The Road to Omaha begins now. Conference USA Baseball is sending four teams to NCAA Regionals where they’ll vie for a trip to the 2021 College World Series.
Conference USA Baseball had four ranked teams entering its conference tournament. After a thrilling week of postseason play in Ruston, Old Dominion punched its automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, but each of the other three teams earned an at-large bid as expected. The four bids are the most from Conference USA since 2016 and more than all but three conferences.
Here’s when are where C-USA teams will see action this week with all opening round games taking place on Friday, June 4:
Ruston Regional hosted by Louisiana Tech
- No. 2 NC State (30-17) vs. No. 3 Alabama (31-24), 3 p.m., ESPN3
- No. 1 Louisiana Tech (40-18) vs. No. 4 Rider (23-16), 7 p.m., ESPN3
One of the conference’s two No. 1 seeds, Louisiana Tech is the only C-USA program hosting in their own ballpark. NC State, the No. 2 seed in their regional, was one of the hotter teams in the country down the stretch. With Tech being the lowest-seeded host, that would have made NC State next in line in the pecking order. Alabama is right alongside NC State in RPI (No. 35 compared to NC State’s No. 33).
Columbia Regional hosted by South Carolina
- No. 2 South Carolina (33-21) vs. No. 3 Virginia (29-23), 12 p.m., ESPN2
- No. 1 Old Dominion (42-14) vs. No. 4 Jacksonville (16-32), 7 p.m., ESPN3
Although they’ll be the top seed in name, Old Dominion will visit South Carolina for the regional debut. The Gamecocks scuttled in the final weeks of the regular season whereas their first round opponent, Virginia, was white-hot down the stretch.
Oxford Regional hosted by Ole Miss
- No. 2 Southern Miss (37-19) vs. No. 3 Florida State (30-22), 3 p.m., ESPNU
- No. 1 Ole Miss (41-19) vs. No. 4 Southeast Missouri State (30-20), 8 p.m., ESPN3
This regional is going to be phenomenal. Southern Miss might have the most impactful pitching corps of these four teams, but they’ll be tested by two top-flight clubs in Ole Miss and South Carolina. For a team as talented as the Golden Eagles, the seeding committee did them no favors.
Greenville Regional hosted by East Carolina
- No. 1 East Carolina (41-15) vs. No. 4 Norfolk State (25-26), 12 p.m., ESPN3
- No. 2 Charlotte (39-19) vs. No. 3 Maryland (28-16), 6 p.m., ESPN3
Charlotte was bounced quickly from the conference tournament, but their body of work was enough to secure a No. 2 seed where they’ll be paired with East Carolina. The pirates were upset by UCF in their conference tournament, but both squads will be ready to bounce back with the stakes elevated even further.
