ACC Baseball News and Notes: Nine make the "Field of 64"

Read Time:3 Minute, 30 Second

Memorial Day Monday was a big day in college baseball. Why? Because the Field of 64 for the NCAA Baseball Tournament was announced. For the ACC, it would be a very good day as nine teams would hear their names called. That’s the first time since 2022 that nine have made the field, the 21st time that at least six have made the field, and the second straight year that at least eight are in. The league, from top to bottom, was good and was rewarded for that on Monday.

The teams that made it are North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels, Seminoles, and Tigers are regional hosts. The ACC is trying to extend a streak of sending at least one baseball team to Omaha. That streak stands at 18 years, with 12 of those years with more than one team. Here is a look at the nine teams in the field.

North Carolina will host a regional for the 14th time. They are looking to advance to the CWS for the second straight year. The Chapel Hill regional featured four teams. The Tar Heels, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Holy Cross. All four of these teams have won at least 30 games this spring, and as the #1 seed, UNC will face the #4 seed Holy Cross on Friday.

Florida State is hosting a regional for the 37th time in program history. That is the most of any program in college baseball. FSU enters this tournament as a top 10 seed #(9 nationally). Northeastern, Mississippi State, and Bethune-Cookman round out the regional field. The Seminoles meet Bethune-Cookman to get started. The sleeper team here might be the Huskies of Northeastern, who are 48-9 with a winning streak of 27 straight. Their last loss was back on April 6 at Campbell by an 18-8 score.

Clemson is a #11 national seed. For the third straight year and the 19th time overall, they will host a regional. The Tigers are making their 47th trip to the tournament, which is the fifth most in NCAA history. West Virginia, Kentucky, and USC Upstate are also in the regional. The Tigers will meet USC Upstate on Friday.

The Duke Blue Devils will be a #2 seed in the Athens regional hosted by Georgia. They will meet Oklahoma State on Friday, while Georgia will face Binghamton. This regional features two teams with over 30 wins, and two with under 30 wins.

The regular season champions, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, are heading to Oxford, Mississippi, as a #2 seed. They will meet Western Kentucky on Friday, while Ole Miss, the #1 seed, will face Murray State, the #4 seed, on that day.

The Louisville Cardinals are off to Nashville, Tennessee, to play in the Nashville regional as a #2 seed. That regional is being hosted by Vanderbilt, which has won eight in a row. Vandy is also the #1 overall seed in the tournament. Louisville’s first game will be against East Tennessee State, while Wright State meets Vanderbilt.

North Carolina State is a #2 seed heads to the Auburn regional. They will be joined by Auburn, the 1 seed, Stetson, the 3 seed, and Central Connecticut, the 4 seed. The Wolfpack will face Stetson in their opening game. Auburn and Central Connecticut complete the doubleheader.

Wake Forest heads to the Knoxville regional as a 2 seed. This regional is being hosted by the defending national champions, the Tennessee Vols. The Demon Deacons will face the Cincinnati Bearcats, who are the 3 seed, and Tennessee begins their title defense against Miami of Ohio, the 4 seed.

Miami will be a 3 seed in the Hattiesburg regional. They will face the #2-seeded Crimson Tide of Alabama on Friday. This regional is hosted by Southern Mississippi, the 1 seed, who will meet Columbia, the 4 seed from the Ivy League.

All regional play is a double-elimination format. When the weekend is over, 16 teams will remain to play in the next phase, which is the Super Regional. From there, eight teams will make the trip to Omaha to play for a National Championship.