The regional hosts have been determined, the seeding is set and the field for the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament is finalized — let the debating officially begin.
We knew on Championship Sunday which 16 teams had earned the right to host a regional this year. But we didn't know which of those teams would get which seeds, or what their paths would be to move on to the super regionals and then, hopefully, to the College World Series in Omaha.
Now we do, as the NCAA has revealed the full bracket on Monday afternoon. And while all 16 hosts are no doubt thrilled to be able to stay home for the regional round, some of them are probably feeling a little more annoyed at the selection committee than others. These four teams, in particular, got some brutally tough draws.
Four regional hosts that face a brutal road to Omaha
Oregon State
The good news for the Beavs is that they did in fact earn their way into the No. 8 seed, and will host a super regional if they make it that far. The bad news is that they're going to really have to earn their way there.
Oregon State will open against a pesky Saint Mary's team that just toppled the WCC's top seed, San Diego, to win the conference tournament. The other two teams in the Corvallis regional? A TCU squad that appeared to have an argument for a top-16 seed themselves before losing a heartbreaker to Arizona in the Big 12 title game, and a USC team that boasts some legitimate top-end talent.
Georgia
When Duke is on, the Blue Devils have shown that they can play with and beat just about anybody — look no further than taking two of three from Clemson on the road earlier this month, as well as a very competitive series in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. The same can be said for Oklahoma State, which played one of the very toughest schedules in the country and put up five Quad-1 and 10 Quad-2 wins.
It would be a surprise if the Dawgs didn't make it out of this regional. But for a top-eight seed, that's a pretty tough draw, even if the No. 4 seed, Binghamton of the America East, isn't much to write home about.
North Carolina
Again, the Heels shouldn't have much trouble with No. 4 seed Holy Cross. The other side of this regional, though, is a bear. Start with Nebraska, which just won the Big Ten Tournament and boasts wins over Vanderbilt, Oregon State (twice), Oregon and UCLA this season. Then move on to Oklahoma, which has struggled at times for consistency but boasts a ceiling as high as anybody's — they do have 11 Quad 1 wins in the rugged SEC, after all.
It wouldn't be a shocker for either of the Huskers or Sooners to spring an upset and come out of this region, and that's tough business for a Tar Heels team that fully earned its No. 5 overall seed.
Coastal Carolina
This time yesterday, the Chants were still hoping to nab a top-eight seed. Instead, they fell all the way to No. 13 despite tearing through the Sun Belt this season. And as if that weren't bad enough, the selection committee rewarded them with a brutal region.
At No. 74 in the RPI, Fairfield is nothing to sneeze at as a fourth seed. From there, Coastal will have to deal with a loaded Florida team that had its own hopes of hosting a regional before narrowly missing out and an East Carolina squad that is making its seventh straight regional appearance and appears to be peaking at the right time after roster turnover and some bad injury luck resulted in a slow start to this season.