After a much-needed series win over South Carolina this past weekend in Columbia, the Tennessee Volunteers ended the regular season with a record of 38-18 and went 16-14 in conference play.
Tennessee’s series win puts the Vols as a 7-seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament this week in Hoover, Alabama. Tony Vitello’s squad has found rhythm here in the last month or so but can still benefit and improve their NCAA standing from a strong showing in the tournament this week. The Vols will look to defend their 2022 SEC title this week, as well.
Speaking of the NCAA seeding, though, D1 Baseball released a new 64-team projection on Monday morning following the conclusion of the regular season.
D1 Baseball currently has Tennessee slated for the two-seed in the Coral Gables Regional on the outskirts of Miami, Florida. The Miami Hurricanes (37-18, 18-12 conference) are the projected one-seed, with Kent State as the projected three-seed and a former memorable foe in Wright State as the four-seed.
More from RTI: SEC Baseball Tournament Bracket – Tennessee Slated for Day One Action
If Tennessee is able to escape this projected regional, the Vols are then projected to take on the winner of the Clemson Regional featuring (1) Clemson, (2) Campbell, (3) Oregon, and (4) Army.
Tennessee has been a fairly consistent two-seed pick as one of the teams that have been skating the edge of hosting a regional or not. Last week, the week of May 17, saw D1 Baseball and Baseball America both project Tennessee as a two-seed, slated for the Morgantown Regional and the Terre Haute Regional, respectively.
It’s certainly not finalized, though. Tennessee is a hot team right now after taking two of three from then-No. 13 South Carolina on the road this past weekend in Columbia. With a strong showing in the SEC Tournament this week in Hoover, Vitello’s Vols can improve their stock even more heading into the critical stretch of tournament play.
Seven-seed Tennessee will take on 10-seed Texas A&M in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
Check out the full 64-team projection from D1 Baseball on Monday here.
