Ole Miss Baseball Projected as No. 2 Seed After Missing NCAA Regional Host Bid

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss baseball will begin the NCAA Tournament away from Oxford after the Rebels were left out of the group of 16 regional host sites announced Saturday night.

Despite finishing the regular season 36-21 and remaining firmly inside the NCAA Tournament field, Ole Miss did not secure a top-16 national seed, meaning postseason baseball will start on the road for Mike Bianco’s club beginning May 29.

A nation-leading seven Southeastern Conference baseball programs were selected among 16 regional hosts for the NCAA Baseball Championship, according to an announcement Sunday by the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Subcommittee.

The seven SEC schools named as NCAA Regional hosts were Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Texas and Texas A&M. They will begin play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 29.

The other nine regional hosts are Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina from the ACC; Nebraska, Oregon and UCLA from the Big Ten; Kansas and West Virginia from the Big 12; and Southern Miss from the Sun Belt. 

Because NCAA rules prevent teams from being placed in a regional hosted by a conference opponent, the Rebels’ possible destinations are expected to come from that remaining group above: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Oregon, Southern Miss, Kansas, Nebraska, UCLA, West Virginia, and Florida State.

Current projections largely have Ole Miss positioned as a No. 2 regional seed heading into Selection Monday. The full 64-team NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed May 25 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.

Each regional will consist of four teams playing in a double-elimination format. Regional winners will advance to best-of-three Super Regionals, with those eight winners advancing to the College World Series.

Georgia won the SEC Tournament on Sunday with an 11-1 win over Arkansas in the championship game. The Bulldogs also claimed the regular season SEC crown.