The Regional round makes a second consecutive and eleventh overall appearance in Charlottesville. Virginia has once again been one of the better teams in the nation and earned the twelfth overall seed to earn a Regional host spot. They welcome in known SEC threat Mississippi State, Big East tournament champion St. John’s, and the Ivy League tournament champion UPenn. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regionals.
#1 Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia has been a common program within the postseason every season it seems and this year is no different. The Cavaliers went 41-15, with a 18-12 ACC record. They fell short of the conference tournament title, and look to make up for that at their home field in the Regional.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Casey Saucke – .354 BA, 81 H, 13 HR, 62 RBI
Henry Ford – .342, 76 H, 17 HR, 64 RBI
Griff O’Ferrall – .336 BA, 86 H, 18 2B, 49 RBI
#2 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State is another example of an extremely battle tested SEC squad looking to cause some damage in the Regional. They recorded a near 40 win season and a 17-13 record in the SEC. With a recent national championship in the program, the culture is there and if they get hot, they’ll be hard to stop.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Connor Hujsak – 350 BA, 1.042 OPS, 64 H, 9 HR, 48 RBI, .601 SLG
Dakota Jordan – .339 BA, 1.095 OPS, 75 H, 17 HR, 63 RBI .643 SLG
#3 St. John’s Red Storm
St. John’s is coming out of the Big East in 2024 with a 37-16-1 record and a 14-7 Big East record along with a conference tournament championship. Outside of their conference schedule they played well established programs like Florida, Texas, and LIU who also made a Regional in this tournament. They’ll have a tough test against Mississippi State, but they’re playing great baseball right now.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Jimmy Keenan – .341 BA, 1.025 OPS, 70 H, 19 2B, 11 HR, 55 RBI
#4 Pennsylvania Quakers
UPenn earned a spot in the Charlottesville Regional after taking an Ivy League tournament title. They currently hold a record of 24-23 with an 11-10 conference record. While they played up-and-down baseball all year, they’re hot now and look to beat a juggernaut in Virginia. This will be the biggest test for UPenn all year, as their hardest non-conference opponent was College of Charleston.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Wyatt Henseler – .372 BA, 1.259 OPS, 71 H, 22 HR, 55 RBI, .785 SLG
Predicted Winner: #1 Virginia Cavaliers
There’s some tough opponents in this Regional but none have seen a team as good as Virginia. They have the winning culture built in Charlottesville and for the three other teams coming in, that’s going to be hard to overcome.