Ranking all 16 remaining teams in the Super Regionals

USA Today

2 days ago

Ranking all 16 remaining teams in the Super Regionals
After a very excited regional round across college baseball, we have now arrived at the super regionals as the march to Omaha continues.
The first round of regionals left many people shocked as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the country went down on their home field. There were upsets, big plays, and all-around excitement throughout.
Now, as we approach the next weekend with super regionals, the excitement will continue to grow. The series will begin on Friday in a best-of-three as eight teams will punch their tickets to Omaha by weekend's end. To get you set for the weekend, we decided to power rank the 16 teams remaining.
16. Murray State Racers
Murray State pulled off the impossible and is the designated "Cinderella" team in the Super Regionals. They came out of the Oxford Regional with No. 10 seed Ole Miss hosting. The Racers knocked out the Rebels in the championship game by one run, 12-11, in the regional final.
15. Miami Hurricanes
Miami came out of the Hattiesburg Regional with the No. 16 seed in the nation, Southern Miss. They were in the lowest-ranked regional, taking out Columbia and Alabama in their path. The Hurricanes beat the Eagles in the regional championship game by just one run to advance.
14. West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers were another unlikely team to come out of the regionals. They took part in the Clemson Regional, but unlike the previous two teams, West Virginia never had to play Clemson in the regional. They took on Kentucky twice and beat USC Upstate once.
13. Arizona Wildcats
Similar to West Virginia, Arizona came out of the Eugene regional without having ever played the host. They opened up against Cal Poly before beating Utah State and finishing the regional off with Cal Poly for the second time, who took out Oregon in the losers' bracket. The Wildcats will get one of the toughest Super Regional opponents.
12. UTSA Roadrunners
For going into the regionals in Austin, Texas, against the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, UTSA came out flying! They dominated Kansas State 10-2 before beating Texas once, 9-7, sending them to the losers' bracket. The Longhorns came back out and met the Roadrunners for a championship match where UTSA dominated the No. 2 for a second time, winning 7-4. They moved up past the previous teams because of their singluar wins against a high-ranked team.
11. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina is the lowest-ranked regional host on the list. The No. 13 national seed came out of the Conway Regional after winning three straight games against Fairfield and East Carolina twice, having not seen Florida in the regional.
Duke is the second-highest ranked regional winner that didn't host a regional. Now, they get the opportunity to host a super regional as they will take on Murray State, which came out of the Oxford Regional. Durham, NC, will be alive this next weekend, hoping the Blue Devils can advance to Omaha.
The West Coast team was given the No. 15 seed nationally by the selection committee and did not disappoint. They won three straight games in the Los Angeles Regional to advance, beating Fresno State, Arizona State, and UC Irvine -- all by three runs or more.
Florida State stays similar to where the selection committee put them to start the tournament. As the No. 9 seed, they dominated the Tallahassee regional, winning three straight. They took down Bethune-Cookman and Mississippi State twice to advance.
7. Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals shocked the world. They weren't a regional host in the first round, but they have dominated their way almost into the top-five rankings of teams in the super regionals. They took down the No. 1-ranked team in the country, Vanderbilt, and then Wright State in the championship game, who took down Vanderbilt in the losers' bracket. They also get matched up with Miami, which gives them a good opportunity to advance further.
6. Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers get a bump in the rankings. The No. 8 seed nationally welcomed TCU, USC, and Saint Mary's to the Corvallis Regional. They lost the first game to Saint Mary's and showed tremendous resilience, winning four games in three days to win the regional. They will get a tough draw against Florida State, though.
The Auburn Tigers were given the No. 4 seed by the selection committee and had to work with Stetson, NC State, and Central Connecticut State in the regional. They won all three games, though none were particularly tough opponents. They won the championship game of the regional by 10 runs.
Breaking into the top five rankings after getting a national seed at No. 14, the Volunteers quickly rose up the sheet. They took down Miami (OH) and Cincinnati before facing Wake Forest in the championship game. They lost the first game last Sunday and went to a win-or-go-home Game 7 against Wake Forest and sent the Demon Deacons packing.
3. North Carolina Tar Heels
Largely considered to be given the hardest regional to begin the tournament, the bats for North Carolina came out firing. Gavin Gallaher went 8-for-13 in the regionals with three home runs and 10 RBIs in four games. Though a slight hiccup with the loss to Oklahoma, the Tar Heels roll into the super regionals, hosting Arizona.
2. LSU Tigers
LSU has been a baseball powerhouse for years. From Paul Skenes to Anthony Eyanson, this team keeps the ball coming at you fast. The No. 6-seeded team nationally took down Little Rock and Dallas Baptist before losing to Little Rock in the championship game. The Cinderella team almost did it again, but LSU was able to get a footing and win the final game 10-6 to advance.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks
The No. 1 team in the rankings and the No. 1 hardest super regional opponent. According to these rankings, the No. 1 and the No. 4 rated team will face off in Fayetteville for a chance to move on to Omaha, but one will be going home. Arkansas hosted and beat North Dakota State and Creighton (twice) in three straight games last weekend.
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