The 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament is set and with that comes the Regional matchups. The number one overall seed was awarded to the Tennessee Volunteers after they took home the 2024 SEC Championship, and will host the Regional along with Southern Mississippi, Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regional.
#1 Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee is at the forefront of a historic year in the SEC, that saw a record setting 11 teams get selected into the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers have a jaw-dropping 50-11 record and 22-8 record within conference play. It’s the second time in program history that they’ve earned the first overall seed, and with a 35-3 home record, they have a great chance to advance to the super-regionals.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Christian Moore 2B – .382 BA, 1.236 OPS, 94 H, 28 HR, 63 RBI
Blake Burke 1B – .372 BA, 1.142 OPS, 87 H, 17 HR, 51 RBI,
Kavares Tears OF – .337 BA, 1.091 OPS, 67 H, 17 HR, 48 RBI
#2 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Southern Miss is fresh off of a Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship that earned them the spot in Knoxville. The Golden Eagles seem to be the consensus team that get the hype of possibly upsetting Tennessee. They’re heading into the regional with a 41-18 overall record, and a 20-10 conference record. As one of four teams selected from the Sun Belt, the Golden Eagles hope to advance out of Knoxville and get one step closer to Omaha.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Dalton McIntyre OF – .389 BA, .915 OPS, 86 H, 34 RBI, 10 SB
Slade Wilks OF – .329 BA, 1.009 OPS, 76 H, 14 HR, 65 RBI
#3 Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana enters the NCAA tournament being one of three teams selected out of the Big 10. The Hoosiers sport a 32-24-1 record heading into the Knoxville Regional, but despite having a .570 win percentage, are battle tested facing some of the nations best teams. They’ve faced ranked teams of the likes of Vanderbilt, Dallas Baptist, Duke, Coastal Carolina, and Alabama. After a strong run in the Big Ten tournament, that saw the Hoosiers fall short of a conference title, they’ll look to make some noise in the regional.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Devin Taylor – .352 BA, 1.090 OPS, 81 H, 18 HR, 49 RBI
Nick Mitchell – .349 BA, 1.003 OPS, 67 H, 15 2B, 49 RBI
Tyler Cerny – .312 BA, .895 OPS, 77 H, 23 2B, 10 HR, 60 RBI
#4 Northern Kentucky Norse
The 2024 Horizon League champion Northern Kentucky was seeded as the fourth and final team selected into the Knoxville Regional. After going 35-22 and 19-11 in conference play, the Norse look to do the seemingly impossible and advance to the Super Regional. They’ve been playing some very good baseball in the month of May and look to keep that going this weekend. They’ll have their work cut out for them against Tennessee, but they have played Indiana this season, which can be valuable experience for a possible day two elimination game.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Treyvin Moss – .388 BA, 1.125 OPS, 92 H, 21 2B, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 29 SB
Liam McFadden-Ackman – .362 BA, 1.222 OPS, 79 H, 21 HR, 76 RBI, 18 SB
Cleary Simpson – .345 BA, 1.021 OPS, 70 H, 5 HR, 48 RBI, 54 BB, 16 SB
Predicted Winner: #1 Tennessee Volunteers
While Tennessee is the favorite here, they could very well struggle if matched up against Southern Miss, and if Northern Kentucky can get hot at the plate, it could also pose concern for Tennessee. However with a 35-3 home record, it’s hard to bet against the Volunteers.