State of SC well-represented in latest NCAA baseball tournament projections
The road to Omaha might run through the state of South Carolina.
The college baseball postseason starts next month, and according to the most recent projections, South Carolina, Clemson and Coastal Carolina are all projected as NCAA Tournament hosts. It’s a banner year for college baseball in the state after both the Gamecocks and Tigers failed to reach the postseason a year ago.
The Gamecocks (36-12, 14-9 SEC) spearhead that group after getting off to the program’s best start since 1975. However, USC has slipped in both the national rankings and postseason projections after losing six of its last eight games — including back-to-back SEC series losses to Auburn and Kentucky.
After projecting as high as the No. 3 national seed a couple of weeks ago, the Gamecocks have slid to the No. 7 national seed in Baseball America’s field of 64 projections and to No. 10 overall in D1Baseball’s projections. The top eight seeds, if they win their regionals, can then host a super regional.
Losing to the No. 212 RPI North Florida team on Tuesday night was a blow to USC’s resume — but not an insurmountable setback as long as USC finishes the season on a high note. After ranking as high as first overall in the RPI, USC has slid to No. 4 in the RPI and to No. 9 in strength of schedule.
Ironically, bitter rival Clemson (31-17, 14-10 ACC) is helping to buoy USC’s resume with its late-season surge. Led by first-year coach Erik Bakich, the Tigers were scuffling back when USC won two out of three against them in March. The Tigers started out 2-8 in the ACC but have since gone on a tear to rocket up the RPI to No. 14 — boosting USC’s RPI in the process. More importantly for Clemson, the Tigers have played themselves into the hosting conversation. Clemson ranks as the No. 11 seed by D1 and No. 13 by BA.
The Tigers play the Chanticleers on Wednesday night in a game that could have postseason implications, as the teams have similar resumes. Coastal Carolina (30-16, 17-7 Sun Belt) ranks just one spot above Clemson in the RPI at No. 13, and Coastal’s strength of schedule ranks No. 5 compared with No. 4 for the Tigers. BA currently projects the Chanticleers as the No. 8 overall national seed, while D1 has them lower as the No. 12 seed.
Coastal undoubtedly has the easiest remaining schedule of the three schools, with series against below-.500 teams South Alabama and Marshall remaining. Clemson will finish the regular season with a trip to Virginia Tech, then a home series against North Carolina. The Gamecocks have the most difficult path, as they’ll travel to No. 3 Arkansas this weekend before finishing at home against No. 23 Tennessee.
Key dates for college baseball
SEC baseball tournament: May 23-28 in Hoover, Alabama
ACC baseball tournament: May 23-28 in Durham, North Carolina
Sun Belt baseball tournament: May 23-28 in Montgomery, Alabama
Regional hosts announced: evening of Sunday, May 28
NCAA selection show: noon Monday, May 29 on ESPN2
This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 3:05 PM.
