Ole Miss included in NCAA list of 20 Potential Regional Host Sites

OXFORD, Miss. — The Rebels have made the NCAA list of 20 teams that will have an opportunity to host NCAA Regionals as announced Friday.

Although the Diamond Rebs have suffered some key injuries and lost some series as of late, they still own a 34-14 record and a No. 11 ranking in the RPI. Additionally, Ole Miss is one of only three teams to have 10 or more wins against teams who are ranked in the Top 25 in RPI. These factors could keep head coach Mike Bianco’s team in the hunt to host Regionals at Swayze when the list is ultimately pared down to 16 locations.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟮𝟬 (𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟) 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗦

The NCAA announced the 20 potential regional hosts, and there were few surprises…

🔗 https://t.co/TKTlzWv6cA pic.twitter.com/Luho1562jO

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) May 14, 2021

The final list will not be announced until the conclusion of the regular season and the SEC tournament, so there is still time for the teams on the list to make their case for hosting.

Here are the teams included in list of potential regional hosts: 

Arizona (Tucson)
Arkansas (Fayetteville)
Charlotte (Gastonia*)
East Carolina (Greenville)
Florida (Gainesville)
Gonzaga (Spokane)
Louisiana Tech (Ruston)
Mississippi State (Starkville)
Notre Dame (South Bend)
Ole Miss (Oxford)
Oregon (Eugene)
Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
South Carolina (Columbia)
Southern Miss (Hattiesburg)
Stanford (Stanford)
Tennessee (Knoxville)
Texas (Austin)
Texas Tech (Lubbock)
TCU (Fort Worth)
Vanderbilt (Nashville)

In a release earlier today, Ole Miss baseball states: “The designation of predetermined sites will have no bearing on the teams selected to participate or for seeding in the 2021 Division I Baseball Championship. The championship field will consist of 30 conference automatic qualifiers and 34 at-large qualifiers.”

What’s Next?

There are two weekends left in the regular season, as well the Rebels host Vanderbilt this weekend and travel to Georgia the next.

The release of the 20 possible hosting sites is a departure from the NCAA’s usual protocol, which is to wait to announce the 16 hosts. However, the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way the NCAA has navigated this year’s tournament, and they are announcing potential sites early so that schools will have the time to institute proper safety measures.

The final 16 predetermined sites will be revealed at 7:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 30. The bracket and pairings for the 2021 Division I Baseball Championship will be released at 11 a.m. CT Monday, May 31, on ESPN2.

History on the side of the Rebs

Ole Miss has hosted nine NCAA regionals, all between 2004 and 2019 and is one of seven programs to host nine or more regionals in that span. The Rebels have hosted in each of the last two full seasons and are one of eight teams in the nation to host in four of the last six seasons.

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)