NCAA.COM – Editor’s note: The following article was published first on d1baseball.com. Stay locked into D1Baseball’s coverage by using code 24Season for 24% off any annual subscription.
We say it each week, but the NCAA tournament picture is fluid until Selection Monday, and this week is no exception as there are several shakeups in the very latest D1Baseball Field of 64 Projections.
In the latest iteration of our projected field, the most notable changes are in the top eight, where there are two changes this week — Florida State and East Carolina are out after tough series losses over the weekend, while sizzling hot Georgia and Wake Forest entered the top eight this week.
The caveat to Wake and Georgia entering the top eight is that, particularly in the case of Wake, a series loss to NC State this weekend would knock them back out of the top eight and put it in a situation where it would need to win some games in the ACC tournament. We feel very confident about Georgia staying in the top eight with struggling Florida heading to Athens this weekend.
The final few host spots in the 9-16 seed range remain a classic beauty pageant of teams. Basically, what do you prefer from a metric and resume standpoint. This week, we removed South Carolina, UC Santa Barbara and Duke as hosts, while Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Oregon State entered the Top 16 this week. We discussed the Deacs above, while the Pokes swept Texas Tech last weekend and remain in solid shape an RPI and standings standpoint. The Beavs also had a strong week with a home series sweep over UCLA and remain in solid shape from an RPI standpoint.
Our belief is that whoever wins the Pac-12 showdown between the Beavs and Wildcats this weekend will find their way to a host site. For now, we’re taking the Beavers straight up in that one. NC State would be another team to keep close tabs on this weekend. Should the Wolfpack win that series at home against Wake this weekend, they likely would find their way to the hosting line. As you can see, there’s a ton at stake this weekend, and most exciting, in conference tournaments, which begin next week.
The SEC leads all conferences with nine teams in the field, while the ACC and Big 12 each have eight teams in the field this week. The Sun Belt and Pac-12 are tied with four teams each, while the Big East, Big Ten, Big West, Coastal Athletic and Conference USA are all multi-bid leagues.
Our projections are assembled each week by the trio of Mark Etheridge, Kendall Rogers, and Aaron Fitt. Together, the trio has more than 60 years of experience covering college baseball and putting together regional projections.
Let’s unveil our projected field of 64 (parentheses indicate national seed):
| FIELD OF 64 PROJECTIONS | |
|---|---|
| Lexington Region | Stillwater Region |
| 1 Kentucky (1) | 1 Oklahoma State (16) |
| 4 Sacred Heart | 4 Grand Canyon University |
| 2 San Diego | 2 DBU |
| 3 Cincinnati | 3 Utah |
| Knoxville Region | Charlottesville Region |
| 1 Tennessee (2) | 1 Virginia (15) |
| 4 Bryant | 4 Columbia |
| 2 West Virginia | 2 UC Santa Barbara |
| 3 Xavier | 3 Coastal Carolina |
| Fayetteville Region | Starkville Region |
| 1 Arkansas (3) | 1 Mississippi State (14) |
| 4 New Mexico | 4 Lamar |
| 2 Southern Miss | 2 Louisiana |
| 3 Kansas State | 3 Georgia Tech |
| College Station Region | Corvallis Region |
| 1 Texas A&M (4) | 1 Oregon State (13) |
| 4 Oral Roberts | 4 Saint Louis |
| 2 Texas | 2 Connecticut |
| 3 Louisiana Tech | 3 TCU |
| Chapel Hill Region | Greenville Region |
| 1 North Carolina (5) | 1 East Carolina (12) |
| 4 Fairfield | 4 High Point |
| 2 Alabama | 2 Duke |
| 3 UNC Wilmington | 3 UNC Greensboro |
| Clemson Region | Terre Haute Region |
| 1 Clemson (6) | 1 Indiana State (11) |
| 4 Wright State | 4 Bowling Green |
| 2 South Carolina | 2 Arizona |
| 3 College of Charleston | 3 Illinois |
| Athens Region | Norman Region |
| 1 Georgia (7) | 1 Oklahoma (10) |
| 4 Austin Peay | 4 Little Rock |
| 2 NC State | 2 Nebraska |
| 3 UCF | 3 Northeastern |
| Winston-Salem Region | Tallahassee Region |
| 1 Wake Forest (8) | 1 Florida State (9) |
| 4 Army | 4 Florida A&M |
| 2 Oregon | 2 UC Irvine |
| 3 Vanderbilt | 3 Troy |
LAST FOUR IN: UCF, Northeastern, Utah, Cincinnati
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