The South Carolina baseball team was unsure of its postseason fate heading into the weekend. After a dominant start that saw the Gamecocks draw consideration as the #1-ranked team in all of college baseball, Carolina faltered down the stretch, losing 11 of 15 games to end the regular season before losing 2 of 3 in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
The Gamecocks were “on the bubble” as far as regional host sites were concerned. Only the top-16 teams in the nation (with a few other factors involved) are selected to host the opening portion of the NCAA Tournament, and South Carolina baseball presented an interesting case.
Basing everything on resume alone, the Gamecocks were a pretty clear choice as a host site as USC finished the season 5th in the SEC standings after being one of the country’s best squads in out-of-conference play. However, the end-of-season slump (and some big-time injuries) had many viewing Carolina as a team that shouldn’t be a top-16 selection.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show was at noon on Monday, but the regional news broke early as the 16 host sites were announced on Sunday night. When the announcement came out, South Carolina baseball learned that Founders Park would, indeed, play host to more baseball this season.
The NCAA Division 1 Baseball Committee announced the Gamecocks as one of eight different SEC programs to be selected to host a regional along with Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.
When the Selection Show aired on Monday, the rest of the field was announced. Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the end of the season, South Carolina baseball was not even the final SEC program to receive a top-16 seed. The Alabama Crimson Tide received the 16-seed, while the Gamecocks were seeded 15th.
Columbia, South Carolina will play host to a regional made up of 1-seeded South Carolina, 2-seeded Campbell, 3-seeded NC State, and 4-seeded Central Connecticut State. The Gamecocks will play 4-seeded CCSU in their first contest of the regional in what is expected to be the Friday night game.