The field is set. The 64-team NCAA Tournament will begin this weekend and all the seedings are ready to be broken down, discussed, and yelled about.
The committee finally got the bracket balance right
The field feels remarkably balanced. Unlike the CFP or NCAA basketball selection committees at times, this committee appeared to do a much better job weighing the full body of work across the entire bracket and seed lines.
This year, the committee added another wrinkle by ranking and placing teams No. 1 through No. 32 overall. In doing so, it moved away from the regional-heavy approach that had driven the selection process for years and instead focused on pairing teams based on their actual rankings. That’s a major win for college baseball.
The SEC once again dominates the NCAA Tournament field
The SEC will be heavily represented once again in the tournament.
The conference placed 12 teams in the field, meaning 75 percent of the league reached the postseason and nearly 20 percent of the entire NCAA Tournament field came from the SEC. The conference is also heavily represented at the top, with five national seeds and seven regional hosts.
Here’s a look at where each team is seeded.
No. 1 Seeds
No. 3 Georgia
No. 4 Auburn
No. 6. Texas
No. 7 Alabama
No. 8 Florida
No. 12 Texas A&M
No. 14 Mississippi State
No. 2 and 3 Seeds (regional location)
No. 2 Oklahoma (Atlanta Regional)
No. 2 Arkansas (Lawrence Regional)
No. 2 Ole Miss (Lincoln Regional)
No. 2 Tennessee (Chapel Hill Regional)
No. 3 Kentucky (Morgantown Regional)
The biggest NCAA Tournament snubs and seeding debates
One of the biggest debates to emerge since the regional sites were announced Sunday has centered around Arkansas and Mississippi State.
Arkansas beat Mississippi State in a series earlier this season and, overall, had a resume many believed was either stronger or at least comparable. Both teams felt deserving, but Arkansas making a deep SEC Tournament run, beating two top-six teams and reaching the championship game after losing its best hitter, only to gain virtually nothing from it, feels absurd.
The debate probably shouldn’t even be centered on those two teams. It should be about Arkansas arguably being better off losing in the first round in Hoover, heading home with its best hitter healthy, a fully rested pitching staff and still landing as a No. 2 seed anyway.
The other debate that deserves some explanation is the case of the Mercer Bears. They were the first team out of the field according to the selection committee.
Kentucky was one of the last teams into the field. Anyone who watched them throughout the full season knows this wasn’t a dominant team, but the resume itself was strong enough to justify the selection.
Perhaps their best argument is the 15-9 record they hold over teams in the field. That is deserving of a spot and, as committee chairman Michael Alford pointed out, was strong enough that some teams with similar metrics were even in hosting consideration.
Mercer being left out should be an outrage. Weeks ago, many platforms thought they were a threat to host. At the very worst, they were considered to be a No. 2 seed with a lot of upside. They lost in the semifinals of their conference tournament this week and somehow fell completely out of the field despite owning a top-30 RPI and 44 wins.
A nostalgic regional reunion in Eugene
Shoutout to the committee for giving some fans of baseball and nostalgia a nod in Eugene, Oregon this weekend.
Oregon earned the No. 11 national seed and will host a regional that includes longtime in-state rival Oregon State as the No. 2 seed. And for good measure, Washington State will join the field as the No. 3 seed.
The consolidation of power in college sports due to realignment has ruined some programs who aren’t traditionally good at football, like Oregon State. It will be a fun weekend between familiar foes in the Pacific Northwest.
