The 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament is set and with that comes the Regional matchups. Arkansas was awarded the fifth overall seed and will host a Regional for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. They’ll welcome Louisiana Tech, Kansas State, and Southeast Missouri State to Fayetteville for a chance to continue a possible run to Omaha. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regionals.
#1 Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas gained the fifth overall seed in the NCAA tournament and are coming off of back to back losses to South Carolina and Kentucky in the SEC tournament. The Razorbacks currently hold a 43-14 overall record, and a 20-10 conference record. This team is near flawless at home going 33-3 this season in Fayetteville. This is an extremely battle tested Razorbacks team, with even their early season and midweek non-conference games against tough opponents who are in Regionals of their own. This program has seen a lot of success, and they look to carry that into this postseason.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Hagen Smith – 1.48 ERA, 9-1 W-L, 79.0 IP, 154 K, 30 BB, .139 B/AVG
#2 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
LA Tech is coming off of a season where they were able to compete with the likes of C-USA rival Dallas Baptist. Although the Bulldogs couldn’t bring home the conference tournament championship, they can come into Fayetteville and upset the Razorbacks and beat any of the teams involved. They currently have a 45-17 record and recorded an 18-6 record in C-USA.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Cole McConnell – .380 BA, 1.144 OPS, 92 H, 18 HR, 71 RBI, .682 SLG
Ethan Bates – .343, 1.060 OPS, 86 H, 15 HR, 74 RBI
Dalton Davis – .329 BA, 1.029 OPS, 70 H, 15 HR, 53 RBI
#3 Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State managed to get into the Regional with a 32-24 record and a 15-15 record in the Big 12. This will be a tough Regional for a Wildcats team that has played some pretty average baseball by the standards of a power five conference in baseball. They’ll have a big challenge with Louisiana Tech but there’s no better time to start playing your best baseball than right now.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Brady Day – .332 BA, .977 OPS, 71 H, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 16 SB
Kaelen Culpepper – .316 BA, .943 OPS, 71 H, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 16 SB
Brendan Jones – .298 BA, .923 OPS, 32 H, 8 HR, .439 OBP, 37 SB
#4 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
The Ohio Valley Conference champions are Fayetteville bound to take on the powerhouse of Arkansas. The 34-25 Redhawks with a 18-9 conference record may not look like they stand much of a chance on paper, but that can be all the motivation they need to play their best brand of baseball. The Redhawks have been playing amazing baseball in the month of May and will need to leave it all on the field to take down the Razorbacks and advance to the Supers.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Michael Mugan – .322 BA, .920 OPS, 73 H, 12 HR, 47 RBI
Ty Stauss – .320 BA, 970 OPS, 64 H, 8 HR, 51 RBI
Predicted Winner: #1 Arkansas Razorbacks
Home field advantage here is huge for Arkansas. Compared to a lot of other Regionals this appears to be a slightly easier draw for the Razorbacks and their focus should be on Louisiana Tech if that matchup occurs. Arkansas should dominate through their first matchup.