College Baseball Regional 2019: Bracket, Schedule, Live Stream and More
The College World Series will be here soon. But first, the NCAA tournament field of 64 must be trimmed.
The double-elimination regional opening round of this year's NCAA tournament begins Friday and runs through Monday. Sixteen teams will advance to play in the super regional round, which will feature best-of-three series between pairs of teams and also be hosted on college campuses.
The eight remaining teams will travel to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series to play a two-week, double-elimination round that will leave only two teams to play a best-of-three series for the national championship.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The full bracket can be viewed at NCAA.com. Here's a look at the first slate of games that will kick off the NCAA tournament on Friday, followed by some teams to watch as the event unfolds.
May 31 Schedule
All times ET. All games can be streamed live on WatchESPN.
Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA
No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Loyola Marymount, 4 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Omaha, 10 p.m., ESPN3
Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State
No. 2 Creighton vs. No. 3 Michigan, 4 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 Oregon State vs. No. 4 Cincinnati, 10 p.m., ESPNU
Oklahoma City Regional hosted by Oklahoma State
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Nebraska, 1 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. No. 4 Harvard, 7 p.m., ESPN3
Lubbock Regional hosted by Texas Tech
No. 1 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Army, 4 p.m., ESPN3
No. 2 DBU vs. No. 3 Florida, 8 p.m., ESPN3
Fayetteville Regional hosted by Arkansas
No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Central Connecticut State, 2 p.m., ESPN3
No. 2 California vs. No. 3 TCU, 7 p.m., ESPN3
Oxford Regional hosted by Ole Miss
No. 2 Illinois vs. No. 3 Clemson, 4 p.m., ESPNU
No. 1 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Jacksonville State, 8 p.m., ESPN3
Baton Rouge Regional hosted by LSU
No. 2 Arizona State vs. No. 3 Southern Miss, 1 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Stony Brook, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Athens Regional hosted by Georgia
No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Florida State, 12 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Mercer, 7 p.m., SEC Network
Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt
No. 2 Indiana State vs. No. 3 McNeese State, 1 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Ohio State, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Morgantown Regional hosted by West Virginia
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 Duke, 4 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Fordham, 8 p.m., ESPN3
Greenville Regional hosted by East Carolina
No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 Campbell, 12 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 East Carolina vs. No. 4 Quinnipiac, 6 p.m., ESPN3
Louisville Regional hosted by Louisville
No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 3 Illinois State, 2 p.m., ESPN3
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 4 UIC, 6 p.m., ESPN3
Starkville Regional hosted by Mississippi State
No. 1 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Southern, 1 p.m., SEC Network
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 Central Michigan, 8 p.m., ESPN3
Stanford Regional hosted by Stanford
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 Sacramento State, 4 p.m., ESPN3
No. 2 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 3 Fresno State, 10 p.m., ESPN3
Chapel Hill Regional hosted by North Carolina
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 UNCW, 2 p.m., ESPN3
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Liberty, 7 p.m., ESPN3
Atlanta Regional hosted by Georgia Tech
No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 3 Coastal Carolina, 12 p.m., ESPNU
No. 1 Georgia Tech vs. No. 4 Florida A&M, 7 p.m., ESPN3
Teams to Watch
Vanderbilt
UCLA may be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, but Vanderbilt, the No. 2 team in the D1Baseball.com rankings, could be the favorite to win it all with the momentum it has entering the tournament.
The Commodores have won nine games in a row, which includes winning both the SEC regular-season and tournament championships. They're poised to make a run to the College World Series, where they haven't been since 2015.
This is a team that has everything going for it. Vandy has a top MLB draft prospect—impressive outfielder JJ Bleday—and has demonstrated the ability to win low-scoring close games and all-out slugfests.
In the SEC tournament championship game, the Commodores overcame an eight-run deficit to beat Ole Miss in walk-off fashion, as Philip Clarke's ninth-inning RBI single gave them an 11-10 win.
Vanderbilt has been strong all season, and the bracket lined up nicely for it to make a deep run to Omaha.
Oregon State
In order to reach the College World Series, Oregon State would likely have to get past Pac-12 rival UCLA in the super regionals. But the Beavers are the national champions, and they're a strong team that has already played the Bruins this year.
Although Oregon State only won one of its three games vs. UCLA in March, it also played a competitive game in one of the two losses.
The main reason the Beavers are included in this group? Standout catcher Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 player in the 2019 MLB draft class, per MLBPipeline.com, who could be selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the top pick in next week's draft.
It's more challenging for one baseball player to power a team to victory than other sports, but Rutschman could get hot at the right time and have a contagious effect on the rest of the Beavers' lineup.
Florida State
The Seminoles aren't hosting a regional, so they're a dark-horse pick to make a run. They're the No. 3 seed in the Athens Regional, where they'll have to get past host Georgia.
But if Florida State can do that, it could be a team that makes a surprise run to Omaha. This is the first time the Seminoles will be on the road for a regional since 2010 after hosting one the past eight seasons.
Florida State has the veteran leadership of coach Mike Martin, who is in his 40th and final season and most recently led the Seminoles to the College World Series in 2017. He has 2,023 career wins, the most in NCAA Division I history.
With Martin's guidance and a clean slate, don't be surprised if Florida State notches some unexpected victories and makes a run over the next few weeks.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
