one power bat to hit nukes and get the ball deep in the park. That guy is Ryan Tayman, who is slashing .355/.444/.664 with 48 runs, 78 hits, 18 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 53 runs batted in and an impressed 27 walks. Three players headline the Cal Poly pitching staff including redshirt junior Carson Turnquist junior Griffin Naess and freshman Corden Pettey.
The Mustangs defeated the No. 3 seed headed to the Eugene Regional, Washington State, two out of three times, were swept by the No. 2 seed on their way to the College Station Regional, USC, and the no. 2 seed going to the Eugene Regional, Oregon State but dominated the Big West on their way to sharing the regular season championship and a conference tournament championship.
With UCLA’s offensive firepower and athletes on the diamond, they should dominate their opponents in the Los Angeles Regional. Virginia Tech, Cal Poly, and Saint Mary’s don’t have the arms or bats to match the Bruins firepower.
The winner of the Los Angeles Regional will play the winner of the Morgantown Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Morgantown Regional (Morgantown, WV) No. 16 seed West Virginia 39-14 (21-9) Big 12 (4) Binghamton 31-20 (17-7) America East (2) Wake Forest 38-19 (16-14) ACC (3) Kentucky 31-21 (13-17) SEC
The runner-up in the Big 12 for both the regular season and tournament titles is the West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia swept No. 15 national seed Kansas, the winner of both the regular season and tournament titles in the Big 12 but the Jayhawks defeated them win the Big 12 Tournament Championship game.
The Mountaineers offense is not strong top to bottom as some other national hosts are but sophomore utility player Gavin Kelly, who slashed .379/.480/.680 with 54 runs, 77 hits, 16 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 48 runs batted in and 36 runs batted in. Redshirt junior left-hander Maxx Yehl, sophomore right-hander Chansen Cole, and graduate senior right-hander Ian Korn lead the weekend pitching rotation.
West Virginia’s opponent is No. 4 seed Binghamton, who won both the America East regular season and tournament championships. The Bearcats did not get much experience against NCAA Tournament competition so they must come ready to play against the Mountaineers. Binghamton’s top bat is sophomore outfielder Matt Bolton, who slashes .349/.456/.568 with 46 runs, 67 hits, 16 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 44 runs batted in, and 37 walks. Junior arm Conner Griffin leads the Bearcats in innings pitched with 57.1 and a 3-3 record.
The no. 2 seed headed to Morgantown is Wake Forest, who won 16 of their 38 games in ACC play. The Demon Deacons lost a series to the No. 2 seed headed to Hattiesburg, Virginia, the No. 2 seed headed to Gainesville in No. 2 seed Miami, but defeated the No. 2 seed on their way to Tallahassee, Coastal Carolina.
The Wake Forest offense is powered by four position players. Sophomores Luke Costello (17 home runs and 61 RBIs), Dalton Wentz (17 home runs and 51 runs batted in), and Matt Conte (10 home runs and 46 runs batted in), and junior Kade Lewis (13 home runs and 55 runs batted in) have powered the Demon Deacons offense. Sophomore right-hander Chris Levonas, who recorded a 2.90 earned run average, a 10-3 record, 110 strikeouts, and only gave up 42 hits, 24 runs, 22 earned runs, and 32 walks over 68.1 innings pitched and junior left-hander Matthew Dallas recorded a 2.45 earned run average, a 2-0 record, 14 strikeouts, and only gave up seven hits, two runs and earned runs, and three walks will anchor the Wake Forest weekend rotation.
The Demon Deacons’ opponent is the No. 3 seed going to Morgantown, the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky was apart of the last four in the NCAA Tournament this season and still made it in despite only two SEC series wins and series losses to the two bottom teams in the league, Missouri and South Carolina. The Wildcats must prove their worth with a win against Wake Forest and potentially advancing on through the Morgantown Regional.
Kentucky has a balanced offense, with junior infielder Ethan Hindle slashing .306/.434/.622 with 47 runs, 55 hits, 18 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 47 runs batted in and 27 walks. Wildcat ace Jaxon Jelkin has recorded an 8-3 record with 46 runs, 37 earned runs, and only 20 walks and 98 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched.
This is a regional West Virginia can definitely win but watch out for Wake Forest, Kentucky and Binghamton. If Wake Forest matches up with the the Mountaineers in the 1-0 game on Saturday, the Demon Deacons will advance to the super regionals but it will take seven games.
The winner of the Morgantown Regional will play the winner of the Los Angeles Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Florida has been playing fantastic baseball of late. The Gators defeated SEC regular season and tournament champion Georgia during the regular season and had a 6-0 lead on them in the SEC Tournament Semifinals before losing the lead in that game and losing 8-7. Kevin O’Sullivan’s team is always going to be playing baseball in May and June as long as he is in charge and they are capable with the combination of their offense, pitching staff, and overall defense.
Florida has four bats that stood out this season in sophomore infielder Brendan Lawson (11 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, and 43 runs batted in), sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec (14 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, and 61 runs batted in), Blake Cyrl (15 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 56 runs batted in) and junior outfielder Hayden Yost (10 home runs and 22 runs batted in).The Gators’ top two arms Aidan King (84.0 innings pitched) and Liam Peterson (79.1 innings pitched) combined for 196 strikeouts so far this season.
Florida’s opponent on Friday is the Rider Broncs. The regular season and conference tournament champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference don’t have much experience this season against NCAA Tournament competition but they sure earned their bid to the tournament after dominating their conference this season. The Rider offense does not have an overlying star but were still able to put together a 3-1 week to win the league tournament title. Seniors Christian Aiello and PJ Craig anchor the Broncs’ pitching and will have to step up if they want a shot against Florida.
Miami, the No. 2 seed headed up north for the Gainesville Regional on Friday, fell to the Gators twice at the end of February before 16 wins in the ACC regular season and a run to the tournament semifinals.
The Hurricanes have three impressive position players that can swing the bat. Junior catcher Alex Sosa, who slashes .332/.447/.663 with 60 runs, 69 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs, 66 runs batted in and 40 walks. Graduate senior outfielder Derek Williams slashes .376/.466/.673 with 52 runs, 76 hits, 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 66 runs batted in and 28 walks. Junior infielder Daniel Cuvet slashes .305/.437/.649 with 49 runs, 46 hits, 14 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 45 runs batted in and 33 walks. Senior left-hander Rob Evans and sophomore right-handers AJ Ciscar and Lazaro Collera will be important pitchers for the Hurricanes if they want to get past Florida and advance to the Super Regionals.
Another Sun Belt team, the Troy Trojans, are in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Gainesville Regional. Troy won 16 games in a tough Sun Belt and despite losing to Southern Miss in the tournament, they are here in the NCAA Tournament ready to make their run. The Trojans have two offensive stars including sophomore catcher Jimmy Janiki (22 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 73 runs batted in) and senior infielder Blake Cavill (10 doubles, 12 home runs and 44 runs batted in). Senior left-hander Benjamin Stubbs and senior right-hand pitcher Tommy Egan will anchor the Troy pitching staff this weekend as pitchers with the two most innings pitched on the team.
Given that Florida continues its success against Miami from earlier in the season, the Gators will advance to the super regionals fairly easily. The Hurricanes have the bats to keep up with their instate rival but will they have the arms? That will determine the result of the Gainesville Regional. I favor Florida to advance to the Super Regional round.
The winner of the Gainesville Regional will play the winner of the Hattiesburg Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Hattiesburg Regional (Hattiesburg, MS) No. 9 seed Southern Miss 44-15 (22-8) Sun Belt (4) Little Rock 36-26 (16-11) Ohio Valley (2) Virginia 36-21 (14-16) ACC (3) Jacksonville State 46-13 (23-7) Conference USA
Southern Miss won the Sun Belt regular season title by one game and also took care of the conference tournament, clinching a hosting spot though not as a national seed in the top eight. Head coach Christian Ostrander continues the great tradition of baseball in Hattiesburg. Eyes are on this team making it to Omaha for the Eagles this season.
Southern Miss has four position players with over four home runs including senior infielder Kyle Morrison (16 home runs), senior designated hitter and outfielder Joey Urban (14), redshirt junior outfielder and designated hitter Davis Gillespie (13) and senior infielder Matthew Russo (11) to power the Eagle offense. Southern Miss has a lot of reliable pitchers including sophomore Camden Clark (8-0) and Grayden Harris (8-1 record) plus senior Colby Allen (7-1). All three of those guys can give good innings for the Eagles.
Little Rock should pose problems for Southern Miss like they did for reigning national champion LSU in the Baton Rouge Regional last year. The Trojans forced a winner-take-all game 7 in the regional a year ago and fell just short against the Tigers, who would go on to win their second championship in the last three seasons.
The star of last season’s run for Little Rock was senior first baseman Angel Cano. Cano slashes .299/.365/.515 with 42 runs, 69 hits, 14 doubles, 12 home runs, 29 runs batted in and 14 walks. Redshirt freshman right hander and Arkansas transfer Tag Andrews stood out and won the Most Valuable Player of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last week. Andrews has a .307 earned run average, a 4-2 record, and he has struck out 41 batters this season.
The No. 2 seed heading to Hattiesburg is Virginia. The Cavaliers made the NCAA Tournament even after losing head coach Brian O’Connor to Mississippi State. Former Duke head coach Chris Pollard won 36 games overall but only 14 in the ACC regular season. The Cavaliers defeated Pollard’s old school to open the ACC Tournament but quickly bowed out against No. 2 national seed Georgia Tech in their final game in Charlotte.
Junior outfielder AJ Garcia, junior outfielder Joe Tilroy, and junior first baseman and outfielder Sam Harris all have hit 14 home runs and have accounted for 40 or more runs batted in this season for Virginia. Sophomore left-hander Henry Zatkowski, graduate senior right-hander Lucas Hartman, and freshman right-hander John Paone will eat up innings for the Cavaliers.
Jacksonville State is the three seed that will be matching up with Virginia in Hattiesburg. The Gamecocks dominated the Conference USA with 46 overall wins and half of them being in conference (23). Jacksonville State challenged No. 7 national seed Alabama during the regular season as well.
There is no true standout on the Gamecock offense but senior infielder Brady Thomas, who slashes .316/.470/.632 with 42 runs, 48 hits, 10 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 38 runs batted in and 32 walks is a guy that can really swing the bat. Senior left-hander Steven Cash leads the Jacksonville State pitching staff with 93 strikeouts in 82.2 innings pitched.
Southern Miss got a bad draw with the Trojans, Cavaliers, and Gamecocks coming into their regional. This regional should definitely be seven games and there is always a three seed that wins a regional so give me Jacksonville State to do so. The Gamecocks would pull the upset with some incredible pitching.
The winner of the Hattiesburg Regional will play the winner of the Gainesville Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Chapel Hill Regional (Chapel Hill, NC) No. 5 seed North Carolina 45-11-1 (22-8) ACC (4) VCU 37-23 (20-10) Atlantic-10 (2) Tennessee 38-20 (15-15) SEC (3) East Carolina 36-22-1 (17-10) American
North Carolina earned another top eight national seed after finishing second in the ACC during the regular season and were the runner-up in the ACC Tournament, losing to No. 2 national seed Georgia Tech after winning a series in Atlanta versus the Yellow Jackets during the regular season.
The Tar Heels’ offense includes four notable name. Juniors Cooper Nicholson, Gavin Gallaher, and Erik Paulsen make up one of the best offensive infields in the country with a combined 37 home runs and 146 runs batted in. Right-hander Caden Glauber won ACC freshman of the year behind a 1.93 earned run average and 80 strikeouts.
Their opponent will be VCU, a team that dominated the Atlantic-10 throughout the entire season, winning 20 of their 37 games in conference play. The Rams lost both of their opportunities to the No. 2 seed headed to the Tallahassee Regional, Coastal Carolina, and lost a single game to the No. 2 seed going to the Los Angeles Regional, Virginia Tech.
Two power bats in the VCU lineup are sophomore catcher Jacob Lee (14 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 56 runs batted in) and junior outfielder Michael Petite (14 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs, and 43 runs batted in). Redshirt senior right-hander Patrick Steitz, redshirt senior right-hander Elias Holbert and sophomore right-hander Cooper Campbell eat up innings on the mound for the Rams.
In Josh Elander’s first season as head coach at Tennessee following Tony Vitello’s exit, the Volunteers won 38 games and went .500 in the SEC. The Volunteers was able to salvage a game versus No. 3 overall seed Georgia, they swept No. 14 overall seed Mississippi State, and they won two out of three against No. 7 national seed Alabama and No. 6 national seed Texas.
Junior infielder and outfielder Henry Clark, who slashes .300/.364/.609 with 50 runs, 70 hits, 15 doubles, 19 home runs, 56 runs batted in and 25 walks, Levi Clark, who slashes .245/.359/.527 with 42 runs, 45 hits, 13 doubles, 13 home runs, 44 runs batted in and 26 walks, and sophomore outfielder Blaine Brown, who slashes .243/.312/.473 with 43 runs, 54 hits, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 42 runs batted in and 20 walks. Sophomore right-hander Tegan Kuhns, senior left-hander Evan Blanco, and freshman left-hander Cam Appenzeller headline Tennessee’s weekend rotation.
East Carolina had to win the American tournament just to make sure they were not left out of this season’s NCAA Tournament after an okay regular season based on the Pirates’ normal expectations. East Carolina won game two and tied game three against the Tar Heels during the regular season back at the end of February.
The Pirates’ all-conference junior Ethan Norby leads the pitching staff with a 7-3 record with 120 strikeouts in 83.2 innings. With an up and down regular season, there was no standout bat in the East Carolina lineup. Senior outfielder Jack Herring leads the way in home runs (9) and runs batted in (51) for the Pirates but the rest of the lineup must be better if they want to advance through Chapel Hill.
All four teams in the Chapel Hill Regional could advance through to the super regionals but North Carolina has been consistent this season and I don’t see the Tar Heels being eliminated this weekend. North Carolina will advance after a tough seven games and will get to host a super regional if they do.
The winner of the Chapel Hill Regional will play the winner of the Bryan-College Station Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
College Station Regional (College Station,TX) No. 12 seed Texas A&M 39-14 (18-11) SEC (4) Lamar 34-25 (19-11) Southland (2) USC 43-15 (16-14) Big Ten (3) Texas State 36-24 (16-14) Sun Belt
Texas A&M is joined by a 43-win USC and two other schools in the state of Texas in their regional this season. After missing the NCAA Tournament last season, second year head coach Michael Earley made sure the Aggies did not miss the tournament back to back seasons. Texas A&M fell to No. 1 overall seed UCLA back on Feb. 28 in Arlington but won SEC series against instate rival No. 6 overall seed Texas, No. 8 overall seed Florida, and No. 14 overall seed Mississippi State.
The Aggies have one of the stronger offenses in the SEC with juniors Caden Sorrell (17 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs and 74 run batted in) and Graham Grahovac (16 double, three triples, 19 home runs and 71 runs batted in), freshmen Nico Partida (eight doubles, 12 home runs, and 41 runs batted in) and Jorian Wilson (six doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 32 runs batted in). The pitching staff has stronger starters in sophomores Gavin Lyons (9-0 record) and Aiden Sims (8-1) but must get production out of their up and down bullpen if they want to close out this regional and advance.
There is no true offensive star for Lamar but senior right-handers Chris Oliver (88.0 innings pitched) and Travis Lutz (59.1) have struck out a combined 170 batters this season. The Cardinals fell to Texas A&M 25-5 back on Feb. 24, meaning they will have to have a different approach if they want to defeat the Aggies and get to the 1-0 game on Saturday. Other notable results for Lamar include a 14-4 loss to No. 6 overall seed Texas on Feb. 17, being swept by the No. 2 seed heading to the Eugene Regional Oregon State from April 2-4, but they were able to defeat No. 15 overall seed Kansas in a single game, 4-1 on Feb. 18.
USC is in the NCAA Tournament for back to back years since the 2001 and 2002 seasons. The Trojans won an incredible 43 games but a lack of quad 1 wins kept them from being a regional host. That led them to be sent to College Station, where they are capable of advancing to the super regionals. The Trojans did fall to Oregon State in a single game, were swept by in city rival No. 1 UCLA and No. 13 overall seed Nebraska, and lost the series to No. 11 overall seed Oregon. The Trojans blanked Michigan State 7-0 to open the Big Ten Tournament but fell to the Bruins again to end their stay in Omaha.
Junior left-hander Mason Edwards has stood out on the mound for USC this season. Edwards has an 8-0 record with 160 strikeouts and just 39 walks in 88.1 innings pitched. Four bats pace the Trojan lineup. Sophomore catcher Augie Lopez leads the way with 17 home runs and 48 runs batted in, junior infielder Adrian Lopez pitches in with 11 home runs and 41 runs batted in, senior outfielder Jack Basser has accounted for 10 home runs and 36 runs batted in and junior outfielder and infielder Andrew Lamb has hit 10 home runs and has accounted for 33 runs batted in.
In their last season in the Sun Belt, Texas State won 16 of their 36 games in conference play. The Bobcats defeated the No. 3 seed heading to the Eugene Regional this weekend, Washington State, in a series on March 6th and 8th before falling to No. 6 national seed Texas on March 10 and again on March 31. Texas State upset Texas A&M back on April 7 but if they want to challenge the Aggies again both teams will have to win their first round games.
The Bobcats offense has immense power with seven of the nine bats in their lineup with double-digit home runs so far this season. Junior infielder and outfielder Jaquae Stewart (16 home runs) leads Texas State while junior infielder Manny Salas (15), sophomore infielder and right-hand pitcher Dawson Park (13) lead the way are right behind him. Freshman right-hander Cooper Wade (66 strikeouts), redshirt junior left-hander Jesus Tovar (65), and graduate senior Kyle Froehlich (63) lead the Bobcats’ pitching staff in punch outs.
If the Aggies’ get down in the 1-0 game of this regional, their bullpen will have to step up while their offense attempts to stage a comeback. That makes me think USC can and will win this regional but they have not proven it, not being able to win an important Big Ten series this season. With the help of the home crowd, Texas A&M will get it done in seven games.
The winner of the Bryan-College Station Regional will play the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Auburn Regional (Auburn, AL) No. 4 seed Auburn 38-19 (17-13) SEC (4) Milwaukee 25-31 (14-10) Horizon League (2) UCF 31-21 (19-11) Big 12 (3) North Carolina State 32-22 (14-16) ACC
Auburn’s No. 3 ranked RPI and top ranked strength of schedule paired with their 17 SEC wins and run to the SEC Tournament Semifinals helped them lock up the national No. 4 seed. The Tigers defeated No. 10 overall seed Florida State in Arlington on Feb. 21 and won a series against No. 14 overall seed Nebraska from Feb. 27-March 1 in non-conference play. Despite series losses No. 6 overall seed Texas and No. 7 overall seed Alabama, they bounced back with series wins over the No. 2 seed heading to the Lawrence Regional, Arkansas, No. 8 overall seed Florida, the No. 2 seed going to the Atlanta Regional Oklahoma, No. 12 overall seed Texas A&M,and No. 14 overall seed Mississippi State.
Auburn’s pitching staff is full of great arms that can get them through the regional, especially the fact that they only gave up three runs in three games at the SEC Tournament in Hoover. Sophomore Jake Marciano has only allowed 62 hits, 29 runs, 24 earned runs, 17 walks, and has struck out 100 over 81.2 innings pitched. Junior Alex Petrovic has only allowed 62 hits, 30 runs, 29 earned runs, 19 walks, and struck out 81 over 81.1 innings pitched. Sophomore outfielder Bub Terrell has been a highlight reel all season for the Tigers, hitting home runs (16) and robbing them in left field. Sophomore catcher Chase Fralick also is a solid offensive piece with 16 doubles, 14 home runs, and 45 runs batted in and junior infielder Eric Guevara does his thing too with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in.
The way Auburn’s pitching staff is dominating lineups right now, Horizon League Tournament champions Milwaukee may not have a great chance to beat them on Friday. The Panthers finished six games under .500 and won 14 out of 24 games in their league. They defeated the top seed in their conference tournament with a walk-off home run from senior catcher and first baseman Joey Spence. Spence has only hit four home runs and batted 33 runs home this season but his teammates senior outfielder Charlie Marion (12 home runs and 54 runs batted in) and junior catcher and outfielder Dominic Kibler (11 home runs and 59 runs batted in) do enough to lead the Panther offense.
No. 2 seed UCF won an impressive 31 games, including 19 of their 30 games against Big 12. The Knights lost both of their games against the No. 2 seed headed to the Gainesville Regional, Miami, but bounced back with series wins in conference against the No. 2 seed going to the Tuscaloosa Regional, Oklahoma State, and No. 15 overall seed Kansas. UCF’s John Smith III (12 home runs and 49 runs batted in) and Andrew Williamson (12 home runs and 41 runs batted in) stand out in their lineup. Arms Camden Wicker (72.0 innings pitched) and Mateo Gray (57.1) struck out a combined 108 batters so far this season while only giving up a combined 43 walks.
Elliott Avent gets to start his last NCAA Tournament run as the head coach of North Carolina State at the Auburn Regional. Longtime assistant coach Chris Hart was already promoted to replace Avent as he retires. But the focus must be on making a last run, especially in a tough regional. The Wolfpacks have proven they can compete, after series wins against the No. 2 seed going to the Athens Regional, Boston College, and the No. 2 seed headed to the Gainesville Regional, Miami.
Sophomore outfielder Ty Head leads the NC State offense with eight doubles, 14 home runs, 48 runs batted in and 56 walks. Junior infielder Luke Nixon also has impressed this season for the Wolfpack with 16 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 44 runs batted in and 31 walks. Junior left-hander Cooper Consiglio and junior right-hander Heath Andrews have both pitched 59.2 innings this season. While both of their earned run averages are above five, Cooper has struck out 71 and Andrews has struck out 55 batters.
If Auburn continues to pitch the way it has over the past few weeks, they will advance to the super regional round with ease. The Tigers cannot look past anybody in their regional, but the combination of Marciano and Petrovic on the mound and Terrell, Fralick, and Guevara are swinging the bat makes me think they will advance in six games.
The winner of the Auburn Regional will play the winner of the Lincoln Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Lincoln Regional (Lincoln, NE) No. 13 seed Nebraska 42-15 (23-7) Big Ten (4) South Dakota State 24-31 (12-15) Summit League (2) Ole Miss 36-21 (15-15) SEC (3) Arizona State 37-19 (19-11) Big 12
Nebraska impressed this season in the Big Ten with 42 wins overall and 23 in a Big Ten that also had No. 1 overall seed UCLA and No. 11 seed Oregon as hosts. The Corn Huskers welcome Ole Miss, Arizona State, and South Dakota State to Lincoln this weekend for their regional. They will attempt to advance to the super regional round for the second consecutive season. Senior infielder Dylan Carey is the one clear star of the offense for Nebraska, slashing .342/.414/.610 with 52 runs, 79 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 63 walks and 19 runs batted in. Redshirt sophomore right-hand pitcher Carson Jasa recorded 81.1 innings pitched and has struck out 109 batters so far this season.
Their opponent is South Dakota State, who finished seven games under .500 overall and three games under .500 in Summit League play. That meant the Jackrabbits had to win their conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament and they did so by beating Oral Roberts two out of three times in Minneapolis last weekend. SDSU lost to the Cornhuskers 5-4 back on March 4 but they will get another shot to defeat them on Friday.
The Jackrabbits’ lineup is paced by junior infielder Luke Luskey, who slashes .303/.326/.559 with 47 runs, 59 hits, nine doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 55 runs batted in and 25 walks. Seniors Sam Schlect (72.0 innings pitched) and Ty Madison (66.1), and junior Sam Novotny (63.1) led the SDSU pitching staff.
Ole Miss’ hosting chances ended after a 10-8 loss to Missouri last week in Hoover at the SEC Tournament. While the Rebels probably wanted to host, they are capable of advancing to Omaha no matter how they have to. They swept the No. 3 seed headed to the Lawrence Regional, Missouri State, from Feb. 20-22, won series against No. 8 national seed Florida, and the No. 2 seed going to the Chapel Hill Regional Tennessee, and No. 12 national seed Texas A&M.
They have two position players with 20 home runs. Senior infielder Judd Utermark and outfielder Tristan Bissetta also drove in more than 40 runs each. Redshirt junior left-hander Hunter Elliott leads the Rebels pitching staff, striking out 96 hitters in 71.0 innings.
Arizona State will face Ole Miss on Friday as the No. 3 seed in the Lincoln Regional. Four bats the Sun Devil lineup have hit 16 or more home runs. Sophomore infielder Landon Hairston (20 doubles, two triples, 28 home runs and 79 runs batted in), redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades (15 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 53 runs batted in), graduate senior outfielder Dean Toigo (15 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, and 52 runs batted in) and junior infielder Dominic Smaldino (13 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, and 49 runs batted in) lead the Arizona State offense. Junior left-hander Cole Carlon has struck out 124 hitters in 77.0 innings and senior right-hander Kole Klecker has struck out 65 hitters in 61.0 innings, anchoring their pitching staff.
Ole Miss did not finish the regular season well but if their bats wake up, watch out. Arizona State also has a strong lineup so it will be difficult for Nebraska to advance out of their home regional. The Rebels will advance through to the super regionals, potentially matching up with No. 4 seed Auburn.
The winner of the Lincoln Regional will play the winner of the Auburn Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Austin Regional (Austin, TX) No. 6 seed Texas 40-13 (19-10) SEC (4) Holy Cross 25-28 (13-13) Patriot League (2) UC Santa Barbara 38-18 (22-8) Big West (3) Tarleton State 37-19 (12-6) WAC
Jim Schlossnagle’s Texas Longhorns earned a top eight national seed and the right to host through the super regionals assuming they advance through this season. Texas fell to UTSA a year ago in this same round. It does not feel like any of the other three teams heading to Austin this weekend are as capable of defeating the Longhorns as the Roadrunners were a year ago.
Texas had an early exit in the SEC Tournament just like a season ago but something tells me Schlossnagle will have his team better focused on the job to advance this season with the roster they have now. Juniors Carson Tinney (10 doubles, 20 home runs, 54 runs batted in and 45 walks), Aiden Robbins (nine doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 53 runs batted in and 32 walks), and redshirt senior Casey Borba (10 doubles, 17 home runs, 55 runs batted in and 31 walks) head up the Longhorn offense. Sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis is one of the best pitchers in the country with an 8-1 record and 109 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched.
Texas’ opponent is the champion of the Patriot League Tournament, Holy Cross. The Crusaders finished three games under .500 overall and at 13-13 in the league during the regular season. Senior right-hander Jaden Wywoda (79 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched) leads their pitching staff and Gianni Royer (32 runs, 46 hits, 12 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 28 runs batted in and 15 walks) leads the offense.
UC Santa Barbara is the No. 2 seed that will be in Austin this weekend. Despite losing to UC San Diego in the Big West Tournament, the Gauchos are the team that is likeliest to be able to compete with Texas this weekend if they can get through their first game against Tarleton State with a win. Senior catcher Nate Vargas (31 runs, 40 hits, 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 36 runs batted in and 19 walks) and graduate outfielder Noah Karliner (28 runs, 37 hits, six doubles, nine home runs, 27 runs batted in and 24 walks) headline the UCSB lineup offensively. Junior right-hander Jackson Flora has dominated the innings for the Gauchos with 124 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched.
No. 3 seed Tarleton State will face UCSB on Friday and attempt to make a run after potentially winning that game. The Texans won the WAC Tournament after an impressive regular season that saw them win 37 games and 12 in the regular season in the conference. Sophomore utility player Rayner Henrich leads their offense with 22 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 18 walks. Junior right-hander Ethan Wendel tops the TSU pitching staff with 41 strikeouts in 68.2 innings pitched. They will need to be at the top of their games if they want to advance through the Austin Regional.
If Texas does not advance through their regional with relative ease, I would be shocked. The Longhorns have the arms and the bats to advance deep into this tournament so they should get to the super regionals by winning the Austin Regional in just six games.
The winner of the Austin Regional will play the winner of the Eugene Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Eugene Regional (Eugene, OR) No. 11 seed Oregon 40-16 (20-10) Big Ten (4) Yale 30-13-1 (14-6-1) Ivy League (2) Oregon State 43-12 Indepedents (3) Washington State 30-26 (15-9) Mountain West
Despite being slated as the No. 14, 15, or 16 seed in late tournament projections, the tournament committee decided on Oregon as the No. 11 national seed. The Ducks won 40 games overall and half of them in the Big Ten, taking one game from No. 1 national seed UCLA and won a series against in-city rival USC to close out the regular season. They lost to instate rival Oregon State back on March 3 and may get a chance to avenge that loss in the 1-0 or elimination game on Saturday depending on Friday’s results.
Senior infielder and outfielder Drew Smith (15 home runs), freshman outfielder Angel Laya (14), junior infielder Maddox Molony (12) and redshirt freshman infielder Naulivou Lauaki Jr. (12) top the Oregon offense. Junior right-hander Will Sanford and sophomore right-hander Collin Clarke will do the same for the Ducks’ pitching staff, striking out a combined 91 batters.
Yale has made the cross-country trip to Eugene after winning 30 games in the regular season, 14 in the Ivy League regular season, the tournament against Brown. The Bulldogs don’t have much experience against the tournament field but will need to be ready to face Oregon on Friday. Overall, the Yale offense plays small ball with sophomore infielder and catcher Jack Dauer heads up the Bulldog offense with 17 doubles and 48 runs batted in. Tate Evans leads the Yale pitching staff with 78 strikeouts in 79.1 innings. They will have to play their A game if they want to defeat the Ducks.
Like mentioned above, No. 2 seed Oregon State defeated their instate rival at the beginning of March. Despite 43 wins on the season, they did not get a hosting spot, likely due to the fact that they are not in a conference. That will likely change next year if the Beavers want to win another Men’s College World Series, which would be their first since 2018.
Oregon State relies on a balanced offense with senior catcher Bryce Hubbard, who slashes .272/.402/.467 with 33 runs, 46 hits, six doubles, nine home runs, 33 runs batted in and 28 walks and senior infielder AJ Singer slashing .290/.394/.478 with 48 runs, 60 hits, 15 doubles, eight home runs, 54 runs batted in and 33 walks. While the Beaver offense does not have much power, their pitching staff should make the difference. Junior left-hander Ethan Kleinschmit (88 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched) and junior right-hander Eric Segura (72 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched) are the guys to look out for this weekend for Oregon State’s staff.
No. 3 seed Washington State will begin NCAA Tournament play against a team that is in their conference and serves as a big rival in every other sport, Oregon State. While the Beavers remain an Independent on the diamond, the Cougars are in the Mountain West, winning the conference tournament against San Diego Stateto clinch a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Making their first regional since 2010, redshirt sophomore Nick Lewis has dominated the innings pitched for Washington State with 91.1 with 65 strikeouts. Senior right-hander Luke Meyers also is a big contributor to the Cougars pitching staff, with 58 strikeouts in 74.1 innings pitched. Senior corner infielder Ryan Skjonsby is a big part of their offense, slashing .333/.425/.518 with 43 runs, 65 hits, 10 doubles, one triples, eight home runs, 57 runs batted in and 23 walks.
In a regional with a lot of Pac-12 flavor, Oregon State will make the short trip and win the Eugene Regional in seven games, taking down Oregon, Washington State, and Yale on the way. The Beavers’ pitching staff will be the difference as they advance to the super regionals.
The winner of the Eugene Regional will play the winner of the Austin Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Athens Regional (Athens, GA) No. 3 seed Georgia 46-12 (23-7) SEC (4) Long Island 30-20 (26-7) Northeast (2) Boston College 36-21 (17-13) ACC (3) Liberty 41-19 (21-9) Conference USA
Hot-hitting Georgia attempts to make it back to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2008, when they were national runners-up. Head coach Wes Johnson has the Bulldogs as a consistent NCAA Tournament team but they have not made it to the Super Regionals since 2024. Johnson and the Bulldogs have the bats and the arms to do just that. SEC Player of the Year Daniel Jackson was incredible this season, slashing .391/.485/.813 with 77 runs, 88 hits, 12 doubles, one triple, 27 home runs, 79 runs batted in and 38 walks. Junior third baseman Tre Phelps slashes .376/.491/.679 with 74 runs, 82 hits, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 18 home runs, 55 runs batted in and 20 walks. While Jackson and Phelps power the Bulldogs’ offense, ace Joey Volchko leads the Georgia pitching staff with a 8-2 record, 71 hits, 37 runs, 35 earned runs, 39 walks, and he struck out 88 over 75.1 innings pitched.
Georgia dominated the SEC with 23 conference wins and four sweeps. The Bulldogs won both the regular season and tournament championships. They will be a tough out for the other three opponents Boston College, Liberty and Long Island to advance to the Super Regionals. The Bulldogs’ opponent is No. 4 seed Long Island. The Sharks won 26 of their 30 overall games in Northeast Conference and tournament play. They must play their A game if they even want to complain with the regional’s top seed.
Boston College is the No. 2 seed that will be in Athens this weekend. The Eagles own 17 ACC wins including a series win over the No. 2 seed headed to Hattiesburg, Virginia, but ended their season with four losses in a row. Graduate infielder Nick Wang leads the Boston College offense with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in. Senior left-hander AJ Colarusso (76.0 innings pitched) and graduate left-hander Tyler Mudd (59.1) will be the differences on the mound for the Eagles if they want to advance through Athens to the super regional round.
No. 3 seed Liberty went through Conference USA play easily, winning 21 of their 41 games in conference play. The Flames won one out of three games against the No. 3 seed going to Lawrence Missouri State, lost to both the No. 2 seed heading to Morgantown, Wake Forest, and the No. 2 seed going to the Hattiesburg Regional, Virginia. So, much better play will be expected from Liberty this weekend if they want to win the Athens Regional this weekend.
Georgia should not have many problems advancing through the Athens Regional this weekend if they continue to play as well as they have been. The Bulldogs should easily dispatch Long Island before coasting to the Super Regionals, behind the bats of Jackson and Phelps.
The winner of the Athens Regional will play the winner of the Starkville Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Starkville Regional (Starkville, MS) No. 14 seed Mississippi State 40-17 (16-14) SEC (4) Lipscomb 29-24 (19-11) Atlantic Sun (2) Cincinnati 37-20 (17-13) Big 12 (3) Louisiana 39-23 (16-14) Sun Belt
Mississippi State hosts their first regional in Starkville since they went all the way and won their first national championship in Omaha in 2021. The Bulldogs were on the hosting bubble entering Selection Monday and were selected to do so despite a 1-6 record against NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season. Their No. 13 RPI ranking and tough SEC schedule are two reasons why the committee chair said they selected Mississippi State to host this weekend.
A sold out Dudy Noble Stadium crowd will be ready to see junior infielder Ace Reese, who slashes .327/.424/.691 with 65 runs, 73 hits, 21 doubles, 20 home runs, 69 runs batted in and 38 walks in addition to freshman outfielder Jacob Parker, who slashes .315/.412/.651 with 36 runs, 47 hits, nine doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 51 runs batted in and 23 walks. Sophomore left-hander Tomas Valincius leads the Bulldogs pitching staff with a 10-2 record and 120 strikeouts over 86.0 innings pitched.
Lipscomb will face Mississippi State on Friday. The Bisons have already been swept by the Bulldogs back from March 5-7, where they scored a combined seven runs across three games and were shut out 26-0 in game 3.
The Bisons do not have a powerful offense but junior outfielder Jordan Thomas has recorded 11 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, and 40 runs batted in. Senior left-hander Alexander Llinas (75.0 innings pitched) and freshman left-hander Jackson Lee (54.0) will be trusted to pitch against top bats this weekend for the Cincinnati, Louisiana and the Bulldogs.
Cincinnati is the two seed in Starkville this weekend after a 17-win season in the Big 12. The Bearcats defeated No. 4 national seed Auburn and bowed out early in the Big 12 tournament but are ready for a run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bearcats’ offensive power is in two of their guys. Sophomore infielder Quinton Coats (13 doubles, 28 home runs and 78 runs batted in) and junior catcher Jack Natili (14 doubles, 16 home runs and 59 runs batted) will have to produce like they have all season if they want to advance through this regional. Nate Taylor leads the Cincinnati pitching staff with a team-leading 112 strikeouts through 84.0 innings pitched.
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns impressed in the Sun Belt this season with 16 conference wins and had a deep run in the conference tournament. Louisiana won one of three games against the No. 3 seed headed to the Lawrence Regional, Missouri State, but did not get many good series outside of the tough Sun Belt conference play.
The Rajin’ Cajuns’ offense is highlighted by junior outfielder Donovan LaSalle, who slashes .230/.342/.461 with 39 runs, 44 hits, 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 41 runs batted in and 19 walks. Graduate senior left-hander Andrew Herrmann (108 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched) and junior left-hander Ty Roman (84 strikeouts in 80.1 innings pitched) lead the Louisiana pitching staff.
Like I wrote about, Mississippi State was on the hosting bubble and most experts had the Bulldogs as the No. 16 overall seed. That being said, Mississippi State has the crowd behind them to elevate their performance as they look to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament in Brian O’Connor’s first season as head coach. If the Bulldogs offense shows up, they will advance but it will take them seven games against the group of Bisons, Bearcats and Rajin’ Cajuns.
The winner of the Starkville Regional will play the winner of the Athens Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Carter’s Pick:No. 14 Mississippi State in seven games
Tuscaloosa Regional (Tuscaloosa, AL) No. 7 seed Alabama 37-19 (18-12) SEC (4) Alabama State 34-21 (20-10) SWAC (2) Oklahoma State 37-20 (18-12) Big 12 (3) South Carolina Upstate 33-28 (13-11) Big South
Rob Vaughn has put Alabama back on the map on the diamond. The Crimson Tide won 37 games overall and an impressive 18 in the always difficult SEC. They defeated Alabama State 2-1, the No. 4 seed in their regional back on Feb. 18 and swept No. 8 national seed Florida and instate rival No. 4 overall seed Auburn during conference play.
Alabama’s offense has been inconsistent much of the season outside of junior shortstop Justin LeBron, who is a likely top 10 pick in this summer’s MLB Draft. LeBron is s inconsistent in the field making throws to first but he is a fantastic hitter, slashing .266/.384/.522 with 52 runs, 55 hits, 11 doubles, 14 home runs, 40 runs batted in and 26 walks. The rest of the offense will have to step up around LeBron if the Crimson Tide want to get through to the super regionals. Senior right-hander Tyler Fay has been Alabama’s ace this season, recording a 9-4 record with a team-high 104 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.
Alabama State might have fallen to the Crimson Tide during the regular season but they dominated the Southwest Athletic Conference during both the regular season and the tournament, going 5-0 on their way to clinching a tournament bid. Sophomore catcher and first baseman Trey Callaway is the top bat in the Hornets’ lineup with 36 runs, 45 hits, two doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 46 runs batted in and 23 walks. Senior left-hander Jorhan LaBoy powers the Alabama State pitching staff with 65 strikeouts in 85.2 innings pitched.
Josh Holliday and Oklahoma State are NCAA Tournament regulars but they have not made it back to the College World Series since 2016. The Cowboys have 37 overall wins and 18 in the Big 12 this season. Six Cowboys position players have 10 or more home runs this season with junior outfielder Kollin Ritchie (29), senior infielder Aiden Meola (17), senior first baseman Colin Brueggeman (16), Alex Conover (14), junior outfielder Garrett Shull (14) and sophomore midfielder Brock Thompson (10). Sophomore left-hander Ethan Lund (77.0 innings pitched) and senior right-hander Pesca Mario (65.2 innings pitched) lead the OSU pitching staff with a combined 202 strikeouts and 76 walks.
South Carolina Upstate’s 33-28 overall record and 13-11 record in the Big South. The Spartans have already lost opportunities against No. 3 national seed Georgia, were swept by No. 6 seed Texas, and took a single loss to the No. 2 seed going to Chapel Hill, Tennessee during the regular season. Senior utility player Wylie Waters (35 runs, 62 hits, nine doubles, one triple, 12 home runs and 50 runs batted in) and fifth year senior Johnny Sweeney (50 runs, 51 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 54 runs batted in) head up the USC Upstate batting order. Junior left-hander Chris Torres (69 strikeouts in 71.2 innings), Brent Stukes (50 strikeouts in 73.0 innings), and Max Kaplan (64 strikeouts in 71.2 innings).
Oklahoma State’s lineup’s offensive power will overtake Alabama, USC Upstate, and Alabama State and win the Tuscaloosa Regional in seven games. The Cowboys will do what they have not in the past and have a chance to advance to the Men’s College World Series by appearing in the super regionals next weekend.
The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will play the winner of the Tallahassee Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Tallahassee Regional (Tallahassee, FL) No. 10 seed Florida State 38-17 (19-11) ACC (4) St. John’s 33-24 (15-6) Big East (2) Coastal Carolina 37-21 (21-9) Sun Belt (3) Northern Illinois 35-17 (21-12) Mid-American
Florida State will get to host another regional with Coastal Carolina, Northern Illinois, and St. John’s coming to Tallahassee this weekend. The Seminoles won an impressive 38 games overall and 19 in the ACC and are in line for 40+ wins with another run in the NCAA Tournament. They lost both games to instate rival No. 8 seed Florida but swept the No. 2 seed heading to the Morgantown Regional, Wake Forest, and a series win against the No. 2 seed going to the Gainesville Regional, Miami, before a short trip to Charlotte for the ACC Tournament.
Florida State has two true power bat in its lineup and has some strong arms that can help the Seminoles advance through this regional. Their top bats are sophomore first baseman Myles Bailey (13 home runs and 33 runs batted in) and Brayden Dowd (10 home runs and 34 runs batted in). Junior left-handers Wes Mendes (89.0 innings pitched and 117 strikeouts) and Trey Beard (64.0 innings pitched and 88 strikeouts), and junior right-hander Bryson Moore (62.2 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts) serve as FSU’s most trusted pitchers.
FSU’s opponent on Friday is St. John’s, the champion of the Big East Tournament. The Red Storm won 15 of 21 league games during the regular season and defeated Creighton in the tournament championship game. Sam Agresti powers the SJU offense with 14 doubles, 17 home runs, 48 runs batted in and 43 walks. Junior right-hander Liam O’Leary, has throw 68 strikeouts in 100 innings so far this season, redshirt junior left-hander Evan Chafee has thrown 74 strikeouts in 76.0 innings, and junior right-hander Ian Mowad has thrown 34 strikeouts in 5o.1 innings to lead the Johnnies pitching staff.
Coastal Carolina finished second in the Sun Belt standings during the regular season and a short trip to their conference tournament. They will look to return to Omaha for the Men’s College World Series after being swept by LSU in the championship series last June. They will begin their run against No. 3 seed Northern Illinois on Friday. Sophomore outfielder Rex Watson slashes .295/.378/.556 with 43 runs, 61 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 64 runs batted in and 14 walks to headline the Chanticleers lineup. Right-handers Luke Jones, Ross Norman, and Cam Flukey anchor the weekend pitching rotation for CCU.
Northern Illinois played out their final season in the Mid-American Conference before they move to the Mountain West going forward. The Huskies won 35 games overall, 21 in conference, before winning their conference tournament. NIU will face Coastal Carolina on Friday. If they win that game, a run could begin for them. Graduate outfielder and first baseman Gavin Baldwin and senior outfielder Caden Robertson have combined for 29 home runs and 115 runs batted in, helping the Huskies win games with their offense. Senior pitcher Max Vaisvila leads their pitching staff with an 8-0 record and 85 strikeouts in 83.0 innings pitched.
On the backs of their pitching staff, Florida State will outlast Coastal Carolina, Northern Illinois, and St. John’s and get to the super regionals in seven games. The Chanticleers should be the Seminoles top competition and it will get to an extra game but they will still advance.
The winner of the Tallahassee Regional will play the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Lawrence Regional (Lawrence, KS) No. 15 seed Kansas 42-16 (23-7) Big 12 (4) Northeastern 38-20 (22-8) CAA (2) Arkansas 39-20 (17-13) SEC (3) Missouri State 34-19 (20-10) Conference USA
The Lawrence Regional gives memories of the 2022 Stillwater Regional with a Big 12 host, a No. 2 seed Arkansas, Missouri State, and it is paired with an ACC team in the Super Regional round. No. 15 overall seed Kansas won the Big 12 regular season and tournament title, earning Lawrence a host site for the first time in program history. A year ago, they went to the Fayetteville Regional and lost back-to-back games, ending their season. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald has this program even better than it was a year ago when they were the No. 2 seed in Arkansas’ regional so it should go better than last season. That being said, the Razorbacks, Bears, and the Northeastern Huskies are all almost regional locks annually, so it won’t be easy for the regional’s top seed.
The Jayhawks are paced by four position players with 14 or more home runs including senior first baseman and right-hand pitcher Josh Dykoff (15), junior infielder and outfielder Tyson LeBlanc (21), junior catcher Augusto Mungarrieta (15) and sophomore outfielder and catcher Tyson Owen (14). Junior right-hander Dominic Voegel, sophomore Mason Cook, and junior Kannon Carr will attempt to get Kansas started on the right foot from the mound against the Huskies, Razorbacks, or Bears.
The Jayhawks’ opponent on Friday is Northeastern. The Huskies are a consistent NCAA Tournament team under head coach Mike Glavine. Northeastern took chances against NCAA Tournament quality teams during the regular season but did not have much success. If they are going to upset Kansas, they will have to have everything working against the Big 12 regular season and tournament champions.
One hitter stand out for the Huskies and that is redshirt senior outfielder Harrison Feinberg. Feinberg slashes .330/.443/.599 with 63 runs, 75 hits, 13 doubles, 16 runs batted in, 63 runs batted in and 37 walks. Graduate right-hand pitcher Andrew Wertz leads Northeastern in earned run average at 2.84.
The two seed headed north to Lawrence is Arkansas, who many believed deserved to host a regional. Losses to Stetson, Arkansas State, and UT-Arlington mixed with a No. 21 RPI kept them out of contention, per the committee chair. The Razorbacks still won seven of 10 SEC series and made a run all the way to the SEC Tournament Championship game thanks to wins over the No. 2 seed headed to Chapel Hill Tennessee, No. 6 overall seed Texas and No. 4 overall seed Auburn.
Junior shortstop Camden Kozeal, who slashed .322/.409/.622 with 56 runs, 74 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, a team-leading 20 home runs and 34 walks, has powered the Arkansas offense, especially this last week at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, where he recorded three home runs and seven runs batted in. The Razorbacks can win the Lawrence Regional if junior catcher Ryder Helfrick, senior left fielder Damian Ruiz, senior right fielder Zack Stewart, and junior third baseman TJ Pompey step up offensively to help Kozeal after junior designated hitter Kuhio Aloy’s season-ending injury in Hoover last week.
The pitching is all on Friday night starter Hunter Dietz, who is the only Arkansas starter that has been consistent this season. The left-handed redshirt sophomore was the first to record 100 strikeouts this season in the SEC and he has an impressive 7-3 record. In last week’s SEC Tournament Quarterfinal win against Texas, Dietz took a 105-mile hit to his leg, prompting him to leave the game injured. Head coach Dave Van Horn said he is doing well in press conferences but it is reassuring that sophomore right-hander Steele Eaves and junior right-hander Gabe Gaeckle came in relief and threw a combined no-hitter to dispatch the Longhorns. The Razorback pitching depth will tested no matter if Dietz’s status is headed into the Lawrence regional.
Their opponent is the No. 3 seed Missouri State Bears. Arkansas and Missouri State split their regular season meetings in 2026 and will play again on Friday night to determine who will advance to the 1-0 game of the Lawrence Regional. Bears head coach Joey Hawkins always has good offenses and this team is just that. Senior utility player Taeg Gollert, who slashed .254/.368/.549 with 43 runs, 54 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 64 runs batted in and 30 walks and senior catcher Carter Bergman, who slashed .260/.381/.566 with 45 runs, 45 hits, five doubles, 16 home runs, 44 runs batted in, and 20 walks. The Bears pitching staff has struggled at times this season, with no pitcher throwing below a 4.69 earned run average.
There is no doubt that Kansas will not have an easy path to win this regional with Arkansas and Missouri State as two teams that finished in the top 25 of the RPI. One of those three teams should advance past Northeastern in seven games. With Dave Van Horn’s 24 years of experience as the head coach in Fayetteville, Arkansas should use the fact that they aren’t a regional host, play well in Lawrence, and advance to the super regionals.
The winner of the Lawrence Regional will play the winner of the Atlanta Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Atlanta Regional (Atlanta, GA) No. 2 seed Georgia Tech 48-9 (25-5) ACC (4) Illinois-Chicago 27-27–1 (16-8) Missouri Valley (2) Oklahoma 32-21 (14-16) SEC (3) The Citadel 35-24 (11-10) Southern
Georgia Tech’s impressive 48-9 overall record and 25 wins in the ACC had them in contention for the No. 1 overall seed just days leading up to Selection Monday. But they ended up getting No. 2 overall and that is okay. The Yellow Jackets’ offense is one of if not the best in the country and they pitched well enough to win every conference series, win the regular season ACC Championship and defeated North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
Georgia Tech has four players that have 10 or more home runs and two more with nine. The Yellow Jackets’ junior third baseman Ryan Zuckerman has slashed .350/.445/.757 and recorded 66 runs, 75 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs, 76 runs batted in and 35 walks. Junior center fielder Drew Burress slashed .366/.478/.660 and he has 78 runs, 87 hits, 22 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs, 56 runs batted in, and 45 walks. Junior right-handers Tate McKee, Jackson Blakely and sophomore left-hander Carson Ballard headline the Yellow Jackets’ weekend rotation and will be crucial in making sure they advance to the Super Regionals.
Georgia Tech’s first opponent is Illinois-Chicago, the winner of the Missouri Valley conference tournament. The Flames don’t have much experience against NCAA Tournament competition so they must get used to it when they begin play on Friday versus the Yellow Jackets.
Illinois-Chicago has one of the best offenses in the Missouri Valley conference with three position players with over 10 home runs and two of those players have north of 50 runs batted in. Junior infielder and right hand pitcher Jake Busson slashed .273/.366/573 with 36 runs, 60 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs, 52 runs batted in and 15 walks. Junior first baseman Ashton Kampa slashed .367/.426/.734 and recorded 44 runs, 65 hits, 17 doubles, 16 home runs, 47 runs batted in and 14 walks. Junior catcher and outfielder Thomas Curry slashed .317/.412/.594 with 49 runs, 64 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 53 runs batted in and 25 walks. The starting arms for the Flames are senior left-hander Brandon Bak, senior right-hander Kendall Lyons, and junior right-hander Mason Lei. .
The No. 2 seed headed to Atlanta is Oklahoma, who won only 14 SEC games but swept their opening-weekend of Big 12 teams at Globe Life Field in Arlington and have series wins against national No. 12 seed Texas A&M. The Sooners also had a quick trip to Hoover at the SEC Tournament, losing to LSU on May 19.
Oklahoma has an average SEC offense but junior catcher Deiten LaChance, who slashed .335/.417/.612 and recorded 37 runs, 63 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 51 runs batted in and 28 walks and junior infielder Camden Johnson, who slashed .323/.410/.533 with 47 runs, 63 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 43 runs batted in and 24 walks serving as important players in the Sooners’ lineup. Pitchers LJ Mercerious allowed only 61 hits, 43 runs, 38 earned runs, 21 walks, and struck out 82 batters over 60.2 innings and Cameron Johnson has given up 39 hits, 30 runs, 24 earned runs, 42 walks, and struck out 72 batters over 53.2 innings pitched.
The Sooners’ opponent is the Southern Conference champion The Citadel. The Bulldogs have four batters with 40 or more runs batted in, including junior first baseman Zach Hunt (47), senior utility players TJ Anderson (43) and Michael Gibson (40), and redshirt sophomore Christian Stratis (41). Left-hander Will Holmes and right-handers Andrew Bufkin and Trip Brown are the arms the Bulldogs rely on to start them out in weekend action on the mound.
The Bulldogs did not have much success against regional hosts No. 10 Florida State, No. 3 Georgia, or regional teams No. 3 seed in the Morgantown Regional Kentucky but at least they have the experience against those teams, especially going into a regional where they wouldn’t have to face No. 2 overall Georgia Tech until their second game, if both teams win and advance to the 1-0 game.
The Yellow Jackets should advance to the Super Regionals fairly easily on the back of their impressive offense that can out-swing anybody in the country. Oklahoma’s up and down pitching staff will not be able to control Georgia Tech’s bats, assuming both teams make it there for the 1-0 game and The Citadel and Illinois-Chicago just don’t have the depth to win three or four games against James Ramsey’s team.
The winner of the Atlanta Regional will play the winner of the Lawrence Regional in the best-of-three super regionals from June 5-7 or June 6-8.
Carter’s Pick:No. 2 Georgia Tech in six games
Check out the NCAA Baseball Tournament Regionals schedule here.
Arkansas baseball punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 37th time in program history.
Arkansas (39-20), the No. 17 overall seed, and the No. 2 seed in the Lawrence Regional, is set to travel to face No. 15 national seed and top regional seed Kansas (42-16), No. 3 seed Missouri State (34-19), and No. 4 seed Northeastern (38-20) from May 29-June 1 inside Hoglund Ball Park in Lawrence, Kansas. Arkansas opens tournament play against MSU at Friday, May 29, at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Razorbacks will get face the Bears for a third time this season after splitting the regular season matchups. On March 31 in Springfield, Arkansas lost to Missouri State 15-14 in 10 innings. The Razorbacks’ defeated the Bears 12-4 in Fayetteville on April 21. Arkansas will play in the same regional as Missouri State for the first time since 2022, when both teams were in the NCAA Stillwater Regional.
The Razorbacks head to Lawrence to play in Kansas’ regional a year after hosting them in their own NCAA Fayetteville Regional. On their run to Omaha in 2025, Arkansas did not face the Jayhawks after they lost back to back games to Creighton and North Dakota State in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.
Arkansas will play in the same regional as Northeastern for the first time since the two teams played in 2021 NCAA Fayetteville Regional. Arkansas advanced to the super regionals while the Huskies lost back to back games to Nebraska and NJIT to end their season.
The winner of the Lawrence Regional will play the winner of the Atlanta Regional in the best-of-three-game super regional from June 5-7 or June 6-8. No. 2 national seed and top regional seed Georgia Tech (48-9) hosts No. 2 seed Oklahoma (32-21), No. 3 seed The Citadel (35-24) and No. 4 seed Illinois-Chicago (38-20) this weekend in Atlanta, Ga..
A History Lesson The Razorbacks will not host a regional and go on the road for the first time since the 2022 season, when they went to the Stillwater Regional and won the highest-scoring regional in seven games, highlighted by winning two out of three games versus Oklahoma State.
Arkansas advanced to face No. 10 national seed North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional, who they swept with strong pitching. Brady Slavens’ walk-off RBI-single in game 2 sent them back to Omaha for the College World Series for the seventh time in the Dave Van Horn era.
The Razorbacks’ run would end in the semifinals at the College World Series after losing two games to SEC rival Ole Miss. Now, Arkansas attempts to make a run to the College World Series as a two seed for the second time in four years.
NCAA Lawrence Regional Friday, May 29 Game 1 – No. 15 Kansas vs. Northeastern – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 2 – Arkansas vs. Missouri State – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 30 Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 31 Game 5 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Monday, June 1 Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD
Left-hand pitchers Hunter Dietz, Ethan McElvain, and catcher Ryder Helfrick all earned All-SEC honors on Monday. Dietz earned a first-team selection, McElvain was on the second team, and Helfrick was named to the all-defensive team.
After each of their all-conference honors, Arkansas now has 70 All-SEC selections in program history. The trio helped Dave Van Horn earn 60 SEC honorees for his tenure with the Razorbacks. Under Van Horn, at least one Hog has received an All-SEC nod in each of the last nine full seasons (2017-present), and in 21 of his 23 full seasons at the helm (excludes shortened 2020 season).
It is the fourth consecutive season that an Arkansas starting pitcher has been on the All-SEC first team. It is the longest such streak since LSU did so from 2012-2015. With Hagen Smith (2023-2024), Zach Root (2025), and Hunter Dietz (2026), the Razorbacks are the first team in league history with a first-team All-SEC left-handed starting pitcher in four straight years.
Since joining the staff ahead of the 2019 staff, Matt Hobbs has developed 12 All-SEC pitchers in his tenure on the Hill. Those names include Matt Cronin (2019), Connor Noland (2019, 2022), Patrick Wicklander (2019, 2021), Kevin Kopps (2021), Peyton Pallette (2021), Smith (2022-24), Brady Tygart (2022), Gage Wood (2023), Gabe Gaeckle (2024), Root (2025), Dietz (2026) and McElvain (2026).
After two seasons hampered by injury, Dietz appeared on the All-SEC first team after an impressive redshirt sophomore regular season. He has a 7-3 record with a 3.32 ERA. His 117 strikeouts lead the conference in 78.2 innings through 14 starts.
Dietz is holding opponents to a .221 batting average and has logged an SEC-leading nine quality starts, the most by a Razorback pitcher since Hagen Smith in 2024.
The left-hander has already been named a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy.
McElvain becomes the first Razorback relief pitcher to be named on an All-SEC team since Kopps in 2021. He recorded an impressive 5-0 record with a 1.24 ERA, 45 strikeouts, and a team-leading five saves. He recorded his numbers in 29.0 innings across 17 appearances. The Vanderbilt transfer is holding opposing batter to a small .165 batting average.
Helfrick is the first Arkansas catcher to be named an All-SEC player since Grant Koch in 2018. Helfrick, Koch, and Jack Wise (2014) are the only three catchers in Razorback history to be named to the all-defensive team.
The junior is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy as well as the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. Helfrick has started all 54 games of the regular season, slashing .292/.437/.568 with .292/.437/.568 with 37 runs, 53 hits, six doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 48 runs batted in, and led Arkansas in walks at 53.
2026 SEC Player of the Year Player of the Year: Daniel Jackson, Georgia Pitcher of the Year: Aidan King, Florida Freshman of the Year: Anthony Pack Jr., Texas Newcomer of the Year: Aiden Robbins, Texas Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M Coach of the Year: Wes Johnson, Georgia
2026 All-SEC Teams
First Team C: Daniel Jackson, Georgia 1B: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M 2B: Chris Hacopian, Texas A&M 2B: Chris Rembert, Auburn 3B: Tre Phelps, Georgia 3B: Ace Reese, Mississippi State SS: Tyler Bell, Kentucky OF: Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M OF: Aiden Robbins, Texas OF: Rylan Lujo, Georgia DH/Util: Noah Sullivan, Mississippi State SP: Dylan Volantis, Texas SP: Aidan King, Florida SP: Tomas Valincius, Mississippi State SP: Hunter Dietz, Arkansas RP: Sam Cozart, Texas RP: Walker Hooks, Ole Miss RP: Clayton Freshcorn, Texas A&M
Second Team C: Carson Tinney, Texas 1B: Will Furniss, Ole Miss 1B: Ethin Bingaman, Auburn 2B: Mike Mancini, Vanderbilt 3B: Judd Utermark, Ole Miss SS: Kolby Branch, Georgia SS: Steven Milam, LSU OF: Anthony Pack Jr., Texas OF: Derek Curiel, LSU OF: Bryce Chance, Mississippi State DH/Util: Brady Neal, Alabama SP: Cade Townsend, Ole Miss SP: Tegan Kuhns, Tennessee SP: Jaxon Jelkin, Kentucky SP: Tyler Fay, Alabama RP: Jackson Sanders, Auburn RP: Ethan McElvain, Arkansas RP: Ben Davis, Mississippi State
2026 All-SEC Freshman Team Anthony Pack Jr., Texas Sam Cozart, Texas Jorian Wilson, Texas A&M Ethin Bingaman, Auburn Cam Appenzeller, Tennessee Omar Serna Jr., LSU Jacob Parker, Mississippi State Trent Grindlinger, Tennessee Myles Upchurch, Alabama Nico Partida, Texas A&M Mason Braun, LSU Jack Bauer, Mississippi State
2026 All-SEC Defensive Team C: Ryder Helfrick, Arkansas 1B: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M 2B: Mike Mancini, Vanderbilt 3B: Eric Guevara, Auburn* 3B: Tre Phelps, Georgia* SS: Steven Milam, LSU OF: Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M OF: Derek Curiel, LSU OF: Jason Walk, Oklahoma P: Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss
Arkansas pitcher Carson Wiggins (44) throws a pitch against Little Rock during an NCAA baseball game on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Dave Van Horn gives an update on Carson Wiggins FAYETTEVILLE – Sophomore right-hand pitcher Carson Wiggins is unlikely to pitch in a game this season, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Monday at the Swatter’s Club Luncheon.
Until recently, Van Horn thought Wiggins would be able to pitch in May or June. Wiggins underwent Tommy John surgery last May after suffering an injury against Florida on April 27.
“Carson has been to the doctor and he’s 100% healthy, but as of right now, they’re not going to let him pitch,” Van Horn said. “That’s all I’m going to say. I’m not real happy about it.”
The draft-eligible sophomore, who will turn 21 on June 1, could be selected in the early rounds of this year’s MLB Draft regardless of whether he pitches this season. MLB Pipeline ranks Wiggins the No. 83 draft prospect this year and Baseball America has him at No. 141.
Before suffering an injury last season, Wiggins made 14 appearances on the mound, posted a 1-1 record with a 3.21 earned run average and 20 strikeouts in 14.0 innings. He logged three saves and limited opposing hitters to a .152 average.
Because Wiggins could return for his junior season, Van Horn has said he is hopeful he will return to improve his draft stock in 2027.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn addressed the situation surrounding pitcher Carson Wiggins, making it clear that financial considerations and medical decisions are playing a major role in whether he returns this season.
“They’re going to have to pay him a lot of money,” Van Horn said. “I’m sure he’ll go to the [draft] combine. He wasn’t happy. He’s not happy about it, believe me. He wants to pitch. That’s probably about all I should say on it.”
When pressed for clarification on who he meant by “they” in determining Wiggins’ availability, Van Horn pointed directly to the medical side of things.
“Who do you think?” Van Horn replied. “The doctor.”
Van Horn also expressed skepticism about any change in that decision as the season progresses, indicating it’s unlikely Wiggins will be cleared to return.
Asked if he thought the doctor, the surgeon who performed Wiggins’ surgery in Dallas, would change his mind before the season ended, Van Horn said, “I doubt it.”
Van Horn hires staffer DJ Baxendale as General Manager Van Horn said former Arkansas pitcher DJ Baxendale (2010-12) will become the Razorbacks’ general manager on July 1.
Baxendale has spent the last seven seasons in a support staff role with the Razorbacks as the director of analytics.
“He’s very smart and his part-time job, besides helping us, is working at a law firm with some agent-type people,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn said Baxendale will work as part of Remy Cofield’s office. Cofield was hired as a deputy athletic director and general manager to oversee the Razorbacks’ Name, Image and Likeness operations.
We need somebody to be able to handle a lot of things — talking with the guys that are on our team … toward the end of the season, talk to their advisors and then maybe even the kids that are coming in, the high school kids or the transfers. We have to talk to them and you just have to get some things straightened out. It’s the way it should be.”
Van Horn added that Baxendale is a good fit for the role because he is familiar with the program, professional baseball and many agents.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn explained that adding a general manager would ease the workload for both him and his staff, particularly with the growing demands off the field.
“Van Horn said a GM will take a lot of off his plate and that of his assistant coaches. During a SiriusXM interview last month, Van Horn said coaches are “fundraisers now, we’re GMs now. We’d really like to coach our teams. The teams that get the most help, they have a little bit of a head start on a lot of people.”
He also pointed out how significantly the administrative side of college baseball has evolved in recent years, emphasizing the increased responsibilities that now come with the job.
On Monday, Van Horn said the front office aspect of baseball has changed a lot in five years with “just the phone calls and all the things that are involved there. It’s so needed now.”
Even with those added resources, Van Horn noted that coaches will continue to play a role in fundraising efforts moving forward.
Van Horn said coaches will still be involved in the fundraising aspect.
Other Injury Updates Arkansas first baseman Reese Robinett might be able to play within the next two weeks.
Robinett injured his knee while sliding into home plate during a game against Northwestern State last Wednesday. He did not play in any three games the Razorbacks played against Ole Miss over the weekend.
“When it first happened we thought he might be done for the year,” Van Horn said. “I don’t know all the details. … It’s a little different injury, but I think they’re going to make a brace for him where he can play in it when the swelling goes down and knee gets better. It’s getting a lot better.”
Van Horn said Robinett is “iffy … at best” to play against Oklahoma this weekend but did not entirely rule him out.
“Maybe he could just come in and play defense; I don’t know,” Van Horn said. “We’re giving them today off, tomorrow off … and we’ll probably know more [Wednesday].”
Van Horn said freshman left-hander Joey Lorenzini is also injured after a fan asked him his status.
“He is hurt, but he wasn’t pitching very good when he wasn’t,” said Van Horn, who later added, “I like him, though.”
Lorenzini allowed 5 runs on 5 hits, including 2 home runs, over 1 inning against Oral Roberts and Northern Colorado in March. He did not record an out against Northern Colorado on March 18 and has not pitched in a game since.
Arkansas Razorback baseball returns to the diamond tomorrow against Oklahoma State in Arlington, TX. But, first let’s recap 2025:
Arkansas entered SEC play with a 16-1 record last spring. The Razorbacks went 5-1 to open conference play with series wins over Ole Miss and South Carolina. Then, the Razorbacks dropped their first midweek game of the season against Missouri State at home, 14-13. They quickly bounced back with a sweep over Vanderbilt in Nashville to wrap up March before starting April on a six-game win streak.
The final victory of the streak was game 1 against a talented Georgia team that defeated Arkansas the last two games of the series. The Razorbacks returned home and dominated Arkansas-Pine Bluff in midweek action before losing a series against Texas A&M.
Back to back wins over Little Rock did not help Arkansas on the road against Florida. The Gators won two of three games against the Razorbacks like the Aggies had done the weekend before.
Arkansas bounced back in a big way by sweeping then No. 1 Texas in Fayetteville to begin May. Then, the Razorbacks dropped two out of three in Baton Rouge against eventual national champion LSU.
Arkansas won two out of three games to close the regular season against former Razorback assistant Tony Vitello and Tennessee. The Razorbacks went out quickly in Hoover in the SEC Tournament but clinched the No. 3 overall seed after a successful regular season in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas swept through their home stretch in the NCAA Tournament with victories over North Dakota State and Creighton in the Fayetteville Regional and swept Tennessee in a rematch of their final regular season series in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
A rematch with LSU to open things in Omaha at the College World Series did not end well. Arkansas was forced to win games against Murray State and UCLA to gain another rematch versus the Tigers.
The season ended again with a loss in the national semifinals against LSU.
Now, let’s move onto 2026:
Dave Van Horn and Arkansas baseball are again focused on winning the big one in 2026. But it must start with consistent play in the regular season but the Razorbacks are already used to that.
Arkansas has won 43 or more games, 18 or more SEC games in each complete season since 2018 and have made it to Omaha for the College World Series four times in that time period.
So, the Razorbacks are definitely capable of getting there. That’s the hard part. Then, luck is what rules your chances from there.
Arkansas had 11 players drafted and two more signed as undrafted free agents at the 2025 MLB Draft. Among the roster, the Razorbacks lost their top two arms from 2025, Zach Root and Gage Wood (who threw a no-hitter in the 2025 MCWS against Murray State) in addition to Golden Spikes’ winner Wehiwa Aloy, who leaves a big hole to fill at shortstop. Lead-off man and left fielder Charles Davalan is gone as well so it will be up to Van Horn to find the man to start the Razorbacks’ offensive production with someone new in 2026.
Pitching wise, Gabe Gaeckle will be called upon again to lead the staff as an ace. Gaeckle started 2025 in the role but he was better suited out of the bullpen last spring, prompting Root and Wood to their Friday and Saturday starter roles. Van Horn did not pitch Gaeckle last fall, hoping that would help him prepare for the upcoming season as a permanent starter.
Hunter Dietz, Cole Gibler, and Colin Fisher are options to round out the starting rotation on SEC weekends and Parker Coil, Tate McGuire, and Vanderbilt transfer Ethan McElvain, Steele Eaves, and Jackson Kircher, and Oregon State transfer James DeCremer will be trusted to make up a bullpen full of inexperienced talent.
Catcher Ryder Helfrick, infielders Reese Robinett, Camden Kozeal, Texas Tech transfer TJ Pompey, Nolan Souza, and outfielders Kuhio Aloy, Lamar transfer Damian Ruiz, and Marshall transfer Maika Niu will be trusted to pick up the offense where Aloy and Davalan lead it in 2025.
Arkansas does not face traditional rivals LSU, Tennessee, Texas, or Texas A&M, or Vanderbilt in 2026 but they will still face six D1Baseball pre-season top 25 teams and the normal SEC gauntlet including No. 4 Mississippi State, No. 13 Florida, No. 9 Auburn, No. 15 Georgia, and No. 18 Kentucky.
No matter what happens this spring, Arkansas baseball has one of the top rosters in the country and as long as Dave Van Horn is the head coach in Fayetteville, there’s a chance for the Razorbacks to succeed.
2025 Class (Rankings according to Perfect Game) 68.SS Landon Schaefer Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville High School 73.RHP Jordan Martin Jefferson City, MO Jefferson City High School 75.SS Carson Brumbaugh Edmond, OK Edmond Santa Fe High School 159.RHP Peyton Lee Maumelle, AR Maumelle High School 167.SS Alexander Peck Franklin, TN University School of Tennessee 176.OF Jaison Delamar Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville High School 209.LHP Joey Lorenzini Rocklin, CA Rocklin High School 236.RHP McLane Moody Fort Smith, AR Northside High School 249.LHP Tye Briscoe Abilene, TX Wylie High School 255.3B Luke Cornelison Springdale, AR Har-Ber High School 259.RHP Mark Brissey Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville High School 282.LHP Jack Schwab Overland Park, KS Blue Valley High School 297.RHP Grant Wren Melbourne, AR Melbourne High School 379.OF Christian Turner Haughton, LA Haughton High School 388.3B Cayden Mitchell Arlington, TX Mansfield Timberview High School 440.C Carter Rutenbar Midlothian, TX Midlothian Heritage High School 500.RHP Kevin Landry Farr Proctor, AR North Point Christian High School 500.SS Walt Jones Ashdown, AR Ashdown High School 500.SS Hudson Roberts Ozark, MO Ozark High School
Entered Transfer Portal (New School) INF Michael Anderson (Penn State) RHP Tag Andrews (Little Rock) C Zane Becker (Texas A&M) LHP Jackson Farrell () RHP Ross Felder (Missouri State) INF Gabe Fraser (Florida State) C Elliott Peterson (Nebraska) LHP Luke Williams (Oral Roberts)
Transfer Additions (Old School) RHP Jackson Wells (Little Rock) (Signed undrafted free agent deal) LHP Ethan McElvain (Vanderbilt) INF Dylan Grego (Ball State) RHP Jackson Kircher (Oklahoma) OF Zack Stewart (Missouri State) INF TJ Pompey (Texas Tech) OF Maika Niu (Marshall) OF Damian Ruiz (Lamar) C Brendan Kleiman (Eastern Michigan) RHP James DeCremer (Oregon State)
JUCO Signees (Old School) RHP Isaac Godard (McLennan) INF Sherman Johnson II (McLennan) LHP Jacob Imoto (Palomar)
Razorbacks selected in 2025 MLB Draft RHP Gage Wood – Round 1, Pick 26 – Philadelphia Phillies SS Wehiwa Aloy – Round 1, Pick 31 – Baltimore Orioles LHP Zach Root – Round 1, Pick 40 – Los Angeles Dodgers OF Charles Davalan – Round 1, Pick 41 – Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Christian Foutch – Round 5, Pick 148 – Boston Red Sox RHP Aiden Jimenez – Round 5, Pick 158 – Kansas City Royals LHP Landon Beidelschies – Round 6, Pick 187 – Atlanta Braves 3B Brent Iredale – Round 7, Pick 203 – Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Ben Bybee – Round 8, Pick 236 – San Francisco Giants OF Justin Thomas Jr. – Round 11, Pick 336 – Houston Astros RHP Parker Coil Round 16, Pick 485 – Milwaukee Brewers Signed Free Agent Deal RHP Dylan Carter – San Francisco Giants OF Logan Maxwell – New York Yankees
Razorback signees selected in 2025 MLB Draft SS Dylan Grego – Round 13, Pick 400 – San Diego Padres RHP McLane Moody – Round 15, Pick 443 – Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Denton Biller – Round 16, Pick 484 – Baltimore Orioles SS Landon Schaefer – Round 20, Pick 611 – Philadelphia Phillies Signed Free Agent Deal RHP Jackson Wells – Houston Astros
Checkout my recap of the Razorbacks’ 2025 MLB Draft performance back in July here.
2026 Schedule (Rankings below are based on the 2026 D1 Baseball Top 25) Feb. 13 Oklahoma State (Arlington; Shriners Children‘s College Showdown) Feb. 14 10.TCU (Arlington; Shriners Children‘s College Showdown) Feb. 15 Texas Tech (Arlington; Shriners Children‘s College Showdown) Feb. 16 Tarleton State (Arlington) Feb. 20-22 Xavier Feb. 24-25 Arkansas State Feb. 27-March 1 UT-Arlington March 3 Oral Roberts March 6-9 Stetson March 13-15 4.Mississippi State March 17-18 Northern Colorado March 20-22 @ South Carolina March 24 Central Arkansas March 27-29 13.Florida March 31 @ Missouri State April 2-4 @ 9.Auburn April 7 Little Rock April 10-12 @ Alabama April 14 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (North Little Rock) April 16-18 15.Georgia April 21 Missouri State April 23-25 @ Missouri April 28-29 Northwestern State May 1-3 Ole Miss May 8-10 Oklahoma May 14-16 @ 18.Kentucky May 19-24 SEC Tournament (Hoover)
Schedule Thoughts and Projections:
Feb. 13-16 vs. Oklahoma State, 10.TCU, Texas Tech, and Tarleton State Arkansas will open the 2026 season like they normally do in Arlington, TX against some of the Big 12’s best including Oklahoma State, No. 10 TCU, and Texas Tech before a Monday game against Tarleton State. The Razorbacks have been successful there of late which makes me think they go 3-1 to open the season with the lone loss coming to the Horned Frogs. We will find out how much the Arkansas offense will have to improve after losing some hitting depth and needing Gaeckle, Dietz, and Fisher to step up in place of Root and Wood.
Projected Record: 3-1
Feb. 20-March 9 vs. Xavier, Arkansas State, UT-Arlington, Oral Roberts, Stetson The Razorbacks normally return to Baum-Walker Stadium to play a long home stand before SEC play begins in mid-March. The 2026 season will be no different. Arkansas will play 13 games at home before welcoming No. 4 Mississippi State to Fayetteville to open conference play. During that stretch, they should win each series but may take a few losses along the way. This part of the schedule will be important for not only freshman Carson Brumbaugh to settle into his shortstop position but for the inexperienced pitching depth to gain experience. Arkansas should go no worse than 11-2 in this stretch.
Projected Record: 14-3
March 13-18 vs. 4.Mississippi State and Northern Colorado The Bulldogs will come into Baum-Walker Stadium to open SEC play against a Razorback team that would be 14-3 based on the way I have picked these games so far. Mississippi State’s new head coach, Brian O’Connor, was successful for years in the same position at Virginia and as I said in last week’s SEC Baseball Mailbag, O’Connor retained third baseman Ace Reese, who won the conference’s newcomer of the year last spring and added four Cavaliers that contributed for him last season.
Arkansas has been successful against Mississippi State in recent history. The Razorbacks are 10-2 against the Bulldogs in series since 2020. The two teams did not meet in 2025 after divisions were eliminated following the additions of Oklahoma and Texas to the league.
The Razorbacks should not have to worry about another non-conference series until their trip for a single game against Missouri State on March 31, who they lost to at home in 2025. Arkansas should sweep Northern Colorado.
Despite their recent success against Mississippi State, this is a different Arkansas team than those that dominated the Bulldogs. O’Connor’s team will come into Baum-Walker Stadium and grab two out of three from the Razorbacks but they will bounce back in midweek action with a sweep of Northern Colorado.
Projected Record: 17-5 (1-2) SEC
March 20-24 @ South Carolina, vs. Central Arkansas Next up for Arkansas is a trip to South Carolina, another place where the Razorbacks have had success. The last time they went to Columbia, Hagen Smith’s dominated pitching helped them win two out of three against the Gamecocks. As Arkansas gets going in SEC play, I expect them to do the same thing they did two seasons ago. The Razorbacks will take two of three from South Carolina and win a single game against instate foe Central Arkansas two days later.
Projected Record: 19-6 (3-3) SEC
March 27-31 13.Florida, @ Missouri State After dropping two of three against Florida in Gainesville last season, Arkansas welcomes the Gators to town to close out conference play in March. After dropping their SEC home opener against Mississippi State, Arkansas will grab another series win against Florida, who they have defeated in series the last two times they’ve welcomed them into Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks will close out March with a trip to Springfield to face Missouri State. Last season, the Bears defeated the Razorbacks 14-13 in a high scoring affair that went to ten innings. Also, Arkansas’ return trip to Missouri State that was scheduled for April 29 was cancelled due to bad weather.
Former Bear outfielder Zack Stewart was an important piece in his three seasons there. But could he be a spark plug as Arkansas attempts to avenge their loss to the Bears on March 31? He may be or he may not be but Arkansas needs to take care of business and they should as they enter a tough April stretch of SEC play.
Projected Record: 22-7 (5-4) SEC
April 2-7 @ 9.Auburn, Little Rock Arkansas returns to “The Plains” to face Auburn for the first time since the spring of 2024. The Razorbacks are 7-2 the last three series they have faced the Tigers but Butch Thompson’s teams always keep it close with Dave Van Horn’s teams.
The Tigers returners include pitchers Ryan Hetzler, Christian Chatterton, and Griffin Graves. Position player Bub Terrell, Chris Rembert, Chase Fralick, and Cade Belyeu anchor one of the SEC’s top teams. As a result, Auburn’s veteran leadership will help them defeat Arkansas and give the Razorbacks their second SEC series loss.
Like they’ve done in previous midweek games, Arkansas should take care of another midweek game against an instate opponent, this time against Little Rock. The Razorbacks will need to come out victorious against the Trojans as they return to Alabama for the second consecutive weekend to face the Crimson Tide the next weekend.
Projected Record: 24-9 (6-6) SEC
April 10-14 @ Alabama, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (North Little Rock) Arkansas has failed to win many games in Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa against Alabama of late. The Razorbacks are 2-4 the last two series they have met the Crimson Tide on the road.
Now, Rob Vaughn may have the best team he has coached Alabama since leaving Maryland with one of the best shortstops in the country, Justin LeBron manning the middle of the infield for the Crimson Tide. Arkansas’ offense will outduel LeBron’s and Alabama’s to get their first series win in Tuscaloosa in awhile.
Next up, the Razorbacks will take care of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in North Little Rock, continuing their success against out of conference competition in the Natural State.
Projected Record: 27-10 (8-7) SEC
April 16-21 vs. 15.Georgia, Missouri State Arkansas returns home for what will be a pivotal series between a two teams that should be ranked in the top 25. Arkansas native Wes Johnson has turned Georgia into a consistent program and his Bulldogs defeated the Razorbacks two games to one in Athens just a season ago.
Arkansas must reverse that this year in front of big Baum-Walker Stadium crowds. If the Razorbacks are only 8-7 in the SEC through 15 games like I have them right now, they will need to win this series at least to clinch another top eight national seed in the NCAA tournament.
After Georgia opens the series with a game one victory over Arkansas, the Razorbacks will send their former pitching coach back to Athens with a series loss with back to back. Then, the Razorbacks will sweep the season series against Missouri State when they make their return trip to Fayetteville and extend their win streak to three games entering the last week of April.
Projected Record: 30-11 (10-8) SEC
April 23-29 @ Missouri, vs. Northwestern State Arkansas will continue their three game winning streak with a sweep of annual opponent Missouri on the road in Columbia. Kerrick Jackson has the Tiger program improving as they were able to sweep a Texas A&M team that defeated the Razorbacks in a series last season but Arkansas needs to win all three games to get themselves into top eight seed conversations entering May.
The Razorbacks will finish non-conference play with a sweep of Northwestern State, finishing non-conference play with an exclamation point and continue their winning streak to seven games.
Projected Record: 34-11 (13-8) SEC
May 1-3 vs. Ole Miss Arkansas begins May and a two weekend home stand by hosting their other annual opponent, Ole Miss. The Rebels have struggled to beat the Razorbacks of late with the last time they defeated Arkansas in a series being on Sunday, March 31, 2019 in Baum-Walker Stadium.
That same season, the programs went 1-1 versus each other at the SEC Tournament and the Razorbacks won two out of three games in the Fayetteville Super Regional to advance to Omaha and the College World Series.
Seven years later, Mike Bianco’s team returns to Fayetteville to face Dave Van Horn’s squad in another series. Bianco may have a national championship and Van Horn may not but Arkansas has been the far more impressive program overall.
That being said, the Razorbacks will get a good weekend out of their starting pitching from Gaeckle, Dietz, and Fisher and they will shut down Rebel hitters as they move their focus to Oklahoma.
Record: 36-12 (15-9) SEC
Projected Record:
May 8-10 vs. Oklahoma Relief pitcher Jackson Kircher will hope to help Arkansas against his former team, Oklahoma to close out regular season play in the 2026 season at Baum-Walker Stadium. On top of losing Kircher, the Sooners lost ace Kyson Witherspoon to the pros and will need expected weekend starters Mason Bixby, Cameron Johnson, and Reid Hensley to step up in his place.
The series versus the Sooners could be the most competitive since their battle versus Georgia for the Razorbacks. Oklahoma has athletes that can match Arkansas’ and even have Cayden Brumbaugh, the brother of Arkansas freshman shortstop Carson Brumbaugh, expected to start at the designated hitter position.
The Razorbacks should handle the Sooners but it will be close all the way through with Arkansas clinching 17 SEC wins, one win away from another 18 conference win season.
Projected Record: 38-13 (17-10) SEC
May 14-16 @ 18.Kentucky The Razorbacks make the return trip to Lexington over two years after their last one against Kentucky. The Wildcats lost game one to Arkansas with an incredible performance from former ace Hagen Smith before winning the next two games to clinch the series.
Nick Mingione has established a solid program at Kentucky. Back to back series wins over the Razorbacks in Lexington would mean big things for the Wildcats heading into the SEC Tournament the next week.
History will repeat itself and Gabe Gaeckle will pitch an incredible game and lead Arkansas to a game one victory. But Kentucky’s “small ball” offense that is speedy will steal bases consistently in games two and three to finish the series and the Razorbacks will finish regular season play with back to back losses.
Projected Record: 39-15 (18-12) SEC
May 19-24 SEC Tournament (Hoover) In the second season of the SEC’s new single-elimination style tournament, Arkansas will win a game, unlike they did last season to bounce back after a tough ending to the regular season in Lexington.
But the Razorbacks will want to prepare for the NCAA Tournament so they will take a second round loss and head back to Fayetteville. They will wait to see what their seed and bracket look like on Selection Monday just days later.
Then, a run to Omaha would begin the next weekend either in Fayetteville or another regional depending on Arkansas’ draw.
Projected Record going into the NCAA Tournament: 40-16 (18-12) SEC
The 2026 college baseball season is just a week away and now that I am finally covering the sport, I want to answer some questions about the sports’ best league, the Southeastern Conference. The SEC has won six consecutive national championships and has had countless MLB draft picks. But let’s focus on this upcoming season. First, who will win the SEC? Also, what are the chances that the SEC wins another national championship? Next, how much will Tony Vitello’s exit to the pros impact Tennessee? Finally, will Arkansas finally get it done in Omaha? Here are my answers:
Who will win the Southeastern Conference in 2026? The SEC has been the best baseball league in America for some time. As I have previously mentioned, a team from the SEC has won the last six national titles. Five different schools have won or shared the regular season title and four different teams have won the tournament title since the spring of 2021.
Here are the favorites: LSU The Tigers have won two of the last three national championships and have the likely player of the year in the conference, outfielder Derek Curiel, leading off. LSU does lose its top two arms in Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson after they dominated batters from February until they got the final out in Omaha. Anderson and Eyanson are MLB bound but don’t worry there are arms in the wings for Jay Johnson’s program that continues to dominate the diamond.
Texas Dylan Volantis appeared as the top arm out of the bullpen as a freshman in 2025 as the Longhorns won the SEC regular season title and clinched the number two overall seed in the NCAA Tournament last summer. A regional loss is a tough way to go out for Texas’ first year coach Jim Schlossnagle, especially after he came over after leading the ‘Horns arch rival, Texas A&M, all the way to the championship series the season before.
A more talented roster is in Austin this season for Schlossnagle but the nine expected hitters in his order are expected to have less power than his 2025 team.
Mississippi State The Bulldogs fired head coach Chris Lemonis to end April last season and replaced him with Brian O’Connor, who served as Virginia’s coach for over 20 years. O’Connor retained last year’s SEC Newcomer of the year Ace Reese returning in the infield and brought four former Cavaliers over to Starkville, including All-ACC freshman team pitcher Tom Valincius. The Bulldogs are national championship contenders with O’Connor coaching them.
Arkansas The Razorbacks were a top eight national seed for the sixth time in the last seven full seasons in 2025 and had their best offense in the Dave Van Horn era last spring. Golden Spikes winner Wehiwa Aloy, leadoff hitter Charles Davalan, and weekend starters Zach Root and Gage Wood are off to pro baseball.
But transfers Maika Niu, TJ Pompey, and Damian Ruiz join a lineup that already has Camden Kozeal, Kuhio Aloy, and Reese Robinett. Questions will have to be answered with the pitching staff with Root and Wood gone, Gabe Gaeckle will have to step up as the Friday night starter the mound.
Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Florida could all contend for the league title and it would not surprise me either.
What are the chances the SEC wins their seventh consecutive national championship? Over the last seven seasons (2019-2025, excluding the COVID shortened 2020 season), the SEC has ruled college baseball with the most teams in the NCAA Tournament, the most teams in Omaha at the Men’s College World Series, and seven consecutive national titles.
The streak could be a year longer if Arkansas was able to finish the job against Oregon State in the MCWS in 2018. Had the Razorbacks caught a foul pop up, they would have the SEC’s streak at seven national championships already.
However, it did not happen that way. A year later, Vanderbilt eliminated Michigan to win the national championship. In 2020, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Mississippi State claimed their first national championship in any sport when they defeated Vanderbilt. The next June, Ole Miss beat Arkansas in the national semifinals before taking down future SEC foe Oklahoma in the championship series.
In 2023, LSU defeated Florida in an exciting championship series in three games. Tennessee defeated Texas A&M in another SEC versus SEC clash, a day before the Aggies’ Jim Schlossnagle left to take the head coaching job at new SEC arrival Texas.
LSU won its second ring in three seasons when they eliminated Coastal Carolina in a sweep last June. The Tigers are the easy favorite to do the same next summer in Omaha with their strong pitching depth.
Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt have been in Omaha consistently in the past and it would not shock me if Auburn and Georgia join them with an appearance in the MCWS in summer 2026.
How much will Tennessee be impacted by Tony Vitello’s exit to the MLB? The Volunteers will definitely miss former head coach Tony Vitello no matter the result of their 2026 season. As I wrote in a post when the San Francisco Giants hired him as their new manager, Vitello led Tennessee to the most amount of success that they have ever had with two Omaha runs and a national championship in 2024.
Associate head coach and hitting coach Josh Elander took over the program from his old boss and did not lose any top players from his roster even though Vitello’s pitching coach Frank Anderson went to San Francisco with him.
The Vols lost top arm Liam Doyle and hitting Andrew Fischer to the pros but a group of returners, transfers, and freshmen are waiting in the wings for Elander and his staff against another tough conference schedule coming up this spring.
Can Arkansas win the program’s first national championship in 2026? There is no doubt that Razorback baseball will at least have success in the regular season under Dave Van Horn.
Above, I mentioned what’s changing with Arkansas’ roster ahead of the important 2026 season. With many of their top names and impressive hitting depth gone, the Razorbacks will have to hope Gaeckle steps into the Friday role on the mound and a combination of Cole Gibler, Hunter Dietz, and Colin Fisher the rest of the weekend.
The other question is the hitting depth. There was not a better overall lineup in the country last season than Davalan, Aloy, Kozeal, Logan Maxwell, Kuhio Aloy, Ryder Helfrick, Brent Iredale, Justin Thomas, among others. Aloy, Kozeal, and Helfrick return but it will be up to transfer bats Niu, Pompey, Ruiz, and freshman Carson Brumbaugh to make up for the losses.
While Arkansas can and probably will contend for another berth to the Men’s College World Series this season, it will all be dependent on the Razorbacks’ success with a new look lineup and pitching rotation behind Gaeckle if the Razorbacks want to win it all in June.
On Oct. 18, The Athletic reported that “Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello [was] closing in on [a] deal to become the San Francisco Giants manager.”
Vitello is not the first college baseball coach to become a manager of a Major League Baseball team. Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy coached at Notre Dame and Arizona State before joining the San Diego Padres’ staff.
However, Vitello’s move is unprecedented — a sitting college baseball coach jumping directly into a major-league managerial position. The last comparable case came when Dick Howser left Florida State in 1979 to manage the New York Yankees in 1980, though he had already been the Yankees’ bench coach and even served as interim manager in 1978.
Before taking over as head coach at Tennessee in 2018, Vitello worked as an assistant at his alma mater Missouri, TCU, and Arkansas.
Vitello has turned Tennessee into an SEC powerhouse since arriving on Rocky Top. He first led the Volunteers to the Omaha in 2023 before winning the College World Series a year later. Vitello has a 341-131 overall record, including a 125-85 mark in SEC play.
The Giants went 81-81 this season before firing manager Bob Melvin. He came over after two seasons with the division rival San Diego Padres. During his tenure, San Francisco went 161-63 and they finished third and fourth in the NL West during that time.
The 2026 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball schedule was announced today. The slate is headlined by 56 overall games, a trip to the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, an 18-game homestand, and 10 SEC series.
Arkansas enters next spring as the winningest program in the country since 2017 with 383 victories. The Razorbacks ended their 2025 campaign with their 12th consecutive College World Series appearance and eighth of Dave Van Horn’s tenure.
The Diamond Hogs will face 12 teams that made the NCAA Tournament this past season and begin their 2026 slate at Globe Life Field from February 13-15 in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. They will face three Big 12 teams – Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech over three days at the Texas Rangers’ ballpark.
The next day, Arkansas will play one more game at Globe Life Field against Tarleton State (Feb. 16) before returning to Baum-Walker Stadium for their home opener and a long 18-game homestand. The Razorbacks open with Xavier (Feb. 20-22) before Arkansas State (Feb. 24-25), UT-Arlington (Feb. 27-March 1), Oral Roberts (March 3), Stetson (March 6-9), Mississippi State (March 13-15), and Northern Colorado (March 17-18) all come to town.
The non-conference portion of the season also includes Central Arkansas (March 24), Little Rock (April 7), Missouri State (April 21), and Northwestern State (April 28-29). The Razorbacks will also travel to two professional stadiums for midweek action including another game with Missouri State (March 31) at Hammons Field, home of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate Springfield Cardinals in addition to UAPB (April 14) at CHI St. Vincent Field at Dickey-Stephens Park, home of the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers, in North Little Rock, Ark.
Arkansas’ home SEC slate includes the aforementioned Mississippi State series, Florida (March 27-29), Georgia (April 17-19), Ole Miss (May 1-3), and Oklahoma (May 8-10). The Razorbacks’ roadtrips include South Carolina (March 20-22), Auburn (April 2-4), Alabama (April 10-12), Missouri (April 24-26), and Kentucky (May 14-16).
Notably, longtime rivals LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M did not make Arkansas’ 2026 slate. In addition, former Arkansas hitting coach Tony Vitello and Tennessee did not either. The Razorbacks faced LSU and Tennessee a combined ten times last season including the NCAA Tournament. They swept Tennessee in the Fayetteville Super Regional and were defeated by LSU twice at the College World Series.
Arkansas finishes the season again at the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (May 19-24) in Hoover, Ala.
2026 Arkansas Baseball Schedule Feb. 13-15 Shriners Children’s College Showdown (Arlington) Feb. 16 Tarleton State (Arlington) Feb. 20-22 Xavier Feb. 24-25 Arkansas State Feb. 27-March 1 UT-Arlington March 3 Oral Roberts March 6-9 Stetson March 13-15 Mississippi State March 17-18 Northern Colorado March 20-22 @ South Carolina March 24 Central Arkansas March 27-29 Florida March 31 @ Missouri State April 2-4 @ Auburn April 7 Little Rock April 10-12 @ Alabama April 14 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (North Little Rock) April 17-19 Georgia April 21 Missouri State April 24-26 @ Missouri April 28-29 Northwestern State May 1-3 Ole Miss May 8-10 Oklahoma May 14-16 @ Kentucky May 19-24 SEC Tournament (Hoover)
Conference realignment has taken over collegiate athletics during my lifetime. The Big Ten added Maryland and Nebraska and the SEC added Missouri and Texas A&M over a decade ago. More recently, those same conferences grew even larger—the Big Ten expanded west with the additions of UCLA and USC, followed by Oregon and Washington, while the SEC made a similar move by bringing in Oklahoma and Texas, former Big 12 rivals of Missouri and Texas A&M. As a result, the Pac-12 collapsed—leading its remaining members to either join the Big 12 or stay put as they await the league’s potential rebuild ahead of the 2026–2027 academic and athletic year. Now, the unofficial ‘Power 4’ is debating the future of the College Football Playoff amid expansion talks, with the Big Ten and SEC pushing for greater influence. Additionally, ‘March Madness’ may expand from 68 to 72 or even 76 teams, and the College World Series field could grow as well.
In this post, I wanted to share my dream conference alignments, complete with proposed formats, protected matchups, and end-of-season rivalry games for both Thanksgiving weekend in football and the final weekend of the college basketball season. Enjoy my last planned post of the summer before my 2025–2026 NFL and College Football Previews drop on Sunday, August 10, and Saturday, August 16, respectively.
Italics signify that the school is a new member of the conference
ACC Clemson Duke Florida State Georgia Tech Maryland North Carolina North Carolina State Virginia Wake Forest
Football (8-Game Conference Schedule)
Key Principles: 1 permanent rivalry game for Thanksgiving Weekend 2 other protected rivalries 6 rotating opponents (3 per year on a 2-year cycle)
Format (6 teams, 3 per year): Each team rotates through the 6 others not protected over a 2-year span Home-and-home every 4 years, ensuring full rotation
Total: 3 protected games 5 rotating games
Protected Opponents: Clemson vs. Florida State Duke vs. North Carolina NC State vs. Wake Forest Clemson vs. South Carolina (non-conference) Duke vs. Wake Forest Florida State vs. Florida (non-conference) Georgia Tech vs. Georgia (non-conference) Maryland vs. Virginia North Carolina vs. NC State
Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalries (Play every year): Clemson vs. South Carolina (non-conference) Duke vs. Wake Forest Florida State vs. Florida (non-conference) Georgia Tech vs. Georgia (non-conference) North Carolina vs. NC State
Basketball (16-Game Double Round-Robin)
Final Weekend Matchups: Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Duke vs. North Carolina Maryland vs. Virginia NC State vs. Wake Forest Florida State gets a bye before the ACC Tournament like every other team does at some point throughout the regular season.
Baseball (24-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: 3-game weekend series vs. each of the 8 opponents Total: 8 opponents × 3 games = 24 games Rotate home/away annually ACC Baseball Tournament with top 6 teams (2 pools of 3 → title game)
Big 12 Baylor Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma State SMU Texas Texas A&M TCU Texas Tech
Football (9-Game Conference Schedule):
Format: 3 protected games 6 rotating games (cycle through remaining 10 teams every 2 years) 7 home-and-home cycles completed every 4 years Full round-robin every 4 years
Protected Opponents: Baylor vs. TCU Colorado vs. Nebraska Kansas vs. Kansas State (Sunflower Showdown) Kansas vs. Missouri (Border War) Nebraska vs. Missouri Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State (Bedlam) Oklahoma vs. Texas SMU vs. TCU Texas vs. Texas A&M (Lone Star Showdown) Texas Tech vs. Texas
Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalries: Baylor vs. TCU Colorado vs. Nebraska Kansas vs. Missouri Kansas State vs. Iowa State Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State Texas vs. Texas A&M Texas Tech vs. SMU
Basketball (18-Game Conference Schedule):
Pod-Based Rotation (3-permanent, 10-rotating): Play 6 teams twice (home and away) = 12 games Play 6 other teams once = 6 games Total = 18 conference games Full round-robin every 2 years Pods help maintain rivalries
Pod Pairings: Pod 1: SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech Pod 2: Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU Pod 3: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri Pod 4: Colorado, Nebraska, rotating any 2 (geographic variety)
Final Weekend Showdowns: Baylor vs. TCU Colorado vs. Nebraska Kansas State vs. Iowa State Kansas vs. Missouri Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State SMU vs. Texas Tech Texas vs. Texas A&M
Baseball (27-Game Conference Schedule):
Format: 9 weekend series (3 games each) = 27 games Rotate 4 opponents off annually (play 9 of 13 each season) Every team is played at least twice (home/away) every 3 years
Protected Series: Baylor vs. TCU Colorado vs. Nebraska Kansas vs. Kansas State Kansas vs. Missouri Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State SMU vs. Texas Tech Texas vs. Texas A&M
Tournament: 8-team Big 12 Baseball Tournament Double-elimination based on standings
Big East Boston College Louisville Miami Pittsburgh Rutgers South Florida Syracuse UCF Virginia Tech West Virginia
Football (9-Game Round Robin Schedule)
Format: Rivalries are protected annually Full Round-Robin: Every team plays each of the 9 others once No Divisions Needed Top 2 teams meet in the Big East Championship Game at MetLife Stadium
Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalries: Boston College vs. Syracuse Louisville vs. Kentucky (non-conference) Miami vs. Non-Conference Opponent Pitt vs. West Virginia (Backyard Brawl) Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech South Florida vs. UCF (War on I-4)
Basketball (18-Game Double Round Robin) Format: Each team plays all 9 others home and away Total: 18 conference games
Final Weekend Matchups Boston College vs. Syracuse Louisville vs. Miami Pitt vs. West Virginia Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech South Florida vs. UCF
Baseball (27-Game Round Robin)
Format 3-game weekend series vs. every other team (9 × 3 = 27 games) Rotate home/away each year Every team plays every other once per season Big East Baseball Tournament: Top 6 teams (2 pools)
Protected Rivalries: Boston College vs. Syracuse Louisville vs. Miami Pitt vs. West Virginia Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech South Florida vs. UCF
Big Ten Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Northwestern Notre Dame Ohio State Penn State Purdue Wisconsin
Football (9-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: 3 Protected Games 6 Rotating Opponents (play every team at least twice in a 4-year cycle)
Protected Opponents: Illinois vs. Northwestern Indiana vs. Purdue Iowa vs. Minnesota Michigan vs. Ohio State Michigan State vs. Michigan Penn State vs. Notre Dame
Rotation Year 1: Play 6 of 9 remaining teams Year 2: Rotate in the other 3 + repeat 3 from Year 1 Home-and-home with every team every 4 years
Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalries: Illinois vs. Northwestern Indiana vs. Purdue Iowa vs. Notre Dame Michigan vs. Ohio State Michigan State vs. Penn State Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
Basketball (20-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: Play 7 teams twice (14 games) Play 6 teams once (6 games) Rotate annually to ensure all teams play home and away every 3 years
Protected Opponents: Illinois–Northwestern Indiana–Purdue Iowa–Minnesota Michigan–Michigan State Ohio State–Michigan Notre Dame–Penn State
Final Weekend Matchups: Illinois vs. Northwestern Indiana vs. Purdue Iowa vs. Notre Dame Michigan vs. Michigan State Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Penn State vs. Notre Dame
Baseball (30-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: 3-game weekend series vs. 10 of 11 opponents = 30 games Rotate 1 team off schedule each year Home/away flip-flop each season Every team plays all others at least twice every 3 years
Protected Opponents Illinois vs. Northwestern Indiana vs. Purdue Iowa vs. Minnesota Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Michigan vs. Michigan State Michigan vs. Ohio State Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Pac-12 Arizona Arizona State Boise State California Oregon Oregon State Stanford UCLA USC Utah Washington Washington State
Football (9-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: 3 protected rivals (including the below) 6 rotating opponents Everyone plays all other teams home-and-home every 4 years
Protected Opponents: Arizona vs. Arizona State (The Territorial Cup) California vs. Stanford (The Big Game) Oregon vs. Oregon State (Formerly The Civil War) UCLA vs. USC Washington vs. Washington State (Apple Cup)
Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalries: Arizona vs. Arizona State Boise State vs. Utah California vs. Stanford Oregon vs. Oregon State UCLA vs. USC Washington vs. Washington State
Basketball (22-Game Double Round-Robin)
Format: Play all 11 other teamshome and away Total = 22 conference games Each team hosts 11 conference games per year
Final Weekend Matchups: Arizona vs. Arizona State California vs. Stanford Boise State vs. Utah Oregon vs. Oregon State UCLA vs. USC Washington vs. Washington State
Baseball (33-Game Round Robin)
Format: Each team plays a 3-game weekend series vs. every other (11 × 3 = 33 games) Home/away alternates each season All teams face each other yearly
Protected Matchups: Arizona vs. Arizona State California vs. Stanford Oregon vs. Oregon State UCLA vs. USC Washington vs. Washington State
Tournament: Top 8 teams qualify for Pac-12 Baseball Tournament Double elimination
SEC Alabama Arkansas Auburn Florida Georgia Kentucky LSU Ole Miss Mississippi State South Carolina Tennessee Vanderbilt
Football (9-Game Conference Schedule)
Format:
Protected Match Ups: Alabama vs. Auburn (Iron Bowl) Arkansas vs. LSU (Battle for the Golden Boot) Florida vs. Georgia (World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party) Kentucky vs. South Carolina Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State (Egg Bowl) Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
Thanksgiving Match Ups: Alabama vs. Auburn Arkansas vs. LSU Clemson vs. South Carolina (non-conference) Florida vs. Florida State (non-conference) Georgia vs. Georgia Tech (non-conference) Kentucky vs. Louisville (non-conference) Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
Basketball (20-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: Play 7 teams twice (home and away) = 14 games Play 6 teams once = 6 games Rotate annually for full home-and-home every 3 years
Protected Home and Home Match Ups: Alabama vs. Auburn Arkansas vs. LSU Kentucky vs. South Carolina Florida vs. Georgia Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
Final Weekend Match Ups: Alabama vs. Auburn Arkansas vs. LSU Kentucky vs. Tennessee Florida vs. Georgia Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt
Baseball (30-Game Conference Schedule)
Format: 3-game weekend series vs. 10 of 11 other teams = 30 games Rotate 1 team off the schedule each season Cycle home/away yearly
Protected Series: Alabama vs. Auburn Arkansas vs. LSU Kentucky vs. South Carolina Florida vs. Georgia Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
Tournament: Top 8 teams in SEC Baseball Tournament Double-elimination format or pool play
After the first 25 picks of Sunday’s MLB Draft, Arkansas had yet to produce a single selection. Later that night, their fortunes changed, as four Razorbacks came off the board in quick succession. Just one pick later, the Philadelphia Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Gage Wood, who threw only the third no-hitter in Men’s College World Series history three weeks ago against Murray State. Five picks after that, the Baltimore Orioles drafted shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, the winner of the Golden Spikes Award—given to the best amateur baseball player in the country—as the Men’s College World Series wrapped up in June.
Then, at picks 40 and 41, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected Arkansas ace Zach Root and outfielder Charles Davalan with back-to-back picks. Both Root and Davalan earned All-America and All-SEC honors following outstanding 2025 seasons. The four selections bring Arkansas baseball’s all-time total to 14 players chosen on Day 1 of the MLB Draft.
Arkansas tied SEC rival Tennessee with four selections on Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft. It also marked the first time multiple Arkansas players were selected in the first round of the same draft.
On Day 2, Dave Van Horn’s club saw several more players drafted. At pick 148, the Boston Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher Christian Foutch. Ten picks later, the Kansas City Royals picked another right-handed pitcher, Aiden Jimenez. Later, with the 187th pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, the Atlanta Braves selected left-handed pitcher Landon Beidelschies. At pick 203, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected third baseman Brent Iredale. Another right-hander, Ben Bybee, went off the board at pick 236 to the San Francisco Giants. Outfielder Justin Thomas was selected with the 336th pick by the Houston Astros.
The Razorbacks had to wait until pick No. 400 for an incoming player to be selected. Ball State transfer shortstop Dylan Grego was taken by the San Diego Padres with that pick. Earlier news that Arkansas’ top incoming freshman recruit, shortstop Landon Schaefer (who was later selected by the Phillies in the 20th round), had withdrawn from the MLB Draft now carries even more significance as Grego weighs his decision between signing with the Padres or heading to the Hill. In the 15th round, Fort Smith Northside right-handed pitcher and Razorback commit McLane Moody was drafted with the 443rd overall pick. Shortly after, Arkansas’ second-ranked incoming freshman and top pitching recruit, Jordan Martin, announced his decision to withdraw from the draft and head to campus.
After Martin’s decision was made, another Hog was drafted in the 16th round, as the Milwaukee Brewers selected right-handed pitcher Parker Coil with the 485th pick. With 11 players drafted following Coil’s selection, the Razorbacks tied the program’s single-season record set originally in 2013 and later matched in 2018. That number tied Florida State for the most in the country. Razorback right-handed pitcher Dylan Carter signed a free agent deal with the San Francisco Giants, while outfielder Logan Maxwell did the same with the New York Yankees. Additionally, according to multiple reports, Little Rock transfer pitcher Jackson Wells has opted to sign a free agent contract with the Houston Astros instead of heading to Fayetteville.
Another successful MLB Draft for Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas Razorbacks means reloading will once again be necessary through the transfer portal and high school ranks—something he’s already been working on. The Razorbacks will set their sights on the program’s first national championship when they open the season in Arlington at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
More college baseball content will return to the blog this coming spring.
Texas State is joining the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026, the school and league announced in a joint statement on Monday. The move gives the Pac-12 the eight required football-playing members needed to remain an FBS conference. The Bobcats will exit the Sun Belt after an impressive rise from the FCS ranks, which began with their move to the FBS in 2012.
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement, “We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12.”
Texas State joins Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State as new members of the restructured Pac-12, which currently consists only of Oregon State and Washington State until next summer. Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga is also set to join as a non-football member.
After enduring eight consecutive losing seasons, Texas State hired head coach G.J. Kinne in 2023. Since his arrival, Kinne has led the Bobcats to 16 wins and back-to-back First Responder Bowl victories over the past two seasons.
With Texas’ departure to the SEC, nine of the 13 FBS teams in the state have changed conference affiliation. SMU left the American Athletic Conference for the ACC, and Sam Houston State transitioned from the FCS to Conference USA at the FBS level. As of now, seven of the nine FBS conferences include at least one team from Texas. Three of the four Power Four leagues also feature a Texas representative, now that the Mustangs are in the ACC.
It will be another year before it becomes official—but the Pac-12 is back, folks.
Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy won the 2025 Golden Spikes Award on Saturday night in Omaha, Nebraska, recognizing him as the top amateur baseball player in the country. Aloy is the third Razorback ever to win college baseball’s most prestigious award, joining outfielder Andrew Benintendi (2015) and pitcher Kevin Kopps (2021).
Aloy’s selection may have surprised some on the national stage after a late-game decision in the Men’s College World Series semifinal against No. 6 LSU. Instead of turning a potential game-ending double play, he opted to throw to third base. The next play allowed LSU to capitalize, and Arkansas ultimately lost, ending their season.
Still, Aloy earned the award due to his outstanding season. The SEC Player of the Year started all 65 games at shortstop for Arkansas and led the team in nearly every major offensive category, including slugging percentage (.673), OPS (1.107), hits (93), runs scored (81), doubles (19), triples (2), home runs (21), extra-base hits (42), multi-hit games (30), and total bases (179).
Despite another tough ending to the season, Aloy helped lead the Razorbacks to 50 wins and a return trip to the semifinals of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha. He delivered a career-best performance against Creighton on May 31 in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, matching personal highs with two home runs and five RBIs in a single game. On June 17, he also became the first Arkansas shortstop to homer in the Men’s College World Series, doing so against UCLA.
Wehiwa Aloy is projected by many outlets to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2025 MLB Draft, scheduled for July 13–14 in Atlanta.
On Monday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, Gage Wood delivered one of the greatest pitching performances in the history of college baseball, keeping Arkansas’ national title hopes alive with a no-hitter and a College World Series record 19 strikeouts in a 3–0 win over Murray State.
On Monday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, Gage Wood delivered one of the greatest pitching performances in the history of college baseball, keeping Arkansas’ national title hopes alive with a no-hitter and a College World Series record 19 strikeouts in a 3–0 win over Murray State.
This was more than just a great outing—it was a once-in-a-generation masterpiece, one that fans, teammates, and opponents alike will be talking about for decades.
Through seven innings, Wood was perfect. In the eighth, with Arkansas leading 3–0, the only blemish came when he hit Murray State’s Dom Decker on the foot with a breaking ball. The perfect game was gone, but the no-hitter remained intact.
Wood’s 19 strikeouts set a new record for a nine-inning College World Series game. His no-hitter was the first in Omaha since 1960, when Oklahoma State’s Jim Wixson accomplished the feat in a 7–0 victory over North Carolina.
The big news for the Razorbacks is that they staved off elimination thanks to Wood’s brilliance and preserved their high-end bullpen arms for their second elimination game, scheduled for tonight against the loser of (6) LSU vs. (15) UCLA at 6 PM CT on ESPN.
Arkansas will need a stronger offensive showing if they want to avoid elimination again and advance to the College World Series Finals this weekend.
But no matter what happens next, Gage Wood has etched his name into Omaha lore.
Image Courtesy: Coastal Carolina University Athletics
The college baseball season culminates once again this weekend with the start of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Six of the sixteen national seeds remain, including (3) Arkansas, (6) LSU, (8) Oregon State, (13) Coastal Carolina, and (15) UCLA.
Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, and UCLA are undefeated in postseason play, each with a 5–0 record. LSU and Oregon State both suffered one loss in the regional round before sweeping their respective super regionals. Arizona’s super regional trip to Chapel Hill included a blowout loss to (5) North Carolina, but the Wildcats bounced back with two straight wins to earn their first trip to Omaha since 2021. Although five ACC teams reached the super regional round—a conference high—Louisville emerged as the lone representative in the College World Series after defeating league rival Miami two games to one on the road.
Murray State is this year’s “Cinderella story,” having taken two of three from Duke on the road in Durham. The Racers are making their first-ever appearance in Omaha and are the first number four seed to reach the College World Series since Oral Roberts accomplished the feat in 2023.
I believe Coastal Carolina will extend its nation-leading 23-game winning streak with a victory over Arizona to open the College World Series. The Chanticleers also opened their only previous Omaha appearance in 2016 with a win over the Wildcats on their way to a national title. Oregon State will win a close game against Louisville before the Cardinals eliminate Arizona in Bracket One’s first elimination game.
Coastal Carolina will then defeat Oregon State to advance to the semifinals and await the winner of the Beavers–Cardinals rematch. Oregon State will make the most of their second chance, eliminating Louisville and handing Coastal Carolina its first loss since April 22 against the College of Charleston.
After eliminating Coastal Carolina, Oregon State will advance to the College World Series Finals for the first time since 2018, when they won the national championship. They will await the winner of Bracket Two to determine who takes home the title.
In Bracket Two, the UCLA Bruins will edge out the upstart Murray State Racers. In Saturday night’s game, Arkansas will avenge its regular season series loss to LSU and move on in the winner’s bracket. The Tigers will eliminate Murray State and face either the Razorbacks for a fifth time this season or the Bruins.
Arkansas will defeat UCLA, and the Bruins will be eliminated by LSU in the following elimination game. After dropping their opening matchup against the Razorbacks, LSU will bounce back to beat them—but Arkansas will then avenge that loss to earn a spot in the national championship series against Oregon State.
Arkansas will seek redemption for their loss to the Beavers in the 2018 national championship series. The Razorbacks may be the most complete team in the country, and I believe they will get it done in three games. Arkansas would win the first national championship in program history.
(Winner is bolded)
Friday, June 13
Game 1 (2 PM ET, ESPN) 13.Coastal Carolina 53-11 (26-4) Sun Belt Arizona 44-19 (18-12) Big 12
Game 2 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 8.Oregon State 47-14-1 Independents Louisville 40-22 (15-15) ACC
Saturday, June 14
Game 3 (2 PM ET, ESPN) 15.UCLA 47-16 (22-8) Big Ten Murray State 44-13 (17-8) Missouri Valley
Game 4 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 3.Arkansas 48-13 (20-10) SEC 6.LSU48-15 (19-11) SEC
Sunday, June 15
Game 5 (2 PM ET, ESPN) Louisville Arizona
Game 6 (7 PM ET, ESPN2) 8.Oregon State 13.Coastal Carolina
Monday, June 16
Game 7 (2 PM ET, ESPN) 6.LSU Murray State
Game 8 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 3.Arkansas 15.UCLA
Tuesday, June 17
Game 9 (2 PM ET, ESPN) 8.Oregon State Louisville
Game 10 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 6.LSU 15.UCLA
Wednesday, June 18
Game 11 (2 PM ET, ESPN) 8.Oregon State 13.Coastal Carolina
Game 12 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 3.Arkansas 6.LSU
Thursday, June 19
Game 13 (If Necessary) (TBD) 8.Oregon State 13.Coastal Carolina
Game 14 (If Necessary) (TBD) 3.Arkansas 6.LSU
Championship Series
Saturday, June 21
Game 1 (7 PM ET, ESPN) 3.Arkansas 8.Oregon State
Sunday, June 22
Game 2 (2:30 PM ET, ABC) 3.Arkansas 8.Oregon State
Monday, June 23
Game 3 (If necessary) (7:30 PM ET, ESPN) 3.Arkansas 8.Oregon State
