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The 2026 college baseball season has come down to this: 64 teams competing across 16 regional sites. D1Baseball has us covered with a preview for every regional from Athens to Tuscaloosa.
Athens Regional preview
Georgia is one of the leading national championship contenders, after going 23-7 to win the SEC regular-season title by 3.5 games, then coupling it with an SEC tournament crown. No. 2 seed Boston College was strongly in the mix to host a regional until losing seven of its last eight games down the stretch, a swoon that could have knocked the Eagles to a No. 3 seed — but the committee kept them on the 2 line, in their first regional trip since 2023. Of course, if BC is a vulnerable 2-seed, Liberty is one of the best No. 3 seeds, so that helps make up for it. The Flames actually have a better RPI (No. 32) than the Eagles (No. 35), and carry a 41-19 record into their first regional trip since 2022. Fourth-seeded Long Island won the NEC’s regular season and tournament championship, and the Sharks are no stronger to the NCAA tournament. This is their fourth regional since 2018 under coach Dan Pirillo, and their third in the last five years.
Most Exciting Player: Tre Phelps, 3B, Georgia. Certainly teammate Daniel Jackson has a strong case for this honor as well, as a catcher who stole 25 bags while hitting 27 home runs — but Jackson is the choice for the next category so let’s spread the love. Phelps is a dynamo in his own right, an accomplished veteran who hits for average as well as power, and has turned himself into an exciting playmaker at third base as well. He also feels like the emotional leader of this Georgia team, a charismatic star whose energy fuels the Bulldogs. The entire combination makes him a joy to watch.
Best Hitter: Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia. One of the leading contenders for the Golden Spikes Award, Jackson ranks ninth in the nation in OPS while starting nearly every game behind the plate for the SEC’s best team. A catcher with a legitimate chance to post a 30-30 season if Georgia makes a deep postseason run as expected, Jackson is having a season for the ages, plain and simple. Built like a tank with a rare combination of power and speed, Jackson is a perfect fit for his Rhino nickname.
Best Defensive Player: Tanner Marsh, SS, Liberty. This regional features three standout shortstops in Marsh, Georgia’s Kolby Branch and BC’s Julio Solier, but we’re giving the nod to Marsh, whose 12.29 defensive runs saved (per Synergy and 6-4-3 Charts) is the best of any player in this regional. As our David Seifert wrote about Marsh last summer in the Cape Cod League: Marsh is an A-plus defender at the position with excellent range and a strong arm that allows him to make all of the throws, including deep in the hole and on the run. He also played some second base for the Mariners, but he’s a true shortstop through and through.
Best Pitcher: Ben Blair, RHP, Liberty. Blair is the best ace in this regional, with a 3.61 ERA and a 106-17 K-BB mark in 87.1 IP. He wasn’t great down the stretch but bounced back strong with six innings of one-run ball in the CUSA tournament against Sam Houston. A stalwart atop the Liberty rotation for the last two years, Blair ranked 13th on our latest edition of the Top 100 Starting Pitchers after Week 12, and he is expected to be a Day One draft pick thanks to his high-level command of a four-seam fastball that can reach the high 90s along with a mid-90s sinker, good slider, cutter and changeup. Our Joe Healy profiled Blair in detail at the end of April.
X-Factor: BC’s pitching. When the Eagles were riding high this season, they stood out most for their work on the mound. Veteran lefty A.J. Colarusso is a proven big-game ace, and Brady Miller is a talented lefty who can keep most offenses in check when he’s on — but neither of them has thrown well in recent weeks, and the Eagles will need both to return to form in order to make a run. BC also has a third veteran starter who will need to turn in quality innings in Tyler Mudd. The bullpen looks like BC’s biggest strength right now, anchored by the standout triumvirate of Gavin Soares, Cesar Gonzalez and Kyle Kipp — but in order for that group to thrive, BC’s starters need to keep the Eagles in games longer than they have been lately. Keep a particular eye on Gonzalez (a 91-94 righty with a low-80s slider that ranks in the 90th percentile in whiff rate) and Soares (whose calling card is a knockout low-80s curveball that he throws even more than his fastball, which averages 93).
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Atlanta Regional preview
Georgia Tech heads into the postseason as one of the tri-favorites to win it all, along with fellow conference double-champions UCLA and Georgia. The Yellow Jackets have an offense for the ages — but they also pitch and defend at an extremely high level, making them an extremely formidable foe for any opponent trying to slow them down. Second-seeded Oklahoma could give Tech some trouble with its high-pressure running game, but it will need its power arms to right the ship after struggling late. The No. 3 seed is The Citadel, which has taken an enormous leap forward in Russell Triplett’s second season as head coach. The Bulldogs stand out for their pitching and defense, but their offense has also gotten hot lately. Fourth-seeded UIC, the regular-season and conference tournament champion in the Missouri Valley, has a legit ace to throw at the Yellow Jackets and some quality pieces on the mound behind him, as well as a trio of power hitters leading the lineup.
Most Exciting Player: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech. It feels strange not to recognize three-year superstar Drew Burress in this spot — but Burress has racked up more than his share of accolades during his storied career, so he’ll be OK. Lackey is similarly exciting, and has had an even louder year than Burress, across the board. After showing up on campus as a toolsy but raw talent from a small high school, Lackey has improved by leaps and bounds year over year, emerging this spring as one of the leading candidates to be drafted No. 1 overall. He has put up eye-popping numbers, slashing .410/.527/.780 with 18 homers, 16 doubles, 14 stolen bases, and more walks (47) than strikeouts (35), all while playing elite defense behind the plate. Earlier this season, the Yellow Jackets even showcased his rare athleticism by playing him in eight positions in the same game — everywhere but pitcher.
Best Hitter: Jarren Advincula, 2B, Georgia Tech. Advincula has a strong case as the best pure hitter in college baseball this season, a reputation that began when he tore up the Cape Cod League over the past two summers, and has burgeoned this spring. After transferring in from Cal, Advincula ranks third in the nation with a .431 batting average, while drawing 29 walks against just 16 strikeouts. In 30 ACC games, he’s been even better, slashing a ridiculous .484/.555/.677 with eight doubles, and an 18-10 K-BB mark. As our David Seifert wrote in a recent Scouting Trail: The lefty hitter has also hit with wood (.392 in the Cape in 2024 and .360 in 2025) which bodes well for analytics models, if they are even needed in his case. Overall, his talents in the batter’s box combined with his strong defensive skills and plus run tool places him as a top 35 overall pick.
Best Defensive Player: Jaxon Willits, SS, Oklahoma. There are loads of candidates for this honor, including the three other shortstops (UIC’s Sean Cody, The Citadel’s Matthew Lively and Georgia Tech’s Carson Kerce, in descending order of defensive runs saved). GT third baseman Ryan Zuckerman moves much better than you might think for a man of his enormous physical stature, and he actually leads this regional with 14.66 DRS, but his fielding percentage is a more modest .947. Lackey (the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, despite throwing out just six of 36 basestealers) and Burress are superstars with game-changing defensive ability at premium up-the-middle spots. But we’re giving the nod to Willits, whose 11.3 DRS leads the shortstops in this field, and so does his .980 fielding percentage. He’s as steady as they come, and capable of making plenty of spectacular plays thanks to his excellent range.
Best Pitcher: Will Holmes, LHP, The Citadel. We’re giving the nod to Holmes over Georgia Tech ace Tate McKee (another strong candidate here). Holmes has the highest pitching wins above replacement (pWAR) in this regional at 1.63, and he also has the highest whiff rate (34.6%) out of qualifying pitchers in this regional, a testament to his very good stuff. Holmes attacks at 90-93 mph with good ride from a high three-quarters slot, and his low-80s slider has generated a 47.1% whiff rate (92nd percentile). Those two pitches are his bread and butter, but he’ll also mix in a curveball and changeup, the latter of which he does a good job landing for a strike. But to beat Holmes, hitters must avoid chasing his signature slider. On the season, Holmes owns a 4.38 ERA and a 112-47 K-BB mark in 88.1 innings, so he misses lots of bats but he also issues his share of free passes — which is not a winning recipe against Oklahoma’s high-octane running game. But he has been very strong down the stretch and was in the zone effectively last week in a SoCon tournament win against Samford, striking out 10 and walking just one over seven innings of one-run ball. Pitching and defense are The Citadel’s strengths, and the Bulldogs will need Holmes and emerging junior righty Andrew Buffkin (1.450 ERA in 38.2 IP since moving into a starting role) to pitch at their very best in order to make noise in this regional. But it’s worth noting that The Citadel’s offense has also gotten hot during its current eight-game winning streak, averaging 11 runs per game during that span.
X-Factor: Oklahoma’s one-two pitching punch. When Cameron Johnson and LJ Mercurius are dialed in, Oklahoma can beat any team in the country, because they have some of the most electrifying pure stuff in college baseball, as evidenced by their strikeout rates — they both fan more than 12 batters per nine innings, the only two pitchers in this regional to do so. Johnson, an behemoth lefthander, has serious arm-side life on his power sinker, which averages 95.2 mph and regularly runs into the high 90s. His changeup is another real weapon, but he lacks a reliable breaking pitch. Still, when he’s in the zone he can dominate with his power sinker/slider combo. Mercurius attacks at 93-95 from the right side and can miss bats with both his trademark changeup and his quality slider. But neither pitcher has lasted more than three innings in his last two starts, and Johnson hasn’t done so since April 25 against Auburn. The Sooners will need both of them to come up back this weekend to have any chance to topple mighty Georgia Tech.
Auburn Regional preview
After going under the radar for much of the season, Auburn caught national attention for winning six straight SEC series down the stretch before losing the final regular-season series of the season to SEC champion Georgia. A 2-1 showing in the SEC tournament only served to cement the Tigers’ place as a top-eight national seed. UCF is a dangerous two seed by virtue of being a team that for much of the 2026 season competed near the top of the Big 12 standings, while NC State will come in looking to pull upsets for longtime head coach Elliott Avent, who is retiring at the end of the season, whenever that is for the Wolfpack. Milwaukee is a long shot to make noise in this regional, but it’s flying high after getting a walk-off home run to secure the Horizon League tournament title and the league’s automatic bid.
Most Exciting Player: Rett Johnson, OF, NC State. Johnson has been such a catalyst as a freshman for NC State that he took over as the team’s leadoff hitter about one-third of the way through the season and he’s already received an invitation to compete at training camp for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer. He’s batting .392/.498/.460 with an absurd ratio of 40 walks compared to just 15 strikeouts and 14 stolen bases. At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he’s not the biggest guy on any field he steps on, but his impact often is.
Best Hitter: Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn. It speaks to how good a hitter Rembert is that he’s batting .345/.402/.478 and there’s a compelling argument to be made that there’s another gear that he hasn’t reached this season. When he’s at his best, he shows excellent feel to hit and surprising power in a 6-foot, 209-pound frame. That package, combined with his speed and the defensive versatility that has some evaluators thinking he could play the outfield alongside second base, has the draft-eligible sophomore listed among the premium position player prospects for this summer’s draft.
Best Pitcher: Jake Marciano, LHP, Auburn. This superlative could go to any of Auburn’s three weekend starters—Jake Marciano, Andreas Alvarez or Alex Petrovic—but Marciano gets the nod here narrowly. In 81.2 innings this season, he has a 2.64 ERA, a .208 opponent batting average and 100 strikeouts compared to just 17 walks. He’s best known for relentlessly pounding the strike zone with a repertoire made up of a low-90s fastball, a mid-to-high-70s slider that has a 42% whiff rate, a high-70s changeup and a low-to-mid-80s cutter.
X-Factor: Camden Wicker, RHP, UCF. The Knights have been a man short on the mound ever since staff ace Matt Sauser went down with injury in late April, but Wicker at times has been a ready-made replacement for Sauser at the front of the rotation. He has an even 4.00 ERA and a .198 opponent batting average in 72 innings. The 6-foot-7 righthander features a fastball that has been up as high as 96 mph this season alongside a curveball in the high 70s and low 80s, a low-80s changeup, a mid-80s cutter and a low-to-mid-80s slider. His changeup leads the way with a 40% whiff rate, but his cutter is right behind it at 39%. UCF’s ability to make a run in this regional could first and foremost come down to how much it gets from Wicker in his start.
Austin Regional preview
Texas has been among the elite teams in college baseball all season along, and though the injury bug has bitten a little here and there, it still goes into this regional as the prohibitive favorite. UC Santa Barbara got off to an uneven start to the season, but early tough series against the likes of Southern Miss and Oregon kept them in postseason position all season, even as it hit some bumps in the road. Tarleton State is making its first regional appearance as a Division I program, so it’s tough to know what to expect from the Texans, and Holy Cross is in back-to-back regionals after going to Chapel Hill last season.
Most Exciting Player: Anthony Pack, Jr., OF, Texas. Pack burst onto the scene in a big way as a freshman this season. He’s batting .353/.471/.547 with 16 doubles, seven home runs, 45 RBIs, more walks (39) than strikeouts (33) and 20 stolen bases. His performance this season has caught the eye of USA Baseball, which has invited him out to training camp for the Collegiate National Team.
An honorable mention here is deserved for Holy Cross outfielder CJ Egrie. He’ll go into the regional batting .338/.483/.463 with 37 walks compared to 19 strikeouts and 46 stolen bases in 48 tries. When Egrie gets on base, and he does about half the times he comes to bat, you can just about guarantee that he’ll be on the move.
Best Hitter: Aiden Robbins, OF, Texas. Robbins transferred from Seton Hall to Texas last offseason, but not only did he not slow down as he moved up from mid-major baseball to the SEC, he actually got better in many ways. He’s batting .341/.428/.683 with 19 home runs and 53 RBIs, and he’s stolen 11 bases in 12 tries as an added bonus.
Also worth mentioning in this space is Tarleton State outfielder Rayner Heinrich, who’s batting .375/.441/.692 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs, 62 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He’s the straw that stirs the drink for a very solid Texans lineup.
Best Defensive Player: Carson Tinney, Texas. The advanced Defensive Runs Saved metric loves Tinney’s defense, as his 13.19 rating in that stat places him 33rd in the country, truly among the elite defenders in college baseball. His arm strength stands out as his best defensive tool, but the DRS also loves his framing skills. If you prefer to look at defensive Wins Above Replacement for gauging defensive value, Tinney also ranks 36th in that metric. No matter what you choose to look at, the information is telling you that Tinney is as much of a game changer with his glove as he is with his bat.
Best Pitcher: Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara. With all due respect to Texas lefthander Dylan Volantis, who is very much in this discussion as well, Flora gets the nod. The righthander, who was rated as the top draft-eligible college pitcher in the country by our own David Seifert in his midseason update, goes into the regional with just ridiculous numbers. In 94.1 innings, he has a 1.05 ERA, a .161 opponent batting average and a 124-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also has the stuff to match those numbers, with a fastball that has been up to 100 mph this season, a mid-80s slider that has a 41% whiff rate, a high-80s changeup that has a 45% whiff rate, a curveball that averages right around 80 mph and a high-80s cutter.
X-Factor: Ruger Riojas, RHP, Texas. For much of the 2026 season, Riojas was the ace of the Texas pitching staff, with the glittering numbers and excellent stuff you would expect for someone in that role. But over the last month, he either hasn’t been himself or hasn’t been in action at all thanks to tendinitis, and that places a question mark on his status for the regional. If he’s anything approaching his normal self this weekend, he takes a backseat to only Flora and Volantis in terms of pitcher quality in this regional—he has a 4.02 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 65 innings, after all—but if he’s limited in any way, it could put some extra strain on the Texas bullpen as the regional goes on.
Chapel Hill Regional preview
After firmly establishing itself as the No. 2 team in the ACC behind Georgia Tech, North Carolina earned the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. That’s the good news. The bad news? It drew one of the toughest two seeds in the entire field in Tennessee, a three seed in East Carolina that won’t be the least bit intimidated playing in Boshamer Stadium and a battle-tested four seed in VCU that very easily could have been a three seed.
Most Exciting Player: Owen Hull, CF, North Carolina. A transfer from George Mason, there was some question as to whether Hull would be ready for the step up in competition to the ACC, but he answered that question in the affirmative very quickly and had himself a monster season. He’s batting .374/.487/.565 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 75 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and more walks (41) than strikeouts (37), all while starting every single game in center field for the Tar Heels. With feel to hit, extra-base power, speed to burn and the ability to play a premium defensive position, Hull checks a ton of boxes as the most exciting player in this regional.
Best Hitter: Jack Herring, OF, East Carolina. There are more famous hitters in this regional, such as Tennessee’s Henry Ford, UNC’s Hull or Macon Winslow, and even VCU’s Jacob Lee, but when it comes to the best pure hitter, ECU’s Herring gets the nod. He’s batting .358/.498/.587 with 17 doubles, nine home runs, 51 RBIs and far more walks (53) than strikeouts (31). And if you’re more analytically inclined, he also leads all players in this regional in Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) at 155.
Best Defensive Player: Manny Marin, SS, Tennessee. Though North Carolina’s second baseman Gavin Gallaher actually leads all players in this regional in the advanced metric of Defensive Runs Saved by a fairly wide margin, Marin is the choice because he’s second among all players in the regional in that metric and he also plays a more premium position as Tennessee’s everyday shortstop. He’s also been excellent defensively by the more traditional measures as well, as he’s made just four errors all season, good for a .979 fielding percentage.
Best Pitcher: Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee. With all due respect to North Carolina’s Jason DeCaro, who’s had an excellent season in his own right, Kuhns is the perfect combination of a pitcher putting together great numbers and a pitcher who has high-end prospect status. For the season, he has a 3.39 ERA, a .253 opponent batting average and has struck out 100 batters compared to just 15 walks using a fastball that’s been up to 99 mph this season, a mid-to-high-70s curveball that has a 38% whiff rate, a low-to-mid-80s slider and a low-to-mid-80s changeup. With a strong postseason performance, there’s some thought that he could sneak into the back of the first round of the draft this summer.
X-Factor: Gavin Gallaher, 2B, North Carolina. Gallaher has had a nice season, as he’s batting .275/.367/.488 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs, but he’s the X-factor here because in each of the last two postseasons, he’s morphed into the best player on the field and won most outstanding player honors both times. Last season in the Chapel Hill Regional, he batted .722 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs. In 2024, his tear through the regional was headlined by a walk-off grand slam against Long Island to avoid an upset loss to begin the tournament. If he goes nuclear for the third regional in a row, it would go a long way toward delivering wins for the Tar Heels.
College Station Regional preview
Though injuries have taken their toll on the Aggies at times this season, Texas A&M is still a force to be reckoned with from an offensive standpoint, and most certainly is the favorite to win this NCAA Regional. The Aggies welcome freshman talent Nico Partida back to the lineup this weekend, while USC is indeed a dangerous two-seed with one of the top one-two punches in college baseball in the weekend rotation in Mason Edwards and Grant Govel. Texas State, one of the last teams in the field, has an older and productive offensive lineup, and actually has gotten better without the services of standout Dawson Park. Meanwhile, Lamar has the ability to be a scary four seed with its blend of veteran leadership and one of the better arms in the regional in ace pitcher Chris Olivier.
Most Exciting Player: Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M. The Aggies have one of the better offenses in college baseball, and Sorrell is the ringleader, while also being a strong defender in center field as well. Sorrell enters the weekend hitting an impressive .341 with 17 doubles, 23 home runs and 74 RBIs, along with 10 stolen bases and a 1.189 OPS. There is certainly swing and miss present with Sorrell’s offensive approach at the plate, but he’s special when he’s locked in there. It will be a long weekend for opposing teams if Sorrell cuts down on the strikeouts.
Best Hitter: Gavin Grahovac. Though Sorrell might be the overall most exciting player, Grahovac has been the more consistent overall hitter for my money this season. Grahovac is having a monster draft year and is hitting a team-best .344 with 16 doubles, three triples, 19 home runs and 72 RBIs, along with a 1.141 OPS.
Honorable mention in this department would have to go to Texas State veteran slugger Rashawn Galloway, who is hitting .324 with a whopping 27 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. He’s a true do-it-all kind of hitter for the Bobcats.
Best Defensive Player: AJ Taylor, Lamar. The Cardinals boast one of the premier defenders in college baseball this season in the talented shortstop. Taylor ranks as one of the top players in the country in terms of Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at 14.15. For the season, he has 161 attempts with just six errors — good enough for a .977 fielding percentage.
Best Pitcher: Mason Edwards, LHP, USC. We have plenty more details about Edwards below, but he has been one of the better stories in the sport this season. Edwards has been the epitome of year-to-year improvements on the mound. He had a 7.88 ERA as a freshman, 3.86 ERA last season, and of course, has a 1.29 ERA in 84 innings this season. We mentioned his 60% plus whiff rates with the changeup and breaking ball, but even that heater can generate some swings and misses at times. Edwards is a hard-nosed pitcher who could match up very well against A&M or Texas State.
X-Factor: Texas A&;M pitching staff. The Aggies might boast one of the premier offenses in college baseball, but the inconsistency and struggles of the pitching staff could be this team’s ultimate bugaboo. How much we will see Aiden Sims this weekend? If Sims can’t go, can someone like Ethan Darden truly step up in a big situation? If A&M pitches at all in the postseason, it is a team that can get to Omaha, and make some serious noise while there. If the Aggies don’t pitch, they will have to out slug everyone. That’s not impossible, but goodness is it risky.
Eugene Regional preview
Oregon is hosting a regional for the fifth time after reaching the 40-win mark, finishing tied for third in the Big Ten, and reaching the title game of the conference tournament before falling to top-seeded UCLA in extra innings. The Ducks are one of three former Pac-12 teams in this regional, joined by arch-rival Oregon State as well as third-seeded Washington State. This marks the first time Oregon and Oregon State have been in the same regional, so unlike other in-state rivals like Miami/Florida, Florida State/Florida, Texas/Texas A&M, these two programs lack postseason history against each other. Ivy League regular-season and tournament champion Yale has faced Oregon State in regionals before, up I-5 in Corvallis in 2017, the last time the Bulldogs made a regional. Wazzu, in its third year under head coach Nathan Choate, finds itself in a regional for the first time since 2010 after winning the Mountain West tournament.
Most Exciting Player: Angel Laya, OF, Oregon. Laya is part of a three-headed monster of freshmen who have excelled as first-year guys and been a guiding light for the program. Laya has an overdose of athleticism you can see at the plate and in covering a ton of ground in right field too. He’s currently hitting .296 and set a program record for freshmen with his 14 home runs on the season. Uncanny for a frosh, he also has 26 walks and 10 plunkings to give him a .404 on-base percentage. He teams with catcher Brayden Jaksa (.316-10-31) and DH Naulivou Lauaki (.333-12-29) to give the Ducks three of the best freshmen I have seen this season.
Best Hitter: Drew Smith, Oregon, 3B. Smith spent most of the first two months of the season hitting .400-plus as one of the tops in the nation. Though he has cooled off a bit since, he is still the best natural hitter on the team. The coaching staff thought he was going to be gone after last season but the pros didn’t call so he becomes the rare four-year talent that played all of his seasons at one program. He goes into the regional round with a .321 average along with 15 home runs (he’d hit 12 in his previous three years) and 59 RBIs, which leads the team.
Best Defensive Player: Maddox Molony, Oregon, SS. Though his offense has cooled off this season – now at just .230 on the season – Mr. Molony is still sweeping it with the glove, committing just four errors from his shortstop position. That is the main reason why Molony was the second-ranked MLB prospect in the Big Ten at the beginning of this season. And yes, the hitting hasn’t been there this year, however Molony hit .315 as a freshman and .309 as a sophomore and he has 12 home runs and 10 doubles this season so the potential is there for him to break out at any time.
Best Pitcher: Albert Roblez, RHP, Oregon State. Up until this conference tournament week, Roblez led the country with 14 saves on the season. But Cal Poly’s Nick Bonn, playing in the Big West tournament while Roblez sat idle, surpassed him with 15 saves now. Nonetheless, Roblez is 2-1, 1.67 and holding opponents to a minuscule .181 batting average. On top of that, he also has a ridiculous 47 strikeouts in just 27.1 innings. He spent 2024 at UNLV and 2025 at Long Beach and has been a godsend this season for the Beavers, highlighting his “extreme competitiveness” he attacks hitters with.
X-Factor: Washington State. Yes, a lot is being made of the Oregon-Oregon State potential matchup here, but don’t sleep on the Cougars, who are making their first NCAA tournament in 16 years. They own wins over Alabama (on opening day), Cal Poly (twice), Texas State and Oregon State. In addition to that, ever since the calendar turned to April the Boys from the Palouse have not lost a single weekend. They posted a pair of 14-run games on San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament, so their bats are hot coming in as well. They are led by Gavin Roy, who has had an exemplary season so far, hitting .372 and also adding 28 walks and 15 HBPs, giving him an on-base percentage of .471. Their arms corps is a little wonky with a team ERA of 6.25, so the Cougars will most likely have to out-slug whoever they play in this regional.
Gainesville Regional preview
Florida is hosting a regional for the 13th time under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who has led the Gators to the College World Series nine times since 2010. Florida welcomes a familiar postseason foe in No. 2 seed Miami, as well as a Troy club that scratched and clawed its way to a winning record against the No. 6 hardest schedule in college baseball, earning the No. 3 seed in Gainesville. Rider, the regular-season and conference champion in the MAAC, is a plucky fourth seed capable of making some noise here.
Most Exciting Player: Jimmy Janicki, C, Troy. The native of Chicagoland came to the Trojans as a heralded recruit, and he has exploded onto the national scene in year two. The 6-foot-3, 224-pound righthanded hitter became Troy’s everyday catcher. He also hit .350 with 17 home runs and 73 RBIs. For his efforts, Janicki was named Sun Belt Player of the Year. The Trojans’ offense is formidable and Janicki is the centerpiece.
Best Hitter: Brendan Lawson, SS, Florida. Lawson’s 2026 season has been one of fits and starts but his pedigree is undeniable. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefthanded hitter battled both injury and illness this season but he ended the regular season on a heater. Entering regionals, this Canadian masher owns an 1.197 OPS with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs. His 52 walks outpaced 43 punchouts and he added 14 steals as well. Lawson’s defense at shortstop is up for debate but his offensive impact is not. His current trajectory is a top 10 overall pick in 2027.
Best Defensive Player: Josh Pyne, 3B, Troy. The fifth-year senior played his first four seasons at Indiana, earning two trips to regionals as a Hoosier. Pyne is an outstanding athlete and that translates to exceptional defense at third base. The 6-foot, 195-pound righthanded hitter is a career .295 hitter with 78 doubles and 23 home runs. Troy may not have the roster depth of Miami or Florida, but the top of this unit can trade punches with anyone.
Best Pitcher: Aidan King, RHP, Florida. King is not the sexiest prospect on his team, let alone his conference, but he was named SEC pitcher of the year in 2026. The 6-foot-2 righthander is an elite competitor who gives Hudson Randall vibes. #IYKYK
King is a more advanced prospect than Randall was, and his 91-94 heater leads a very traditional three-pitch mix. None of King’s offerings show above average whiff rates but he does not walk people (5.6% walk rate) and his BAA is an eye-popping .204. Most importantly, the Gators have won 12 of his 15 starts this season.
X-Factor: Caden McDonald, OF/RHP, Florida. The legend of “Mac-tani” is the story of the Gators’ season. McDonald famously hit two home runs and two doubles on May 2 at Oklahoma, while also throwing three shutout innings in that very important Florida win. For context, McDonald had just 20 at-bats entering that series with the Sooners. The 6-foot-3, 203-pound righthander has settled into a critical bullpen role, going 5-1 with a 3.89 ERA, 44 strikeouts and just eight walks. Offensively, he enters the NCAA tournament hitting .316 with a 1.039 OPS. Kevin O’Sullivan’s program has a knack for unleashing secret weapons late in the season (hello Ashton Wilson) and McDonald is the latest high-impact piece to emerge for the Gators.
Hattiesburg Regional preview
Southern Miss is hosting a regional for the second year in a row, and the third time since 2022. Pete Taylor Park will be rocking again, as the pitching-rich Golden Eagles welcome a dangerous No. 2 seed in Virginia, an underseeded No. 3 in Jacksonville State (the Conference USA double champion), and a scary No. 4 in Little Rock, which made noise in last year’s Baton Rouge Regional.
Most Exciting Player: Kyle Johnson, LHP/OF, Virginia. Johnson has thrown a 98 mph fastball and hit a ball 111 mph this spring. It hasn’t always gone according to plan for the junior but when it does, there’s not many people that can turn heads on both sides of the ball like Johnson can. How the Hoos opt to use him will be interesting, but he’s certainly no stranger to postseason success. Against Georgia last year in the Athens Regional, he spun five innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. In the Durham Super Regional, he drew a spot start in the outfield in the opener and went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs. His overall numbers aren’t great on the year, slashing .231/.390/.471 (104 AB) at the plate with a 5.86 ERA (35.1 IP) on the mound, but they weren’t sterling heading into last postseason, either. Translating the potential he has on both sides of the ball has proven difficult, but we’ve certainly seen some exciting (and promising) moments this spring.
Best Hitter: AJ Gracia, CF, Virginia. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound lefthanded hitter enters the tournament enjoying a career year in all three triple-slash categories (.338/.478/.616) and is one off matching career highs in both doubles and home runs. He’s done so despite playing seven fewer games after missing time due to injury. Gracia’s approach at the plate is impressive as he works counts, picks what he wants to do damage on, and gets on base at a near .480 clip. He has 45 walks to 34 strikeouts and is amidst a seven-game stretch in which he’s gone 12-for-25 (.480) with a 9:1 BB-K mark. Gracia is as dangerous as any hitter in the country when he’s dialed in at the plate.
Best Defensive Player: Grayson Ashe, C, Jacksonville State. An All-CUSA Second Team selection last year, Ashe is one of the better framing catchers in the country. He ranks third by framing runs saved behind Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick and Ole Miss’ Austin Fawley and has taken a significant jump in that department year-over-year. His value behind the plate for a pitching staff that ranks eighth nationally in ERA can’t be understated. He’s taken a step back in terms of throwing out runners, nabbing just 10 after 21 last spring, but he’s a steadying force behind the dish and an excellent blocker, too. You could also throw in Southern Miss’ backstop Tucker Stockman in this discussion as the 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt junior has gunned down 13 baserunners and logged a 10.1 DRS mark. In the infield, Virginia’s Joe Tiroly and Little Rock’s Jerdy Lopez and Nolan Freund all rate among the best at their respective positions.
Best Pitcher: Colby Allen, RHP, Southern Miss. As experienced as they come, Allen started this year in the weekend rotation for the Golden Eagles but has been nothing short of dominant since returning to a relief role. He entered the year with 19 saves under his belt and tacked on two more this spring while sitting third on the team in both appearances (23) and innings (70). After five starts, Allen has made 19 relief appearances and logged a 2.23 ERA with a gaudy 65-9 K-BB mark over 41 innings. The righthander, like many on the staff, has two distinct fastballs but uses a devastating low-80s bullet slider to great effect. It draws a 42% chase rate and 53% whiff rate, both in the 98th percentile, and opponents are hitting just .155 against it despite how often he throws it. He induces over 50 percent groundballs and can turn over lineups, something that has proven tremendously valuable out of the bullpen.
X-Factor: Can Virginia’s pitching rise to the occasion? Much like his Duke teams of years past, Chris Pollard and his coaching staff have mixed and matched at times to try and get the most out of the arms on the roster. There’s a lot of quality options, but the Hoos have to walk a tightrope when it comes to putting together a regional pitching plan against teams that are certainly more settled into roles. Johnson’s aforementioned start for Duke in last year’s Athens Regional is the type of outing Virginia will be looking for. Can they get length from Henry Zatkowski (80.1 IP, 4.03 ERA), Johnson, and John Paone (56.2 IP, 5.88)? And how often will heavily-utilized relievers Lucas Hartman (34 appearances), Kevin Jaxel (25), and Tyler Kapa (24) throw? Virginia has plenty of talent on the mound and if the lineup can produce at a high level, it has the arms to make a run at a regional title in Pollard’s first year at the helm.
Lawrence Regional preview
Kansas’ reward for winning both the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament championships was the 15th hosting seed. As a result, they drew one of the more difficult two-seeds in Arkansas, a three-seed that could have been a two-seed in Missouri State and one of the more challenging four-seeds in Northeastern. Rising above challenges has been exactly what the Jayhawks have done each of the last two seasons, and as a result they will host their first regional at Hoglund Ballpark under the leadership of head coach Dan Fitzgerald.
Most Exciting Player: Tyson LeBlanc, SS, Kansas. The Jayhawks have a real knack for conjuring Fitz-magic when they need it most, and no player has come up big with greater frequency than LeBlanc. Currently slashing .339/.421/.678, 21 of LeBlanc’s 35 extra-base hits have left the yard, and he also leads KU in stolen bases (10). Like so many of the players on the Kanas roster, LeBlanc starred at the junior college level a year ago as he was named an NJCAA All-American at JUCO power LSU-Eunice.
Best Hitter: Cam Kozeal, SS, Arkansas. An Omaha native who began his college career at Vanderbilt, Kozeal is in his second year with the Razorbacks, one year removed from coming up big at both the Fayetteville Regional and Super Regional helping to propel Arkansas to the 2025 College World Series. After posting a .992 OPS a year ago he’s raised that number to 1.083 this year while continuing to play the middle of the infield. He’s leading Arkansas in just about everything offensively, slashing .322/.409/.674 with 17 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 70 RBIs and 155 total bases.
Best Defensive Player: Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas. Considered a likely first-round pick for this year’s draft, Helfrick has elite pitch-framing metrics and a strong arm behind the dish allowing him to elevate an already strong pitching staff. He leads the entire nation by a wide margin with 24.41 defensive runs saved, thanks mostly to an absurd 22 runs saved from framing. With a .984 OPS and 16 home runs, Helfrick is arguably the most well-rounded position player in this field.
Best Pitcher: Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas. A big-bodied 6-foot-6, 235-pound lefthander, this is Dietz’s first full season after injury limited his time on the mound in each of his first two seasons with the Razorbacks. Now healthy, he’s enjoying a phenomenal season, 7-3, 3.40 in 15 starts with 117 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings. His fastball averages nearly 95 mph (94.9) with his mid-80s slider serving as his primary putaway pitch. After Dietz was struck in the lower leg by a line drive in his last start against Texas at the SEC tournament, it’s possible the Razorbacks hold their usual Friday ace until Saturday to give him an extra day to heal.
X-Factor: Juiced up regional. All four of the teams participating in the Lawrence Regional can really swing the bats, with no shortage of over-the-fence power. Missouri State leads the way with 104 home runs with Kansas (102) and Arkansas (96) just behind. Northeastern’s 58 team home runs feel light comparatively, but outfielder Harrison Feinberg has 16 long balls entering regional play. Hogland Ballpark is generally considered hitter friendly so don’t be surprised if a slugfest or two breaks out in Lawrence.
Lincoln Regional preview
Nebraska is a regional host for the first time since 2008 and will welcome some heavy hitters coming to town. Lincoln is the only regional in which three ranked teams — as of D1Baseball’s — will participate, a tough draw for not only the hosting Huskers (ranked 20th) but also Ole Miss (18) and Arizona State (22). Nebraska is well deserving, enjoying a strong season with numerous nonconference wins against quality opponents, one of the Big Ten’s most compete teams to go along with top-ranked UCLA and fellow regional host Oregon. Ole Miss was in the hosting conversation for a hot minute and accumulated eight wins against six different teams that are hosting a regional this weekend over the course of the regular season. Arizona State advanced to the semifinals at the Big 12 tournament while South Dakota State captured the Summit League’s automatic bid by beating conference favorite Oral Roberts twice.
Most Exciting Player: Landon Hairston, CF, Arizona State. Hariston is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, setting all kinds of program records during his sophomore season and recently becoming ASU’s single-season record holder for home runs with 28. He also has 20 doubles and two triples with a .413/.518/.897 triple slash line leading to a nation-leading 1.415 OPS and 5.23 WAR. Hairston, a sophomore whose father Scott played 11 years in the big leagues, serves as the Sun Devils’ leadoff hitter and has also been playing center field as late.
Best Hitter: Case Sanderson, 1B, Nebraska. Hairston is also the regional’s top hitter, so we’ll spread the love to include Nebraska’s Case Sanderson. Sanderson is an accomplished hitter with a .339 career average in three years with the Huskers, batting on the sunny side of .300 in each of those three seasons. There’s more power in his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame than his six home runs may suggest, and he also has 17 doubles and a pair of triples. He’s about as patient as they come at the plate, as evidenced by his 40 walks and 15 HBPs, getting on base nearly half the time he steps into the lefthanded batter’s box.
Best Defensive Player: Dylan Carey, SS, Nebraska. Carey was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year for a squad that has a nation-leading .985 fielding percentage, and he’s enjoying a huge senior season in all phases of the game. Serving as the captain of this experienced Nebraska squad, Carey has committed only four errors (.980 fielding percentage) starting in all but one of Nebraska’s 57 games.
Best Pitcher: Cole Carlon, LHP, Arizona State. Carlon’s transition from closer to staff ace has been one of the more intriguing storylines to follow this season in all of college baseball. He was plenty good on the back end for the Sun Devils last year, posting a 3.33 ERA with four saves while striking out 86 batters in 54 innings. This year he’s 5-2, 3.51 in 15 starts, allowing just 63 hits and 29 walks in 77 innings with 124 strikeouts. The fastball sits in the low- to mid-90s, touching 98, with a dastardly mid- to upper-80s slider. Should Carlon and Ole Miss ace lefthander Hunter Elliott face one another on Friday it would be one of the better pitching matchups on the first day of this year’s tournament.
X-Factor: Ole Miss’ power. The Ole Miss lineup is a little top heavy when it comes to production one through nine, but four players have reached double-digit home runs and two of those players — Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta — have 20 bombs apiece. Collectively as a team they have hit 20 more homers (and even 100) than doubles (80) while batting .266, evidence of how reliant they can be on the long ball.
Los Angeles Regional preview
The top overall seed went to our wire-to-wire regular season No. 1 team in UCLA. The Bruins were rewarded with one of the field’s bottom No. 2 seeds, a 30-win Virginia Tech team we had slotted as a No. 3 seed in our bracketology attempts. But they also received a pair of California teams that are very familiar with UCLA and being the underdog.
Cal Poly returns to Los Angeles for the first time in the postseason since 2013 when it was in position to upset the Bruins in the 1-0 game before a ball lost in the dusk sky completely changed the complexion of the entire regional. Saint Mary’s head coach Eric Valenzuela was also at that regional as the pitching coach of San Diego State, where Michael Cederoth hit triple digits in an era where that was extremely rarified air.
While the Hokies may not have been to Los Angeles recently, head coach John Szefc does have a history in Westwood, leading the Maryland Terrapins to a shocking upset of the No. 1 overall seed Bruins in the 2015 Los Angeles Regional.
Most Exciting Player: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA. This list of superlatives comes with a disclaimer that Cholowsky could be the selection for each of our first three categories. He’s probably the best hitter and likely the best defender, which is why he’s the most exciting player. He’s the expected No. 1 overall pick and plays with a ton of fire. He’s the heart and soul of the Bruins. He’s part of the reason the group of juniors stayed together despite a rough freshman campaign and a big reason for all the success they’ve had this season.
Best Hitter: Mulivai Levu, 1B, UCLA. Since we’re not going with Cholowsky, the selection slides one spot in the lineup to the man protecting him in the lineup for multiple years now. Levu — similar to Roman Martin, Payton Brennan, Cashel Dugger and others — gets slightly overlooked with the media attention funneled toward Cholowsky, but a pitcher better not overlook Levu. He’s been UCLA’s most clutch hitter providing many impactful, game-changing knocks as he’s racked up a .342/.438/.619 slash line with 17 homers and 62 RBIs.
Best Defensive Player: Ian Armstrong, C, Saint Mary’s. Cholowsky is an elite defender, but there are actually two players with more defensive runs saved this season as catchers Ian Armstrong and Ryan Tayman are in the top 16 nationally in the metric — a counting stat where elite catchers can really roll up a notable mark since they are touching the ball on 80-90 percent of pitches thrown.
Armstrong is actually eighth in the nation with more than 16 runs saved. He steals strikes for the Gaels (fifth in the nation in framing runs saved) and allows pitchers the freedom to attack with pitches in the dirt (15th in the nation in blocking runs saved). He’s not an elite thrower, but Armstong has only two errors on the season and no passed balls while the other three catchers in the regional have combined for 13 passed balls and 16 errors. The WCC tournament MVP also provides thump on the offensive side, hitting .358, 15, 49.
Best Pitcher: Logan Reddemann, RHP, UCLA. The Bruins’ ace has first-round potential, but for the second season in a row he was shut down in April and missed the stretch run of the regular season. Last year, Reddemann returned in the WCC tournament for a short appearance after missing 30 days. This season, he hasn’t pitched since April 17. In his penultimate start of the regular season, Reddemann struck out 18 in eight innings at Rutgers.
Head coach John Savage has said he’s close, but even if he’s able to get on the mound this weekend, what kind of role will he be able to have? When healthy, Reddemann was one of the best pitchers in the nation this season. He is 8-0, 2.87 with a 0.87 WHIP as he’s struck out 84 with only 11 walks in 59.2 innings. His fastball is one of the best in the nation, routinely sitting 95-97 and touching 99 this season, but more impressive than the velocity is Reddemann’s ability to throw it for strikes and get hitters to chase it with both strike percentage and chase percentage being in at least the 97th percentile nationally.
Honorable mention here to Virginia Tech ace Brett Renfrow, who is much better than his 4.65 ERA attests. His 86-21 K-BB mark in 69.2 IP is a better indicator of how good his stuff is. A potential Day One draft pick, Renfrow is a physical 6-foot-3, 220-pound horse with a mid-to-upper-90s heater, feel to mix in a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup, all of which miss bats at at least an above-average rate.
X-Factor: Pressure of the No. 1. UCLA ran through the regular season, reeling off win after win. At 51-9, the Bruins are the only team in the nation that has reached the 50-win mark. They have not played as well without Reddemann the last month but have continued to find ways to win. That, of course, gets more difficult in the postseason as the pressure continues to mount, especially for the wire-to-wire No. 1 ranked team and especially for a team with a tumultuous history being the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, getting eliminated by Maryland in a regional in 2015 and getting knocked out by another now-fellow Big Ten program in Michigan in the 2019 super regionals.
Morgantown Regional preview
West Virginia is hosting a regional for the second time ever, and the first time since 2019. The Mountaineers won regionals on the road in each of the last two years, but this spring their runner-up finish in the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament were enough to secure home baseball in Morgantown, where the atmosphere is sure to be electric, as it was in 2019. The Mountaineers host a very talented No. 2 seed in Wake Forest, a controversial bubble inclusion with enough high-end talent to make a run in No. 3 seed Kentucky, and the America East double champion in No. 4 seed Binghamton.
Most Exciting Player: Gavin Kelly, C/2B, West Virginia. One of the top draft prospects in the 2027 class, Kelly is leading the Mountaineers in all three slash categories (.379/.480/.680) and home runs (13). Defensively, he’s a premium athlete who can play all over the field. I haven’t seen this much athleticism behind the dish since Gold Glover Dillon Dingler handled catching and center field duties for Ohio State (2018-2020), though Kelly is twitchy enough to play in the middle infield (and he has started 21 games at second base this year, in addition to 31 starts behind the plate). He handled wood bats well on the Cape last summer, and I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on this year’s Collegiate National Team roster.
Best Hitter: Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky. A draft-eligible sophomore and projected first-rounder, Bell has been even better than advertised after going unsigned as the 66th overall pick in 2024. He had a .907 OPS with 17 doubles and 10 homers as a Freshman All-American in 2025. A switch-hitter with bat speed, Bell is routinely on the barrel and can drive the ball out of the park from either side. He has a solid approach at the dish, with an improving K-Rate (17.2%) and BB-Rate (16.7) year-over-year, though he’s been susceptible against quality spin.
Best Defensive Player: Paul Schoenfeld, CF, West Virginia. The Mountaineers striking gold with D-II talent isn’t limited to the mound, as they landed Schoenfeld after three years at Colorado Mesa. A human highlight reel in the grass, he plays center field with reckless disregard for his wellbeing. Affectionately called a “Psycho” by head coach Steve Sabins, Schoenfeld can also handle the bat, as he’s second on the team in OPS (.962) with 21 stolen bases and leads the club with 17 doubles.
Best Pitcher: Chris Levonas, RHP, Wake Forest. Another top prospect in the 2027 class, Levonas was picked one spot after Bell in 2024 (67th – Milwaukee). The 6-foot-1 sophomore is 10-3, 2.90 with 110 strikeouts in 68.1 innings, as an All-ACC selection. His 39.4% K-Rate is third in the country behind only Mason Edwards and Dax Whitney. Levonas has topped out at 101 mph with his fastball, a pitch that averages 96.9 mph (100th percentile), and his whiff rate on his breaking ball is 53.6% (97th percentile).
X-Factor: Kade Lewis, 1B, Wake Forest. Lewis has been a model of consistency over his collegiate career, slashing .372/.459/.608 with a near 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over a near 800 plate appearance sample. He’s got a smooth lefthanded stroke with strength to produce exit velos that can top 110 mph. A veteran who showed well in the Knoxville Regional last year, Lewis’ postseason experience could pay dividends for the Deacs.
Starkville Regional preview
Mississippi State went 16-14 in SEC play, showing remarkable consistency, and posted a stellar 27-0 record against Quad 3 and 4 opponents on the way to earning the host designation. Two-seed Cincinnati went 17-13 in the Big 12, winning an impressive 17 road games in 29 attempts, including one at Auburn, and earned a spot in the top quad of two-seeds. Louisiana looks like one of the best three seeds and has won nine of its last 12 games, including winning four of five against Coastal Carolina. Lipscomb is the four seed from the Atlantic Sun, where it went 19-11 against the conference’s toughest SOS. The Bison are playing their best ball of the year on a 9-1 stretch.
Most Exciting Player: Cincinnati outfielder Quinton Coats is having an incredible season, highlighted by his 28 home runs, which is third in the nation. Coats is slashing .346/.431/.764 and has 78 RBIs to go with that gaudy home run total. The 6-foot-3 sophomore was an all-freshman Big 12 selection last year but made a massive jump in year two. Coats had a three-homer game earlier this year and three other two-homer games, and has been consistent over the course of the year. Coats also has 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts.
Best Hitter: Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese is as tough to pitch to as anyone, barreling as many balls as anyone in the country. The lefthanded hitting junior third baseman hit 20 homers this season after slugging 21 dingers last season in his first team all-America and SEC Newcomer of the Year season in 2025. Reese slashed .327/.424/.691 this spring and has driven in 69 runs this season. Add in 21 doubles and 38 walks, and you have a potent bat who is well-equipped to take advantage of the inviting porch down the right-field line.
Best Defensive Player: Louisiana shortstop Blaze Rodriguez has proven to be an advanced freshman in his first year in Lafayette. Rodriguez led the Sun Belt in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at 13.04 and fielded .974 in 269 chances. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder from Slidell, Louisiana, started opening day and remained in the lineup for all 62 games.
Best Pitcher: Mississippi State ace Tomas Valincius has established himself as one of the nation’s top pitchers. The lefthander struck out 120 batters against only 17 walks in 86 innings. A Virginia transfer, Valincius went 10-2 this season with a 2.93 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. The lefty, whose older brother Vytas is a Bulldog outfielder, is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. He’s had four double-digit strikeout games, including a 14-strikeout game against Vanderbilt.
X-Factor: I’m going with one player and one intangible here. Mississippi State righthander Ryan McPherson left a start early with a forearm strain on March 20 and didn’t pitch in a game again until May 9. After a couple of short “rehab” stints, he threw five scoreless innings in a scrimmage Saturday. Having McPherson back to his pre-injury form changes the math for the Bulldogs, raising the ceiling to a level where they can stack up with the best teams in the sport. If he can provide length with his earlier quality, MSU just got a lot better. The other x-factor is the Dude Effect, where a capacity-plus crowd can totally impact the game. The NCAA on-campus attendance record is 16,423, set in a regular-season game against Ole Miss in 2023. With all the excitement leading into this season, that record will be in jeopardy, assuming Mississippi State plays the 1-0 game Saturday night as expected.
Tallahassee Regional preview
Florida State is hosting a regional for a record 38th time, after going 19-11 in the ACC and weathering the loss of first-team preseason All-American Myles Bailey to a season-ending injury after just 26 games. The Seminoles welcome a No. 2 seed with serious postseason pedigree in Coastal Carolina, which is well stocked with winning veterans who made it all the way to the CWS Finals a year ago. Northern Illinois won a school-record 35 games this year en route to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1972, earning the No. 3 seed in Tallahassee. Big East double champion St. John’s rounds out the field as a dangerous No. 4 seed.
Most Exciting Player: Strong arm, power bat — St. John’s catcher Adam Agresti is an intriguing player. His 17 homers are the second-most in Red Storm history. Agresti, who made first-team All-Big East, also caught 19 of 57 runners attempting to steal (33.3 percent). And, he posted 14 doubles, a 1.043 OPS and an 8-for-8 success rate stealing bases.
Best Hitter: Northern Illinois senior second baseman Cole Smith has been a revelation as a Bradley transfer this year, leading the Huskies with a 1.025 OPS (second-best in this field behind Agresti), slashing .364/.442/.583 with a team-best 17 doubles, along with six homers and 47 RBIs. A compact 5-foot-9, 175-pounder, Smith is a disciplined righthanded hitter with nearly as many walks (31) as strikeouts (33). And he’s hot: Smith hit .412 in the MAC tournament with two home runs and nine RBIs. He hit a grand slam to cap a six-run seventh inning in NIU’s 10-3 win over Toledo on Friday, then drove in three runs in the championship game.
Honorable mention to a pair of Seminoles: Florida State’s Brody DeLamielleure leads the team in batting average (.344), and slugging percentage (.607). Earlier in the year, he missed time due to concussion protocol, but he will enter the tournament healthy and on an 18-game hit streak. Teammate Brayden Dowd is also in the conversation. He leads FSU in runs (51); walks (46); doubles (12); homers (10); extra-base hits (22); and OPS (.996).
Best Pitcher: Florida State lefty Wes Mendes was named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year. In 15 starts, he went 9-3, 2.83 with two shutouts. He struck out 117 batters in 89 innings, and he had a 1.03 WHIP. A lefthander who started his collegiate career at Ole Miss in 2024, Mendes took a step forward as a sophomore last year, but he’s made a quantam leap as a junior this spring, cutting his walk rate nearly in half while improving his strikeout rate from 25.9% last year to 31.9% this year. Mendes is well-armed with knockout weapons, including a riding 92-95 mph fastball, an elite changeup that has generated a 52.5% whiff rate (96th percentile), as well as a cutter, slider and curveball that all have gotten plenty of swing-and-miss in their own right.
Best Defensive Player: Coastal Carolina shortstop Ty Barrango has made just four errors in 55 games, and leads all four shortstops in this field with 9.59 defensive runs saved. It’s worth noting that Barrango’s double play partner, second baseman Blake Barthol, actually leads all players in the regional with 11.97 DRS, and head coach Kevin Schnall regularly refers to him as the best defensive second baseman in the country — so take your pick between those two for this honor.
X-Factors: There is no greater wild card than Coastal Carolina ace Cameron Flukey, a first-team preseason All-American and slam-dunk first-round talent who missed 10 weeks of action due to a rib injury. He returned on April 26 and has been built up slowly, with mixed results. But he has gone four innings in each of his last two outings, limiting Louisiana to two runs over four scoreless on May 15, then limiting App State to one run in four innings on May 21. How the Chanticleers choose to deploy Flukey this weekend, and how much they can get out of him, should play a significant factor into how this regional unfolds. At his best, Flukey can dominate any team with an explosive 96-98 fastball, a big downer curve in the high 70s, a useful mid-80s slider and an occasional changeup.
Tuscaloosa Regional preview
It’s a regional packed with teams that sizzled their way into the postseason. Alabama exceeded preseason expectations, earning the No. 7 overall national seed in its breakout third year under Rob Vaughn. The Crimson Tide has won eight of its last 11 games and features one of the top pitching staffs in the country. Oklahoma State went 13-3 down the stretch and moved from a bubble team to a solid two-seed, collecting its 13th consecutive NCAA berth. With 137 home runs as a team, second only to Georgia nationally, the Cowboys bring a powerful offense to Tuscaloosa. Winners of the Big South tournament, USC Upstate enters the postseason on a heater, going 14-2 in the month of May. Alabama State won 34 games this season and claimed the SWAC tournament title at Rickwood Field on Sunday. The Hornets come to Tuscaloosa on an eight-game winning streak as winners of 14 of their last 16.
Most Exciting Player: Oklahoma State’s Kollin Ritchie is second in the nation in home runs with 29 this season. The junior outfielder has 47 career homers and has had a pair of three-homer games this spring, along with a two-homer game against Vanderbilt. He can change the game with one swing. He is slashing .335/.478/.828 this season with 12 doubles and 73 RBIs. His numbers got better in Big 12 play, showing he can handle the better arms conference play presents. He’s batting .387/.537/.847 with 14 homers and 33 RBIs within the Big 12. He’s also a player who will take his walks, drawing 44 on the year, along with 14 hit by pitches against 64 strikeouts. He has a Weighted Runs Created Plus (WRC+) of 181, tops in the regional.
Best Hitter: Oklahoma State’s Alex Conover has a .383/.496/.675 slash line with 14 homers, 36 RBIs, 14 doubles, and 15-for-19 in stolen bases. His hits often come in bunches, with a quartet of four-hit games and nine more games with three hits. The junior outfielder has more walks (40) than strikeouts (39) and batted an impressive .416 in conference play, hitting 11 of his 14 dingers. He has a WRC+ of 169, second only to his teammate Ritchie in the regional.
Best Defensive Player: USC Upstate’s Tyler Lang played catcher all season without committing an error until he finally made his first one against Longwood on Sunday. That was a 52-game errorless streak handling just under 350 chances. He has also thrown out 16 would-be basestealers while contributing with a .304 batting average.
Best Pitcher: Alabama ace Tyler Fay is best known for his complete-game, nine-inning no-hitter against Florida in March. The redshirt junior righthander has logged a team-high 90 innings this season, holding opponents to a .230 batting average. He has 104 strikeouts against just 20 walks. Fay throws a sinking fastball up to 97 mph, a slider, a changeup, and a cutter, and averages 65.7% strikes across his arsenal. Fay will pitch inside, as he’s hit 13 batters.
X-Factor: Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron entered the season as a Golden Spikes contender. His season hasn’t gone as expected, batting only .262 overall (.229 in SEC play) and committing 18 errors. But make no mistake, this is the most talented player in this regional and one of the most tooled-up prospects in the nation. Lebron has the ability to carry his team through the postseason with highlight defensive plays and a powerful bat. He’s also stolen 38 bases in 39 tries. He leads the regional with a 13.38 (Defensive Runs Saved) DRS value despite the errors. How will Lebron perform on the biggest stage?
