South Carolina baseball: Gamecocks positioning to be regional host
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina baseball is hoping to earn a top 16 seed for postseason play.
With just four series remaining on the South Carolina baseball slate, the Gamecocks sit at 26-12, with an 11-7 mark in SEC play. The performance to this point has the team sitting at No. 13 in the latest D1 Baseball polls. South Carolina missed a huge opportunity to make a statement last weekend, dropping a home series to top ranked Arkansas, but the Gamecocks still find themselves squarely in the conversation of postseason host sites.
The college baseball playoff format begins with a field a 64 teams, which are divided equally between 16 different regional sites. Each site will host four teams in a double elimination bracket, before winners then move onto the Super Regionals, which are hosted by the top eight national seeds, as selected by the NCAA.
The Gamecocks are hoping to position themselves as one of those top 16 teams, meaning they’d have the luxury of hosting the first round of the postseason. Currently, South Carolina is considered to be one of those hosts by both D1 Baseball and Baseball America.
Despite dropping their second series in SEC play, Mark Kingston’s bunch is listed by D1 Baseball as the nation’s No. 14 seed, where they’d play in a group with Old Dominion, NC State, and USC Upstate. That hypothetical bracket sees them paired with the No. 3 seed, TCU, which would mean the Gamecocks would travel to Fort Worth should they advance past the regional round.
Baseball America views the Gamecocks in a similar light, listing the program as the country’s No. 13 seed, hosting Pittsburgh, Liberty, and Western Carolina. The winner of that pairing would face the winner of the Arizona bracket, as the Wildcats are projected as the No. 4 seed.
In each of these hypotheticals, the Gamecocks would play in Founder’s Park for the regionals, then travel for the supers. In order to get earn a national seed, South Carolina will need to go on a tear in these next few series, which come against Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Three of those four foes rank among the nation’s top 20 teams.
While the Gamecocks could certainly move up into that top eight group, they could also fall off the No. 1 seed line with a poor finish. What makes things sticky is the fact that each of the final four opponents are also positioning for postseason seeding. Ole Miss, in particular, is currently listed as the nation’s No. 14 seed, just one slot behind the Gamecocks. The winner of this upcoming series will further secure its spot among the top 16 teams, while the loser could fall out of regional host consideration.
After the matchup with Ole Miss, South Carolina will face Mississippi State, who’s securely positioned as a regional host. The Bulldogs, however, are also considered to be the final national seed, landing as the No. 8 overall seed. They’ll be looking to remain among that top eight in order to host a Super Regional.
Time is running out for seeding, as the NCAA will likely select the host sites in just a couple of weeks, with extra preparations being needed to ensure that stadiums are COVID safe. This means the Gamecocks need to perform well in their next two matchups with Ole Miss and Mississippi State. If the team can win both series, a national seed isn’t out of the question.