College baseball tournaments: Southern, SEC, ACC, Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun
Sunday was very much a day of rest for some state college baseball teams awaiting the start of conference tournaments.
The state of Georgia is guaranteed two teams in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the conference tournaments.
Georgia is No. 5 and Georgia Tech is No. 8 in NCAA RPI as of May 16, and the weekend did little to change that, the Bulldogs beating Alabama and the Yellow Jackets taking two of three from Pitt.
Most projections in recent weeks have both teams hosting regionals.
Georgia got that honor last year for the first time since 2008, and Tech will break a non-hosting streak dating back to 2011. They have never hosted regionals the same year, but they have played in the same regional in Athens or Atlanta several times.
Georgia Southern is the East Division champ of the Sun Belt, and its RPI of 68 is second-best, behind top seed Texas State at 68. So the Eagles also pretty much need to win the tournament to keep playing.
Mercer is pretty much staying put for a few days, closing the regular season at Furman in Greenville, S.C. and opening the Southern Conference Tournament against Furman in Greenville, S.C.
The Bears finished tied for fourth with UNCG (14-10/33-17) in a logjam with Wofford (14-9/33-23) and Furman (13-11/29-26), all behind regular-season champ Samford (19-5/39-17).
The Southern Conference is a longshot to get an at-large bid, with UNCG first in NCAA RPI at No. 70 and Samford 78. Mercer is next at 141.
Kennesaw State didn’t make the Atlantic Sun Tournament, being held in DeLand, Fla. It’s also likely a one-bid league this year, with No. 58 Liberty and No. 73 Jacksonville the only teams with a two-digit RPI.
The NCAA selection show is Sunday, May 27, and the first regional games are May 31. The Super Regionals start June 7, and the College World Series on June 15.
Southern Conference
Greenville, S.C.
Games streaming at www.soconsports.com
Tuesday
10 a.m.: 8 Western Carolina vs. 9 The Citadel
Wednesday
9 a.m.: WCU/Citadel vs. 1 Samford
12:30 p.m.: 4 Mercer vs. 5 Furman
4 p.m.: 3 UNCG vs. 6 ETSU
7:30 p.m.: 2 Wofford vs. 7 VMI
SEC
Hoover, Ala.
Games on SECN
Tuesday
10:30 a.m.: 11 Florida vs. 6 Texas A&M
2 p.m.: 10 Missouri vs. 7 Mississippi
5:30 p.m.: 9 Tennessee vs. 8 Auburn
9 p.m.: 12 South Carolina vs. 5 LSU
Wednesday
10:30 a.m.: 3 Georgia vs. Florida/A&M
2 Arkansas vs. Missouri/Mississippi
5:30 p.m.: 1 Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee/Auburn
4 Mississippi State vs. USC/LSU
ACC
Durham, N.C.
Games on Regional Sports Networks/ACCN Extra
Tuesday
11 a.m.: 12 Boston College vs. 8 Clemson
3 p.m.: 6 Florida State vs. 10 Wake Forest
7 p.m.: 11 Notre Dame vs. 7 Duke
Wednesday
11 a.m.: 1 Louisville vs. 12 Boston College
3 p.m.: Georgia Tech vs. No. 11 Notre Dame
7 p.m.: 9 Virginia vs. 5 North Carolina
Thursday
11 a.m.: 8 Clemson vs. 1 Louisville
3 p.m.: 4 Miami vs. 9 Virginia
7 p.m.: 3 N.C. State vs. 10 Wake Forest
Friday
11 a.m.: 7 Duke vs. 2 Georgia Tech
3 p.m.: 5 North Carolina vs. 4 Miami
7 p.m.: 6 Florida State vs. 3 N.C. State
Sun Belt
Conway, S.C.
Games on ESPN+
Tuesday
3 p.m.: 7 South Alabama vs. 10 Louisiana-Monroe
6;30 p.m.: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. 9 App State
Wednesday
9 a.m.: 3 Little Rock vs. 6 Troy
12:30 p.m.: 2 Georgia Southern vs. top seed winner from Tuesday
4 p.m.: 4 Texas Arlington vs. 5 Coastal Carolina
7:30 p.m.: 1 Texas State vs. low seed winner from Tuesday
Atlantic Sun
DeLand, Fla.
Wednesday
11 a.m.: 1 FGCU vs. 6 Stetson
3 p.m.: 2 Liberty vs. 5 North Florida
3 p.m.: 3 Lipscomb vs. 4 Jacksonville
Thursday
11 a.m.: FGCU/Stetson loser vs. Liberty/UNF loser
3 p.m.: FGCU/Stetson winner vs. Lipscomb/Jacksonville loser
7 p.m.: Liberty/UNF winner vs. Lipscomb/Jacksonville winner