Following Dallas Baptist’s super regional-clinching 8-5 victory over Oregon State at the Fort Worth Regional Monday, Patriots head coach Dan Heefner said it all in five words. “We feel like we’ve arrived,” the head coach, in his 14th year at the helm of the program, said postgame. He continued: “[We] really felt like we have a team that we don’t have to overachieve to win a regional. It’s a belief.” Dallas Baptist has arrived indeed, and will go toe-to-toe against Virginia in Columbia, South Carolina beginning on Saturday. Despite 40-win seasons for each of the last seven years, the Patriots last reached the second weekend of postseason play in 2011, when they fell two games to zero against Cal. Part of the lack of super regional berths has been the challenging regionals Dallas Baptist has been placed in during the last four tournaments. Heefner’s team was sent to Lubbock in 2016, Fort Worth in 2017, Fayetteville in 2018 and back to Lubbock in 2019. Playing against the consistent talent of power conference programs like Arkansas, Texas Tech, and TCU makes it all the more difficult to notch the upset bid and win the regional, but despite the odds, the Patriots have become a mid-major that cannot be counted out come tournament time. This year’s Selection Monday was no different from the last four for Dallas Baptist, as it was sent to Fort Worth once again, to face a stacked field that featured Big 12 Champion TCU, and three-time national champion Oregon State. Even Southland Conference challenger McNeese State was unable to be overlooked, and kept in step with the Beavers for seven full innings in Saturday’s elimination game. But this season, things turned out a little differently for Dallas Baptist. Displaying a knack for pulling out wins in one and two-run games, the Patriots slid past the Beavers by a score of 6-5 in the regional opener on Friday. Dallas Baptist never trailed in the contest, and a combined effort from relievers Peyton Sherlin and Kragen Kechely held Oregon State scoreless for the final three innings. That victory set up a must-see matchup against TCU on Saturday evening, and the contest did not disappoint in parity and clutch moments. Considering the two universities were playing very close to home, a large crowd of both Dallas Baptist and TCU supporters turned out for a game that college baseball fans across the country kept an eye on. Official attendance surpassed 5,000, tallied at 5,003, and the crowd was energetic for the entirety of the game. By the time six innings had been completed, it appeared as if the storyline from years past surrounding Dallas Baptist was coming to life once again. TCU led 6-2 and had only widened the margin since DBU’s two-run second inning. The Patriots had won once in Fort Worth, but did they have the depth to stay in the winner’s bracket? A second wind appeared from Dallas Baptist just as this question seemingly rose to the surface, as the lineup found its rhythm en route to a five-run seventh. The Patriots took a 7-6 lead. It was an incredible rally for a team that had placed just one runner in scoring position since the second inning. The highlight of the comeback, and perhaps the entire game, was no doubt the play that gave Dallas Baptist the lead. With one out, Christian Boulware swung on a 2-1 pitch, driving it hard into the left-center field gap for a bases-clearing double that brought three runs across the plate as the stands erupted into a mass of cheers and frustration, depending on which fan base you observed. A rematch with Oregon State loomed in Sunday’s regional final, as the Beavers upset TCU 6-2 to eliminate the Horned Frogs from their own regional. That momentum carried Oregon State into a hard-fought battle against Dallas Baptist. The Patriots took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first before Oregon State cut it in half in the bottom of the frame and eventually took a 4-3 advantage heading into the top of the ninth. Once again, Dallas Baptist’s bats rose to the occasion as Jackson Glenn singled up the middle with two outs to bring Ryan Wrobleski home and tie the score. However, Oregon State’s Garret Forrester responded with a big moment of his own, swatting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning to force a crucial game seven. The regional final rematch was contested on Monday afternoon and lived up to expectations considering the nature of the previous two meetings between the opponents. Oregon State jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the third inning, but Dallas Baptist stayed true to form, and out of the deficit came perhaps the biggest moment of the regional. In the seventh, with the Beavers still in front 5-2, Andrew Benefield connected on the first pitch of his at-bat to hit a home run that will forever be remembered in DBU program history. The outfielder drove the pitch from Oregon State reliever Joey Mundt over the left field wall for a grand slam that put the Patriots in the lead by a score of 6-5. With one swing of the bat, the tide turned and Dallas Baptist was on the path to the second weekend of the tournament. "It's surreal, this is why I wanted to come to college so I could experience moments like this” -Andrew Benefield "It's surreal, this is why I wanted to come to college so I could experience moments like this,” Benefield said of the grand slam. “I was just looking [for the] heater out over the plate. I thought he was going to work away but it missed over the plate and I just turned on. I just stuck to our approach and it worked out. It's such a blessing being here at DBU. I love every guy in this dugout." A look at the number of fans in the stands wearing the blue and red of DBU was a window into the culture of baseball found at the once-NAIA powerhouse. In a unique situation, baseball is the only Division I program at DBU, with the rest of the Patriot athletic programs competing at the Division II level. As a result, baseball has a tremendous following at the university, which enrolls 5,139 students. But the strong support for baseball at DBU goes far beyond the Division I status. It is the consistent success produced by the program year in and year out. While this is the second trip to super regionals for the Patriots, they have been taking down so-called power conference opponents since making their Division I debut as an independent in 2004. During this regular season alone, the Patriots defeated Missouri and Oklahoma at the Frisco Classic, and went 6-4 against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament. “They've done a great job of building a program,” Oklahoma coach Sunny Golloway told The Oklahoman in 2012. “They've had some good players, but nobody knows about them. They're really good. And they have been.” Dallas Baptist has come a long way since the 2012 season, when it reached the Waco Regional and posted a 41-19 record in the program's final season as an independent. It is still a mid-major program playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, but the Patriots are far from obscure, having reached 10 straight NCAA tournaments and posted a top-two finish in conference play during all seven seasons in the MVC. No longer is DBU a program that just “has had some good players.” 58 draft picks have resulted under Heefner’s leadership. In other words, DBU is now on the map. But there is one thing the Patriots have yet to accomplish: punch a ticket to Omaha. And a best-of-three series against Virginia is all that stands in the way between that goal being realized. Resiliency might just be Dallas Baptist’s best strength. It was put on display in nearly every game of the Fort Worth Regional, especially considering three of the Patriots’ four games were decided by two runs or fewer. "Unbelievable,” Heefner said following Monday’s win. “To win it that way was incredible. These guys have shown incredible resiliency. I'm super proud of them. They stuck with it.” Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Join over 2,000 players and 1,000 coaches from all college divisions posting their highlights on Press Sports for FREE! The Press Sports App allows players to archive all the top moments from throughout their career together in one place so that anyone can go back and easily find them. On top of that, players and coaches can use profiles as scouting tools to extend careers from High School to College as well as College to Pro. Essentially the app functions similar to Tiktok to serve the purpose of LinkedIn for athletes, coaches and fans from all levels & sports. The app also features a transfer portal for college athletes that is becoming a very popular destination for coaches! Download Press Sports on iOS today! Arkansas leaves the Regional round still ranked number one, behind the herculean effort of Kevin Kopps. The Razorbacks are followed by Tennessee and Texas who swept the Knoxville and Austin Regionals, respectively. Mississippi State moves up to number four, ahead of Vanderbilt at number five. ACC Champion Notre Dame dominated the South Bend Regional, earning the Fighting Irish the sixth spot. The highest combination of seeds in Super Regional matchups is Arkansas and NC State (8) followed by Mississippi State and Notre Dame. The full top 16 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

By Steve Parkhurst AUSTIN, TX - After a Friday night finale that ended with a thrilling walk-off victory by Arizona State over Fairfield, the rest of the weekend in the NCAA Austin Regional was much less dramatic with a minimal number of surprises throughout. Elimination Saturday featured Fairfield, having to make a quick turnaround after the late Friday night finish, and the Southern Jaguars, who had been shutout 11-0 at the hands of Texas. After the start of the game was delayed over three hours due to weather, Fairfield got a solid start from right-hander Jake Noviello and eliminated Southern 6-2. Fairfield coach Bill Currier was out of town for Saturday’s game having traveled northeast after Friday’s game to attend his son’s wedding in Vermont on Saturday. Assistant Coach Brian Fay guided the Stags to their first postseason win in the program’s history. Texas then handed Arizona State their first loss of the Regional in a drama-free, 10-3 win with right-hander Ty Madden on the mound. Offensively for the Longhorns, Zach Zubia delivered the crushing blow when he hit a two-run home run off the batter’s eye in the fourth inning to give Texas a 5-0 lead. Sunday afternoon staged a rematch between Arizona State and Fairfield, this time with Head Coach Bill Currier back in the fold having arrived at the Austin airport just over three hours before game time. The Sun Devils got out to a 5-0 lead before the Stags started to chip away at the deficit, eventually tying the game. One of the most bizarre plays a person might ever see took place in the top of the sixth inning. With Arizona State runners on second and third, a pitch by Eli Oliphant got behind his catcher, and for a moment, no one knew where the ball had gone. It found a temporary resting place in the front shirt pocket of the home plate umpire. The umpire subsequently ruled, correctly, that each player could move up a base. The runner on third crossed home plate and the Sun Devils took a 7-6 lead. A three-run blast by Justin Guerrera in the bottom half of the sixth gave Fairfield a 9-7 lead that they held on to as the Stags bullpen allowed the Sun Devils nothing the rest of the way. Fairfield had to hang out for a few hours to face Texas on Sunday evening in the first of two potential games for the regional final. Fairfield started Jack Erbeck who had not pitched in 2021. Texas countered with lefty Pete Hansen and his 1.88 ERA in 2021. Predictably, Erbeck’s control was off, and after four walks and trailing 1-0 in the first inning, Currier went to the bullpen after 28 pitches. The move worked for the moment as the inning came to an end. However, Texas added four runs in the second inning and five runs in the third inning and led 10-0 as Fairfield’s lack of fresh arms was evident. Fairfield got two runs of their own in the third inning courtesy of back-to-back one-out doubles and a throwing error at third base. A trio of Texas relievers put the Stags away 12-2 to advance to the Super Regional round. Texas did not have as powerful an offensive night as the final score might lead one to believe. Aside from a big blow by Douglas Hodo III when he tripled to clear the bases, the Longhorns took advantage of eleven walks. Texas only out-hit the Stags nine to six and Hodo’s triple was the only extra-base hit for the Longhorns. “We bounced back great from the Big 12 Tournament, and we did what we needed to do,” said Mike Antico after he went 2-for-2 with three walks on Sunday. “We could taste that Super.” “That was a dominating performance,” said Texas Head Coach of Hansen’s outing. “Kid’s never pitched in a postseason game, Covid-freshman, goes out and just dominates.” “They just ran out of pitching, I can tell you that for sure,” Pierce said of Fairfield. All told, Texas outscored it opponents 33-5 over the weekend. Asked if there is any such thing as a regional being too easy, Hansen replied, “There’s no such thing.” Texas (45-15) moves on to host a Super Regional next weekend against South Florida. Fairfield (39-5) saw its season come to an end after a run that surprised much of the baseball world. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

By Steve Parkhurst AUSTIN, TX - The overall second seed, Texas Longhorns, opened the Austin Regional in their home ballpark, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, against the Southern University Jaguars. What drama there might have been quickly dissipated as the Longhorns hit and pitched their way to an 11-0 shutout behind a solid start by Tristan Stevens, the Longhorns Saturday arm for almost the entire season. The Longhorns started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Zach Zubia (3-for-4) hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Mike Antico from third base. Moments later, Ivan Melendez hit a home run to left field to make it 2-0. In the second inning, back-to-back walks and a hit by a pitch loaded the bases for Texas. Mitchell Daly doubled to right-center to clear the bases. Zubia followed with a two-out double through the right side to make it 6-0 Texas. Silas Ardoin doubled to the opposite field in right-center to drive in two more Longhorns extending the lead to 9-0 in the seventh. Stevens took his exit after the seventh inning having allowed just four hits while striking out six. Cam Williams hit his tenth home run of the season in the eighth to complete the scoring for Texas. The Longhorns led 11-0 after the two-run blast. Palmer Wenzel and Jared Southard each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the shutout that put the Longhorns into the winners bracket. Texas head coach David Pierce said after the game that getting out to the big early lead was part of the game plan. “Be in attack mode early and make sure that we create the tempo, Pierce said. “And I thought we did a great job of that.” Texas improved to 43-15 on the year with the victory, The Fairfield Stags and Arizona State Sun Devils squared off in the second game of the day in Austin. Before the Stags left Connecticut for Texas, they lost their all-everything catcher Mike Caruso. During an intra-squad workout earlier in the week, Caruso bunted a ball that, according to Fairfield head coach Bill Currier, “clipped him in the jaw and broke his jaw in a couple of places.” Caruso did not make the trip to Austin as he awaits surgery. Caruso was not the only thing missing for the Stags on Friday. Right fielder Mike Handal misplaced his jersey at some point, so he was wearing another number when he stepped into the batter’s box to open up game two. It seemed not to matter as Handal deposited the second pitch of the game over the wall in right field for a 1-0 lead. Trey McLoughlin took the hill for Fairfield and he took the 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third. As a light rain began to fall, Arizona loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly to deep left field tied the game at one. Another fly out to left led to an attempted advance to third from second, and Joe Lampe was thrown out by left-fielder Ryan Strollo to end the frame. A slightly harder rain began to fall in the fourth. The game was delayed for roughly ten minutes while the grounds crew made its way to the pitching mound to apply a drying agent to the mound for better footing and less slipping. The rain stopped shortly after. The Sun Devils took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scoring single by Ethan Long. That was followed two pitches later by a two-run blast to right by Jack Moss to increase the lead to 4-1. After giving up the leadoff home run to start the game, Tyler Thornton cruised into the sixth inning. With a runner on second and one out, Charlie Pagliarini doubled to the wall in left-center scoring one for Fairfield. One out later, Thornton’s outing was complete and Arizona State went to the bullpen. The Stags proceeded to load the bases and the Sun Devils once again went to the bullpen to end the threat with a 4-2 lead. After a two-out walk loaded the bases for the Stags in the seventh, a wild pitch scored the runner from third to make it 4-3 Arizona State. A walk loaded the bases again. A third consecutive walk tied the game at four. A fourth straight walk gave Fairfield a 5-4 lead. Arizona State had to go to the bullpen again in the inning before getting a groundout to end the Fairfield threat. Fairfield added an insurance run in the eighth on a single to right-center by Sean Cullen which brought home Justin Guerrera (4-for-5) from second base. Sean McClain doubled to left-center to get Arizona State to within a run with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Stags pitcher Michael Sansone stranded two Sun Devils runners on the bases and his team led 6-5 going to the ninth. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Arizona State started a rally. A Lampe single to center was followed by a single into right by pinch-hitter Kai Murphy which moved Lampe to third. A walk loaded the bases. Pinch-hitter Blake Pivaroff was hit by a pitch to tie the game. The pitch was reviewed by the umpiring crew, but not the call was not overturned. One batter later, McLain dropped a single into shallow right-center to bring home the winner for the Sun Devils with his second RBI of the night. The 7-6 walk-off victory earned Arizona State the right to face Texas in the winners bracket on Saturday night. “It’s baseball,” Arizona State head coach Tracy Smith said after the win. “Anything can happen. That’s why you play to the last out.” Asked about an emotional letdown on Saturday after a thrilling Friday night walk-off, McLain said, “It’s going to be a new day tomorrow. We want to show the number two team in the nation we’re here to play and we’re here to stay.” Coach Pierce announced after Friday’s first game that Ty Madden will get the start for his Longhorns squad Saturday evening. Madden was the Friday night starter for much of the season for Texas and the accolades for the right-hander have been piling up since the regular season ended. Southern University will face Fairfield at 1pm CT on Saturday in the first elimination game of the weekend. Texas will face Arizona State at 6pm CT. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Every bracket has its oddities. Every committee has things they did right or things that everyone hates. There are usually conspiracy theories abound- some are believable, some...not so much. In 2019, people noticed and complained that there were a lot of regionals hosted by teams from the same conference paired up for the Super Regional round. It looks like the committee avoided that particular criticism this time around. There are other oddities that could be an accident, or a grand scheme for the committee to see how one conference pairs with another, or one team, or one seed. Below, I break down some interesting things that I have noticed after digging into the last 15 years of brackets. Big 12 vs Pac-12 In each of the three regionals hosted by Big 12 teams, the two seed in that regional is a team from the Pac-12 that has seemingly underperformed expectations. Then, in the regional that has the remaining Big 12 team, it is hosted by the highest-seeded Pac-12 team. This one is likely easily explainable. In general, there are usually much fewer host sites out west, whether that is because of the lack of top teams, or just a smaller number of teams out that way in total, compared to, say, the southeast. Since teams from the same conference cannot be paired up in the same regional, the committee has to get creative. This year, it happened that there were a higher-than-average number of Pac-12 teams worthy of hosting, as well as other at-large-worthy Pac-12 teams. Armed with that and the fact that the Big 12 host sites are the closest spots for the remaining Pac-12 teams, the committee had no other choice than to pair these conferences together. It definitely makes for an intriguing storyline. LSU host or West Coast The year 1999 was the last time that LSU did not either host a regional in Baton Rouge or get sent to the West Coast for its regional, in years that it made the tournament (2006, 2007, and 2011). In 2018, LSU was sent to Corvallis to be in Oregon State’s regional. In 2010, the Bayou Bengals were sent to Los Angeles for UCLA’s regional. LSU fans thought it was fitting or maybe a bit strange that they were sent to Eugene this year in #13 seed Oregon’s regional this year. This was pointed out to us on Twitter when the bracket was announced. What I learned most from finding out this is that LSU hosts really, really often. Sending the Tigers out west seems to be the committee’s favorite thing to do, though it did not happen often. Last overall #1 seed to win it all was Miami in 1999. Can Arkansas? In short, it is hard to win that many games in a row, no matter the team. The best season record in MLB history is the 1906 Chicago Cubs, in which they went 116-36. Great teams are still losing 25% or more of their games. By the way, that team did not even win the world series! That 1999 Miami team dominated their way to the title, not losing a single game in the postseason. It might be surprising to hear that overall #1 seeds do not have the highest average win percentage for “hosts” (i.e. regional one seeds) in the postseason since 2006; that honor goes to the overall #3 seeds. The overall #1 seeds have the highest average win percentage for hosts in just the regional and Super Regional round over that same time period, so they have generally faltered in Omaha it appears. The overall #1 seed is usually the favorite, and this year is no different, but for some reason, they just cannot put it together throughout the postseason. I am not saying that Arkansas will falter down the stretch, as they have shown no signs of stopping, but maybe the overall #1 seed is haunted. Can the SEC Regular Season champ and SEC Tournament champ check that last box and win the whole thing? Seed history I have been tracking win percentage in Field of 64 play and in Omaha for each seed and found an interesting trend for which to keep an eye out. Recently, regional 2 and 3 seeds have been putting distance between them and 4 seeds, while they are also getting closer to 1 seeds. Let me show you. What this graph shows is the nominal percentage difference in winning percentage year over year between certain seeds. The blue line is the difference between 1 seed and the closest of the 2 and 3 seed. The green line shows the difference between the 4 seed and the closest of the 2 and 3 seed, i.e. the opposite of the one that is compared in the blue line. The 3 seeds are included in this because there are several years over this time frame in which 3 seeds had a higher winning percentage than 2 seeds. Note that there is a general slight downward trend of the blue line and a general upward trend of the green line, even though there are spikes in some years. The 2 and 3 seeds are getting more competitive with the 1 seeds and all three are separating from 4 seeds. Maybe this means in your bracket pick'em, try not to pick all chalk. Look at 2016! That year, Coastal Carolina and Arizona were in the championship series, and both were 2 seeds in their regional, which helped lead the 2 seeds to have a better win percentage than the 1 seeds. As a college baseball fan, I am hoping for some chaos like that this time around. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) On April 25, 2019, a devastating tornado ripped through the Louisiana Tech athletic complex, damaging the baseball, softball, and tennis complexes, among many others. From then on, the Bulldogs baseball team finished the season with a 6-9 record and missed the NCAA Tournament after losing both games in the Conference USA Tournament. The Love Shack, home of the Bulldogs, was in pieces. At that point, it would have been easy to feel defeated. Where would they play home games going forward? Where would the funding come from to replace the current facilities? Who would want to play for a program with so many uncertainties? Fast forward to 2020 and Louisiana Tech was scheduled to play a portion of their home games at Ruston High School. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. A program that was already hit with so much adversity suffered another setback as the college baseball season came to an end. 675 Days. It was exactly 675 days between home games for the Bulldogs as they rebuilt the facility that was destroyed by the EF-3 tornado in April 2019. In less than two years, the athletic department at Louisiana Tech answered the call by building a state-of-the-art facility that the program desperately deserved. With a new complex, Louisiana Tech bounced back in 2021 and earned the two seed in the Conference USA Tournament which was played at the brand new Love Shack. Heading into the tournament, Louisiana Tech had been announced as one of the 20 potential Regional hosts, but the Bulldogs knew they had work to do to secure the bid. The tournament became a metaphor for the team and the perseverance it had shown over the past two years. With a round one victory in sight, Louisiana Tech saw a 6-3, eighth-inning lead over UTSA evaporate in the ninth. Three innings later, redshirt senior Hunter Wells was the hero, with a walk-off home run to end the nearly five-hour game. “I love the moment,” Wells said after the game. “I’ve dreamed of it. I don’t run from it. . . . I want the game in my hands.” A second-round setback against Southern Miss forced the Bulldogs into the losers bracket at the Conference USA Tournament before a tidy 14-4 win over Western Kentucky set up a rematch with the Golden Eagles. After amassing an 8-0 deficit in four innings of play, the end of the tournament looked imminent for Louisiana Tech. A furious comeback was jumpstarted by a six-run fifth inning. Two runs in the seventh and eighth innings earned the Bulldogs a 10-9 lead heading into the ninth, but a Danny Lynch home run in the top of the frame tied the game for Southern Miss. The hard-fought lead evaporated with one swing of a bat. A one-out walk by Hunter Wells and a sacrifice put the winning run on second base. Senior Steele Netterville stepped up to the plate and drove in Wells. The Bulldogs survived. Shortly after, the two teams squared off again in an elimination game for both teams. An early run for each team led to a 1-1 tie throughout the middle innings. Manny Garcia’s eighth-inning home run (one of his five hits on the day) gave Louisiana Tech its first lead heading into the ninth. Nine batters came to the plate for Southern Miss in the top of the ninth, scoring four runs for the Golden Eagles in the process. Once again, a Louisiana Tech lead slipped away with just three outs to earn. And once again, Louisiana Tech came back to walk off Southern Miss. Louisiana Tech scored four runs of their own in the bottom half of the ninth to win the game, 6-5. This time Junior Philip Matulia was the walk-off hero. “I just knew I had a job to do, and I just got it done,” Matulia said after hitting a walk-off line drive into right field, scoring Cole McConnell and Adarius Myers. “This team never gives up. No matter how much we’re down, we never give in.” -Philip Matulia Matulia joined Wells and Netterville as late-inning heroes. The trio is composed of only upperclassmen; all three experienced the devastation in Ruston at the hand of the tornado. Even after the doubleheader double walk-off, Louisiana Tech still had one game to play. The following day, Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech battled it out in another instant classic. It was the Bulldogs sixth game in five days, and the pitching staff ran out of arms in a ten-inning, 7-5 win for Old Dominion. The announcement of Regional sites was scheduled for only a few hours after the conclusion of the Conference USA Tournament, and the Bulldogs would soon know if they had done enough. Austin, Columbia, Eugene—host sites were announced in alphabetical order by the NCAA. Nashville, Oxford . . . Ruston. For the first time in program history, Louisiana Tech would host a Regional. It would have been difficult to blame players had they chosen to transfer from Louisiana Tech after a tornado destroyed their facilities. It would have been difficult to criticize Head Coach Lane Burroughs had his team faltered this season. Neither happened and instead, Louisiana Tech made history. So, how far will Louisiana Tech make it in the NCAA Tournament this year? That is yet to be seen, but you will not find a team in the country that has overcome as much adversity in the last two years. Head Coach Lane Burroughs will have his team ready to play Friday night. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

The NCAA Tournament Field of 64 was released on Monday, so it's time to fill out your bracket (and hopefully not see it busted within the first weekend). We already released our rankings of the toughest Regionals, and now it's time to pick winners and losers in each Regional. Fayetteville #1 Arkansas (1) #2 Nebraska #3 Northeastern #4 NJIT Arkansas is the closest thing college baseball has had to a "heavy favorite" in quite a while. Sure, there are some question marks about starting pitching, but a team that scores 7.6 runs per game and allows only 4.1 runs per game has clearly figured something out. That something might be Kevin Kopps, the SEC Pitcher of the Year, who could throw 6+ innings in a Regional. Hogs are the clear favorite here, but Nebraska should have a good shot at making the Regional final. Northeastern only played the northern teams from the Colonial this year due to COVID-related scheduling changes in the league. This is normally the weaker half of the league, but to their credit, Northeastern beat UNCW twice in the Colonial Tournament. Give me Arkansas over Nebraska in the Regional Final. Austin #1 Texas (2) #2 Arizona State #3 Fairfield #4 Southern Texas is the clear favorite in the Austin Regional. Winners of the Big 12, the Longhorns were granted the number two overall seed and one of the easiest paths to the Super Regionals. Arizona State is the epitome of a team that took care of business but never notched a really impressive series win. Arizona State only played one series on the road against a Regional team (Oregon), and the Sun Devils lost that series. With that said, ASU is several steps ahead of Fairfield and Southern in terms of talent. Give me Texas over Arizona State. Knoxville #1 Tennessee (3) #2 Duke #3 Liberty #4 Wright State This is an absolutely brutal Regional for the Volunteers. Wright State has a legitimate gripe about not being a three seed (or higher). The Raiders started the year with five road games at Vanderbilt and Alabama, and though they went 0-5 in those games, three of the games were settled by just one run. Duke recently sprinted its way down the stretch, sweeping Virginia Tech, Clemson, and then the entire ACC Tournament. Liberty was 16-10 in non-conference games with a non-conference RPI of 12. It won't be easy, but I like Tennessee over Duke in this Regional. Nashville #1 Vanderbilt (4) #2 Georgia Tech #3 Indiana State #4 Presbyterian Despite Vanderbilt's "struggles" (for Vanderbilt, 5-5 over its last ten games is the worst stretch it's been through in a while), the Commodores are still a formidable top eight seed. Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker make up a dynamic pitching duo. The teenager Christian Little may be added to that trio soon after an impressive start in the SEC Tournament against Ole Miss (5.1 IP 3H 1R 7K 1BB). Georgia Tech is only 2-3 in its last five series but did make a run to the ACC Tournament semis. Give me the Commodores over the Yellow Jackets. Tucson #1 Arizona (5) #2 Oklahoma State #3 UCSB #4 Grand Canyon Arizona playing at home (27-7) is a much scarier team that Arizona on the road (9-8). Hi Corbett is built for offensive teams, and Oklahoma State's power bats will likely find success in the desert. UCSB's pitching first approach works well for the Gauchos in Santa Barbara, but they will struggle to suppress the sluggers from Arizona and Oklahoma State. Also worth noting, Grand Canyon is 1-1 against Arizona this year, so the Lopes will be a dangerous four seed. Give me Oklahoma State over Arizona. Fort Worth #1 TCU (6) #2 Oregon State #3 Dallas Baptist #4 McNeese State Another year, another top eight seed for TCU, one of the most consistent programs of the last decade. The Horned Frogs invite an Oregon State team into town that is seriously lacking in marquee wins. The Beavers' best series was a sweep of Cal. Dallas Baptist has become a postseason darling over the last several years, but the last time DBU travelled to a Regional in Fort Worth (2017), the Horned Frogs demolished the Patriots, 15-3. I'll take TCU over Oregon State in this Regional. Starkville #1 Mississippi State (7) #2 VCU #3 Campbell #4 Samford Mississippi State with its strength of schedule of 16 has played a much more difficult schedule than any of the other three teams in the Starkville Regional: VCU (139), Campbell (87), and Samford (96). In fact, VCU's resume does not look all that different from Wright State's resume. Safe to say, Mississippi State will be a heavy favorite at the Dude. Give me Mississippi State over VCU. Lubbock #1 Texas Tech (8) #2 UCLA #3 North Carolina #4 Army Lubbock is an incredibly difficult place to win baseball games if you're a road team. Baylor won a series at Texas Tech this season, but before that, it had been since 2018 that a road team won a series at Texas Tech. With that said, UCLA comes into town as the perfect type of team that can do well in an offensive ballpark. The Bruins are averaging 7.3 runs per game in the pitching-dominated Pac-12. UCLA has largely underperformed on the year, but Lubbock could be the perfect place for the Bruins to get hot. I'm taking UCLA over Texas Tech. Stanford #1 Stanford (9) #2 UC Irvine #3 Nevada #4 North Dakota State Stanford has already beaten two seed UC Irvine in a four-game series this season. The Wolfpack of Nevada bring in an offense scoring 7.5 runs per game, but Sunken Diamond plays large. Stanford should be the heavy favorite to advance out of its Regional. Stanford over UC Irvine. South Bend #1 Notre Dame (10) #2 UConn #3 Michigan #4 Central Michigan The committee wasn't kind to ACC Champ, Notre Dame, giving the Fighting Irish the tenth overall seed. Central Michigan, winners of 39 games have a series win at West Virginia on their resume, which is an impressive feat for a four seed. UConn brings in more pitching depth than host Notre Dame (led by MLB Draft prospect Ben Casparius). I'm taking the Huskies over the Fighting Irish in this Regional. Columbia #1 Old Dominion (11) #2 South Carolina #3 Virginia #4 Jacksonville The Columbia Regional has three legitimate Omaha contenders. Old Dominion, a traveling one seed, just cruised its way through the C-USA Tournament. In a year when Conference USA is the deepest it has been in a long time, that's an impressive accomplishment. They'll have to get through South Carolina's top notch pitching staff that is allowing just 4.4 runs per game as well as a Virginia team that finished the year on a 12-5 run with a trip to the ACC Tournament semifinal. Any of these three teams could escape this Regional, but I'll take South Carolina over Virginia. Oxford #1 Ole Miss (12) #2 Southern Miss #3 Florida State #4 SEMO Ole Miss has overcome the loss of Gunnar Hoglund, the ace of its staff, and the loss of one of Tim Elko's ACLs (not that it's held him back that much). Despite that, the Rebels won series against Vanderbilt and Georgia down the stretch and reached the SEC Tournament semis. Southern Miss brings in a staff ERA of 3.59, and not to be outdone, Florida State's staff boasts a 3.51 ERA. With five bats hitting over .300 in its lineup, Ole Miss will have to mash its way to a Regional Championship. I like Ole Miss over Florida State. Greenville #1 East Carolina (13) #2 Charlotte #3 Maryland #4 Norfolk State Pirates fans have to be looking at this draw and feeling like a Super Regional is more than within reach. Charlotte went 2&Q in the C-USA Tournament and was already swept on the road by ECU. Maryland is a wildcard (as are all Big Ten teams). The Terps have won their last seven weekends, so they should come in as a confident bunch. I'll take East Carolina over Maryland. Eugene #1 Oregon (14) #2 Gonzaga #3 LSU #4 Central Connecticut State Oregon won 20 Pac-12 games, a non-conference series against Oregon State, and swept UCSB in four games on the road. This is the best Ducks team in a long time, and it should have a good chance to win this Regional. Gonzaga lost its second starter, Gabriel Hughes, to injury and dropped a series to San Diego to finish its year. LSU is a wildcard. Landon Marceaux has stepped up into the ace role with incredible poise. Should LSU need him in an elimination game, the Tigers would surely be favored. I'll take Oregon outlasting LSU. Gainesville #1 Florida (15) #2 Miami #3 South Alabama #4 South Florida The preseason unanimous number one team, Florida, had an up and down year. Though they were swept by Arkansas to finish the regular season, the Gators bounced back with a run to the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Hurricanes have already won one series at Florida this year, so Miami will come into this Regional confident. However, if anything has become obvious for Miami, it's that their young pitching staff is incredibly inconsistent. Depending on which version of Miami shows up, this Regional could go one of two ways. I'm predicting Florida's bullpen depth and talent overcomes Miami in this Regional. Ruston #1 Louisiana Tech (16) #2 NC State #3 Alabama #4 Rider Louisiana Tech needed three walk-offs to make the C-USA Championship game, but it was enough to earn the Bulldogs the last hosting position. After starting the year off 1-8 in ACC play, NC State finished on an 18-6 run, so it's safe to say the Wolfpack are on a prolonged hot streak. They bring in Luca Tresh, one of the most exciting catchers in the game. Alabama, a team that snuck into the tournament, should still be dangerous in this Regional, but I'll take NC State over Louisiana Tech. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

The NCAA Tournament Field of 64 was released on Monday, and as always, there were a few surprises. Fairfield snuck in tournament after a 37-3 year in the MAAC, Mississippi State and Texas Tech snagged top eight seeds, and LSU and Paul Mainieri will have shot at an NCAA Tournament run. Of course, some Regionals are tougher than others, and we've got them all ranked for you. RELATED ARTICLE: Picking Every Regional Winner and Runner Up 16. Austin Number two overall seed, Texas, received the most favorable draw of any host. Arizona State at 16-14 in the Pac-12 had just one series win over teams from the field of 64 (Oregon State). On top of that, the Sun Devils have had a host of pitching injuries. Fairfield is an interesting at-large selection (37-3 overall). The Stags make for a great story, but Texas has them completely outmatched. 15. Starkville Mississippi State (7) not only has to be happy to receive a top eight seed, but Bulldogs fans should be ecstatic about the draw they received. VCU, the automatic bid from the Atlantic Ten, has not won a series against a tournament team and has only five wins against teams in the field. Campbell's best series win is against Liberty. Mississippi State will be heavily favored in this Regional. 14. Nashville Fourth-seeded Vanderbilt is joined by Georgia Tech, Indiana State, and Presbyterian. Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin started his coaching career at Presbyterian, but the Commodores should have no trouble with that first-round matchup. Georgia Tech recently made the ACC Tournament semifinals, but is only 2-3 in series down the stretch (including a series loss to Kennesaw State). Indiana State did have a nice series split at Tennessee. 13. Greenville While ECU fans might have been hoping for a higher seed than 13, the Pirates' Regional sets up really nicely for a Super Regional appearance. The Pirates have already swept Charlotte on the year. Maryland is a little bit of a wildcard from the Big Ten. Don't be surprised if the Terps appear in the Regional final. 12. Lubbock Texas Tech (8) was not projected to be a top eight seed by most national media, but throw that out the window because the committee has spoken. UCLA is an interesting team that has a high ceiling but has struggled with consistency. The Bruins have lost series to San Francisco, Cal Poly, Washington, and Cal. North Carolina escaped the blood bath of the ACC at 27-25. Army did chase Lehigh stater and MLB Draft prospect, Mason Black, after just a few innings in the Patriot League Championship Series, so the Black Knights won't be an easy out. 11. Eugene Oregon (14) was almost guaranteed to be joined by fellow Pacific Northwest team, Gonzaga. The Zags just announced that Saturday starter, Gabriel Hughes, will be out for the Regional, which makes Oregon's path a good amount easier. LSU is an intriguing three seed. The Tigers will surely be playing with emotion as Paul Mainieri makes his swan song. 10. Fort Worth TCU (6) is paired up against a solid McNeese team as its four seed. Oregon State is another two seed where it's really difficult to nail down their best series win. The Beavers have taken care of business when they should have and lost all of their series against better teams. Kevin Abel will be one of the best arms in the tournament. Dallas Baptist also has a host of solid arms, and it will be interesting to see if Abel gets the start for the Beavers against DBU. 9. Gainesville Florida (15) was the preseason number one team for a reason. The Gators are one of the most talented teams in the country and could easily put together a deep tournament run. They'll have to get past Miami, who has already beaten the Gators in Gainesville this season. South Alabama won the Sun Belt, but the league was the weakest it's been in years. This Regional feels like a tossup between Florida and Miami. 8. Fayetteville The Hogs (1) weren't done any favors by the committee. Nebraska, the Big Ten champions, is one of the toughest two seeds in the bracket. Northeastern (Colonial champion) and NJIT (America East champion) are a little less intimidating. 7. Stanford Stanford (9) seems to have a fair Regional. The Cardinal will host UC Irvine, the Big West champion. Stanford beat the Anteaters in three out of four games earlier this season. Nevada from the Mountain West is an interesting three seed. With over 11 hits per game, the Wolfpack is fifth in the country in that statistic. We'll see how that plays in a not-so-offensive ballpark in Sunken Diamond. 6. Ruston Louisiana Tech (16) made a run to the C-USA Tournament final to earn a top 16 seed. Their reward? They get an NC State team that is one of the hottest teams in the country as their two seed. Alabama as a three seed is a little bit of a wildcard. The Tide faced one of the toughest schedules in the country but only won 14 SEC games. 5. South Bend It's safe to say that most of country was surprised when Notre Dame (10), the runaway ACC Champions, didn't earn a top eight seed. Their RPI didn't do them any favors. Notre Dame will have an intriguing four seed in Central Michigan (MAC Champions). UConn, winner of ten of its last eleven games, is a formidable two seed. The Huskies are battled tested, having traveled to Texas Tech, Virginia, and Southern Miss this year already. The third-seeded Michigan Wolverines are lacking the star power that led to a National Runner-Up finish in 2019 but should still be competitive in this Regional. 4. Columbia Old Dominion (11) will be a traveling one seed as the Monarchs head to South Carolina for their Regional. South Carolina has the arms to make an Omaha run, and when you add in Virginia, one of the hottest teams in the country, this Regional has three legitimate Omaha contenders. 3. Oxford Ole Miss (12) received one of the toughest Regionals in the country. Southern Miss is allowing just 3.9 runs per game (good for ninth in the country), and Florida State was under-seeded as a three seed. This Regional is a three-team race. 2. Tucson In a normal year, Arizona (5) would likely not be playing host to Oklahoma State as a two seed. The Cowboys' run to the Big 12 Championship game pushed their RPI up to 14, and Oklahoma State could very well be hosting. UCSB has shown they can go toe-to-toe with UCLA and Oregon from the Pac-12 (though they were 1-6 in those games). Grand Canyon has already beaten Arizona once this season and went 0-2-1 in a competitive series at Oklahoma State. GCU is one of the toughest four seeds in the tournament. 1. Knoxville Speaking of tough four seeds, Wright State in Tennessee's (3) Regional might be the most under-seeded team in the entire tournament. The RPI of 27 from a non-major conference normally should get Wright State at least a three seed. Meanwhile, the two seed in the Knoxville Regional is Duke, the ACC Champion and a team that is on an absolute tear right now. Liberty, the three seed, has seven wins against teams in the field of 64. This is a tough Regional. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Join over 2,000 players and 1,000 coaches from all college divisions posting their highlights on Press Sports for FREE! The Press Sports App allows players to archive all the top moments from throughout their career together in one place so that anyone can go back and easily find them. On top of that, players and coaches can use profiles as scouting tools to extend careers from High School to College as well as College to Pro. Essentially the app functions similar to Tiktok to serve the purpose of LinkedIn for athletes, coaches and fans from all levels & sports. The app also features a transfer portal for college athletes that is becoming a very popular destination for coaches! Download Press Sports on iOS today! One last top 50 before Regionals begin! Arkansas remains number one, followed by SEC East champion, Tennessee. Vanderbilt, Texas and Mississippi State round out the top five. The full top 50 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) For the first time in school history, the Duke Blue Devils are ACC Tournament champions after beating North Carolina State 1-0 on Saturday afternoon behind a stellar performance from the pitching staff. In four games against teams seeded higher than them, the Blue Devils allowed just five runs. In the championship game, Cooper Stinson (W, 3-3) kept the Wolfpack off the base paths for the majority of his six innings, allowing just three hits and striking out six. He did not surrender a walk during his outing. Duke shortstop Ethan Murray led off the fourth inning with a double to left field and later advanced to third on sac fly, which brough Peter Matt to the plate. Matt drove a ball to right field that was deep enough for Murray to scamper home for the lone run of the game. In the bottom of the sixth, the Wolfpack had a scoring opportunity, but a major baserunning blunder cost them the game tying run. Austin Murr reached base on an error by Duke and later advanced to third on the second error of the inning by the Blue Devils. With Murr on third base and one out, the Wolfpack’s best hitter, Jonny Butler, came to the plate. Butler hit a ball to deep center field that had enough distance for Murr to tag from third and tie the game. Murr misjudged the catch and left the base early, causing him to return to third base without scoring. Terrell Tatum grounded out to strand Murr and end the threat. Jimmy Loper entered in the seventh to relieve Stinson by throwing 1.1 innings of shutout ball, giving up one hit. Marcus Johnson (S, 7) recorded the save by picking up the last four outs for the Blue Devils. Duke combined for nine strikeouts on the day. Duke skipper Chris Pollard has one of the deepest bullpens in the country and they were on full display during the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils relievers tossed 13.2 innings in the four conference tournament games and did not allow a single run. The Wolfpack pitchers were just as dominant, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out 12 batters in the championship game. Matt Willadsen (L, 4-3) gave up the lone Duke run while allowing four hits in 4.2 innings. From that point forward, Duke did not record a single hit. Chris Villaman finished the final 4.1 innings for North Carolina State and allowed just one base runner, a walk, in the seventh inning. The Blue Devils will take a 12 game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament while North Carolina State is 14-4 over their last 18 games. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

The NCAA Tournament marches closer, and College Baseball Nation has its last Field of 64 projection before the full bracket is released on Monday. Arkansas remains the number one overall seed with Vanderbilt as the second seed just behind the Razorbacks. Texas and Tennessee follow. Notre Dame, Arizona, TCU, and Stanford round out the top eight national seeds. Last 4 in: North Carolina LSU Alabama Georgia First 4 out: LBSU Ball State Pitt Kansas State Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

By Steve Parkhurst The Southeastern Conference Championship was decided Sunday in Hoover, Alabama under a sun-filled sky as the Arkansas Razorbacks faced the Tennessee Volunteers to end a drama-laden week. Jaxon Wiggins was the starting pitcher for Arkansas opposed by Will Heflin who handled the starting duties for Tennessee. With two outs, Drew Gilbert singled into right field to plate the first run of the game and give Tennessee an early 1-0 lead. Both teams were quiet offensively through the fourth inning. Wiggins left the game in the fourth with two outs having allowed just the one run on four hits and struck out five of his eleven recorded outs. Arkansas shortstop Jalen Battles made an all-world defensive play to end the fourth inning and to stem a potential threat from the Volunteers. A ground ball that seemed destined for left field, was snagged by Battles as he was diving toward the left-field foul line in the 5-6 hole. He sat upright and from the ground, made a throw to second to get the lead runner and end the frame. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Arkansas offense arrived. Battles (3-for-4) drove a ball to left-center to drive in a run from second to tie the game. Zack Gregory singled into right to drive in another run. Battles would score from third on a Matt Goodheart sacrifice fly to left field for a 3-1 Arkansas lead. Battles hit an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall and into the Arkansas bullpen for a home run in the sixth to pad the Arkansas lead at 4-1. Kevin Kopps, the SEC Pitcher of the Year, took the mound in the seventh for the Razorbacks. Pete Derkay, batting in the eight spot, led off the inning by hitting the second pitch he saw from Kopps over the right field wall. Kopps struck out two batters on his way to ending the seventh inning with the Razorbacks leading 4-2. The Razorbacks added three runs in their half of the seventh, the first on a Robert Moore batted ball that turned into a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Cullen Smith lined a shot over the wall in right field for a two-run home run making the score 7-2. For Smith, it was his third home run of the SEC tournament. After homering against Ole Miss on Saturday, Smith said, “this is a dream come true.” The dream grew bigger and better on Sunday. Kopps retired the Volunteers in the ninth, despite a two-out base hit to right field, as Arkansas took the game and the SEC Tournament. Battles took home the SEC Tournament MVP honors for his week of work going 7-for-13 at the plate and making several great defensive plays. This was the first SEC Tournament championship in the history of the Arkansas program. “It’s pretty cool,” said Kopps after Sunday’s win. “First time ever for Arkansas, so that’s pretty sweet.” After Sunday’s win, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said, “If you can win this tournament you can beat anybody in the country.” Van Horn and his Razorbacks will begin to test that theory next week. Arkansas (46-10) is all but guaranteed the top spot nationally as the NCAA tournament field will be announced on Monday and the Razorbacks will be hosting in Fayetteville. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!