With the regular season and the SEC Tournament now in the rearview mirror, it’s do-or-die time for the Tennessee Volunteers as they stare down the NCAA Regional selection shows on Sunday and Monday.
The Vols posted a 38-18, 16-14 SEC record throughout the regular season this past year. While Tennessee did struggle at the start of SEC play, the Vols found more rhythm in the back half of the season schedule. All of that turned into a 7-seed selection for Tennessee in the SEC Tournament this week in Hoover, AL.
The Vols’ trip to Alabama was short-lived, though. Tennessee couldn’t get anything going during Tuesday’s first-round loss to 10-seed Texas A&M, 3-0, and was promptly eliminated from the tournament.
The 16 NCAA Regional host sites will be announced this Sunday. Then, on Monday, the rest of the 48 teams will receive their location selection and matchups. With Tennessee not likely to host a Regional in Knoxville, the Vols will likely be waiting until Monday to see their tournament fate.
The two-seed has been an extremely common projection for Tennessee. Both Baseball America and D1 Baseball have consistently had the Vols in that slot, with not much changing after the quick exit in the SEC Tournament.
That is true this week, too, as D1 Baseball released a new projection on Thursday with Baseball America releasing one on Friday. Both publications have Tennessee as the two-seed in the Terre Haute Regional. Both publications also have the Terre Haute Regional as the final/No. 16 host site on the list.
D1 Baseball‘s projection has Indiana State as the 1-seed, Tennessee as the 2-seed, UC Irvine as the 3-seed, and Wright State as the 4-seed.
If Tennessee is able to escape this projected regional, the Vols are then projected to take on the winner of the Winston-Salem Regional featuring (1) Wake Forest, (2) Northeastern, (3) Southern California, and (4) Saint Louis.
Baseball America, meanwhile, has Indiana State as the 1-seed, Tennessee as the 2-seed, Iowa as the 3-seed, and Wright State as the 4-seed.
If Tennessee is able to escape this projected regional, the Vols are then projected to take on the winner of the Winston-Salem Regional featuring (1) Wake Forest, (2) Campbell, (3) UNC Wilmington, and (4) Utah Valley.
More from RTI: Tennessee Athletics Claims Second Straight SEC All-Sports Title
College Baseball Postseason Timeline
- Host Sites Selections: Sunday, May 28
- Selection Show: Monday, May 29, Noon ET, ESPN2
- Regionals: Friday, June 2 – Monday, June 5
- Super Regionals: Friday, June 9 – Monday, June 12
- Friday Day of Men’s College World Series: Friday, June 16
