Before we even get to Omaha, the NCAA Baseball Tournament field will gradually have to work its way down from 64 teams to the most deserving of eight. It all starts with a 64-team tournament featuring all the best teams in college baseball. Those 64 teams will be split into 16 regionals. From there, the 16 regional winners will then go on to the Super Regionals before we finally get to Omaha!
College baseball may end up with a southeastern-heavy allotment of teams, mostly because the ACC and SEC dominate the sport, as well as a few other programs within the same geographic region as well. There are other teams from the West Coast and the Midwest that can often hold their own in these spots, but what people have to remember is baseball is a year-round sport in the southeast.
So what I want to do today with the men's postseason tournament field about to be set is do my best to explain what happens in the first round. The regionals are perhaps the best tone-setter for what is to come. The No. 1 seed is put in an advantageous spot to come out on top, but that is not always the case. If a team gets hot and gets into the super regionals, then they are one step away from Omaha.
So without further ado, here is what you need to know about the regionals portion of the tournament.
What you need to know about the Regionals in the NCAA Baseball Tournament
As stated above, all 64 teams that make the tournament are sorted into one of 16 regionals. Inside of each region, teams are seeded No. 1 to No. 4. The regionals will be held at the No. 1 seed's home stadium, which plays a huge part in why the top seed in each region stands a very good chance at advancing to the super regionals. They will have the luxury of playing all their games in front of fans.
To set stage, here are the 16 regional sites for the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball championship.
- Athens, Georgia – Georgia (42-15)
- Auburn, Alabama – Auburn (38-18)
- Austin, Texas – Texas (42-12)
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana – LSU (43-14)
- Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (42-12)
- Clemson, South Carolina – Clemson (44-16)
- Conway, South Carolina – Coastal Carolina (48-11)
- Corvallis, Oregon – Oregon State (41-12-1)
- Eugene, Oregon – Oregon (42-14)
- Fayetteville, Arkansas – Arkansas (43-13)
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Southern Mississippi (44-14)
- Knoxville, Tennessee – Tennessee (43-16)
- Los Angeles, California – UCLA (42-16)
- Nashville, Tennessee – Vanderbilt (42-16)
- Oxford, Mississippi – Ole Miss (40-19)
- Tallahassee, Florida – Florida State (38-14)
As you can see, eight of the 16 regional sites are home to SEC teams. Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt. Of the eight remaining regional site hosts, three are from the ACC (Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina), two are from the Big Ten (Oregon and UCLA) and the other three are seen as smaller schools in Coastal Carolina, Oregon State and Southern Miss.
What is important to know is all 16 of those teams are No. 1 seeds, meaning they will have the perceived advantage to get to the super regionals, when compared to the other 48 teams seeded as No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4. The teams in each region will play each other in a double-elimination bracket. No. 1 will face No. 4 initially and No. 2 will face No. 3. No team is eliminated until they suffer a second loss.
After the regionals, the super regionals feature eight pairings that will play in a best-of-three series.