Record-Tying 10 SEC Teams in NCAA Baseball Tournament; UK Faces Ball State Friday
A record-tying 10 SEC baseball teams were selected to compete for the 2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
Florida was selected as the No. 2 overall seed, while Arkansas is No. 3, LSU is No. 5, Vanderbilt No. 6, Kentucky No. 12, Auburn No. 13, South Carolina No. 15 and Alabama No. 16. Tennessee and Texas A&M also earned bids.
The SEC led all conferences with 10 selections. This marks the fourth time that 10 SEC teams have earned NCAA Tournament bids. Ten teams were also selected in 2014, 2018 and 2019.
A record eight SEC programs were selected among 16 NCAA Regional hosts. The previous record was seven SEC hosts in 2016 and 2021. The eight SEC schools named as NCAA Regional hosts are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The SEC has claimed eight national titles by six different teams since 2009, including three in the last three tournaments. Seven SEC teams have finished runner-up and there have been three SEC vs. SEC College World Series finals during that period.
Vanderbilt claimed its fourth SEC Tournament title last week in Hoover. The Commodores, seeded fourth, finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and defeated Texas A&M 10-4 in the championship game. RJ Austin was named tournament MVP.
NCAA Regionals – June 2-5
Friday, June 2 (All Times Eastern)
Lexington Regional - Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Ball State
Ball State at #21 Kentucky - 12 p.m. [SECN/ESPN+]
Baton Rouge Regional - LSU, Oregon State, Sam Houston, Tulane
Tulane at #5 LSU - 3 p.m. [ESPNU/ESPN+]
Fayetteville Regional - Arkansas, TCU, Arizona, Santa Clara
Santa Clara at #3 Arkansas - 3 p.m. [ESPN+]
Gainesville Regional - Florida, Connecticut, Texas Tech, Florida A&M
Florida A&M at #2 Florida - 5:30 p.m. [ESPN+]
Clemson Regional - Clemson, Tennessee, Charlotte, Lipscomb
#9 Tennessee vs. Charlotte - 6 p.m. [ESPNU/ESPN+]
Columbia Regional - South Carolina, Campbell, NC State, Central Conn. State
Central Connecticut State at #16 South Carolina - 7 p.m. [ESPN+]
Auburn Regional - Auburn, Southern Miss, Samford, Penn
Penn at #13 Auburn - 7 p.m. [ESPN+]
Tuscaloosa Regional - Alabama, Boston College, Troy, Nicholls
Nicholls at #16 Alabama - 7 p.m. [ESPN+]
Nashville Regional - Vanderbilt, Oregon, Xavier, Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois at #3 Vanderbilt - 8 p.m. [SECN/ESPN+]
Stanford Regional - Stanford, Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State
Texas A&M vs. Cal State Fullerton - 10 p.m. [ESPN2/ESPN+]
NCAA Baseball Tournament Schedule Regionals: Friday, June 2 through Monday, June 5
Super Regionals: Friday, June 9 through Monday, June 12
First day of MCWS games: Friday, June 16
MCWS Finals: Begins Saturday, June 24 (best out of 3)
