Georgia baseball learns its NCAA Tournament fate
Georgia baseball learns its NCAA Tournament fate
The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team will be hosting a regional for the second consecutive year under second year manager Wes Johnson. Georgia baseball has officially made the NCAA Tournament and is one of 16 teams hosting a regional.
The SEC is set to host half of the regionals across the country. Georgia has already faced a ton of elite SEC competition this season.
We don't yet know if Georgia will be in-line to be super regional host (top-eight seed). The NCAA Tournament selection show will be held on Monday, May 26 at noon ET. Georgia has the second-best RPI in the country and is expected to be a top-eight seed according to the latest projections.
The Bulldogs have an impressive resume with a 42-15 record. Georgia went 18-12 in the SEC and 29-4 at home, but just 10-10 on the road. Georgia has the most home runs (133) of any team in the country, but has had some pitching struggles at times. Georgia has not lost a series at home all season.
The regionals round of the NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 30. Georgia will be the top seed in the Athens Regional and will play the fourth seed in the Athens Regional in their opening game.
Full list of regional hosts
Athens Regional (Georgia)
Auburn Regional (Auburn)
Austin Regional (Texas)
Baton Rouge Regional (LSU)
Chapel Hill Regional (North Carolina)
Clemson Regional (Clemson)
Conway Regional (Coastal Carolina)
Corvallis Regional (Oregon State)
Eugene Regional (Oregon)
Fayetteville Regional (Arkansas)
Hattiesburg Regional (Southern Miss)
Knoxville Regional (Tennessee)
Los Angeles Regional (UCLA)
Nashville Regional (Vanderbilt)
Oxford Regional (Ole Miss)
Tallahassee Regional (Florida State)
Please note that this list of regional hosts is in alphabetical order.
Athens Regional tickets information
Bulldog fans can find Athens Regional tickets at Georgia's official website. Tickets will be available for sale online-only and will start being available on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Georgia will be making its 15th regional appearance. Last season, Georgia won the Athens Regional, but lost in the Athens Super Regional to NC State. Georgia has not made the College World Series since 2008.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
What channel is UNC-Arizona on? Time, TV schedule for Chapel Hill Super Regional Game 2
What channel is UNC-Arizona on? Time, TV schedule for Chapel Hill Super Regional Game 2 Here's all the broadcasting information you need to know for Game 2 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional between UNC and Arizona. The North Carolina Tar Heels and Arizona Wildcats faced off Friday afternoon in the Chapel Hill Super Regional from Boshamer Stadium, with each baseball program looking to inch one step closer to the College World Series. UNC entered Game 1 off a dominant, 14-4 victory over Oklahoma in Monday's winner-take all game of the Chapel Hill Regional. Arizona entered Game 1 red-hot, having previously won its last eight contests. Something had to give – and one team left fighting for its life. Thanks to scoring eight runs in the first two innings against Wildcats starter Owen Kramkowski, North Carolina left their home field ecstatic with an obliterating, 18-2 victory. Arizona (42-19) actually started the scoring part in its half of the first inning, thanks to an Adonis Guzman single. Guzman was a lone bright spot for the Wildcats on Friday, hitting a perfect 4-for-4. The Diamond Heels quick punched back in their half of the first inning, tying the score on a Luke Stevenson single. Gavin Gallaher continued his tear with an ensuing single, giving UNC a 2-1 lead it never relinquished, while Hunter Stokely delivered a 3-run home run for the eventual, game-winning runs. Though offense was the name of North Carolina's game, we need to give Jake Knapp his flowers. The Diamond Heels' ace escaped some early trouble, allowing just two runs through seven innings. If UNC can replicate some of Friday's success during Game 2 Saturday, it'll be heading to Omaha for the second-consecutive season. If the Wildcats win, there will be a winner-take all Game 3 on Sunday. Are you lucky enough to watch Game 2 in person? Have a blast and continue filling the stands with Carolina Blue. If you're watching on TV, your favorite streaming device, listening on the radio or placing bets like most fans, keep reading below for more broadcast information. What channel is North Carolina vs. Arizona on Saturday? Time, TV schedule, radio TV Channel: ESPN2 Time: 12 p.m. ET Radio: SiriusXM (Channel 193) Announcers: Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Jensen Lewis (analyst) Website: WatchESPN Where to watch UNC vs. Arizona on live stream Watch UNC vs. Arizona live on Fubo TV UNC vs. Arizona prediction, picks, odds Scoring 18 runs in any game is difficult, no matter the opponent. The fact North Carolina embarrassed Arizona, which entered as arguably the hottest team in college baseball, means the Chapel Hill Super Regional could be over fairly quickly. I think the Wildcats respond with a valiant effort on Saturday, making it more of a game. The Diamond Heels, buzzing with excitement and determined to get back to Omaha, win again and send The Bosh into a cheering frenzy. Score prediction: UNC 8, Arizona 6 All College Baseball Odds via BetMGM SPREAD: UNC -.3.5 MONEYLINE: Arizona +250, North Carolina -350 O/U TOTAL: 12.5 Full UNC baseball schedule Feb. 14-15: vs. Texas Tech (W 5-1, 8-3, 4-2) (3-0 overall) Feb. 18: vs. Kansas State (W, 12-9) (4-0) Feb. 22-24: vs./at ECU (W 2-0, 11-6, 6-3) (7-0) Feb. 25: vs. VCU (W 9-4) (8-0) Feb. 26: vs. North Carolina A&T (W 13-4) (9-0) Feb. 28-March 2: vs. Stony Brook (W 16-2, 6-1, 9-5) (12-0) March 4: vs. Coastal Carolina (W 5-4) (13-0) March 7-9: vs. Stanford (L 13-9, W 11-1, L 7-0) (14-2, 1-2 ACC) March 11: at UNC-Wilmington (W 7-3) (15-2) March 14-16: at Louisville (L 8-7, W 6-4, L 5-0) (16-4, 2-4 ACC) March 19: vs. UConn (L 5-1) (16-5) March 21-23: at Boston College (W 5-1, L 3-2, W 10-0) (18-6, 4-5 ACC) March 25: vs. South Carolina in Charlotte, NC (W 13-8) (19-6) March 28-30: vs. Miami (FL) (W 2-0, 4-2, L 4-2) (21-7, 6-6 ACC) April 1: vs. Gardner-Webb (W 11-1) (22-7) April 3-5: vs. Duke (W 4-3, L 9-5, W 8-7) (24-8, 8-7 ACC) April 8: at Elon (W 12-10) (25-8) April 11-13: vs. Wake Forest (W 11-1, 17-1, 3-2) (28-8, 11-7 ACC) April 15: vs. Charlotte (W 14-4) (29-8) April 18-20: at Virginia Tech (W 9-6, L 10-6, W 7-4) (31-9, 13-8 ACC) April 25-27: at Pitt (W 15-5, L 4-2, W 6-0) (33-10, 15-9 ACC) April 29: vs. George Mason (W 13-4) (34-10) April 30: vs. Queens (Charlotte) University (W 14-3) (35-10) May 6: vs. Campbell (W 10-1) (36-10) May 8-9: vs. NC State (W 8-1, L 8-5) (37-11, 16-10 ACC) May 15-17: at Florida State (W 8-3, 11-1, L 5-4) (39-12, 18-11 ACC) May 23: vs. Boston College in ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (W 7-2) (40-12) May 24: vs. Florida State in ACC Tournament at DBAP (W 7-5) (41-12) May 25: vs. Clemson in ACC Tournament at DBAP (W 14-4) (42-12) May 30: vs. Holy Cross in NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Regional (W 4-0) (43-12) May 31: vs. Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Regional (W 11-5) (44-12) June 1: vs. Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Regional Final (L 9-5) (44-13) June 2: vs. Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Regional (W 14-4) (45-13) June 6: vs. Arizona in NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Super Regional (W 18-2) (46-13) We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, though, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NCAA's House settlement approved, ushering in new era where schools can directly pay athletes
College athletics is officially entering a new world. A California judge on Friday night a little bit past 9 p.m. ET granted approval to the NCAA's landmark settlement of three antitrust cases, often referred to as the 'House settlement,' ushering in an era where schools are permitted to share revenue with athletes within a new enforcement structure led by the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. Advertisement Claudia Wilken, the 75-year-old presiding judge in California's Northern District, granted approval of an agreement between the named defendants (the NCAA and power conferences) and the plaintiffs (dozens of suing athletes) to settle three consolidated cases, all of them seeking more compensation for athletes. "Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes. If approved, it would permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports, while also very generously compensating Division I student-athletes who suffered past harms," Wilken said as part of the 76-page opinion. Unsuccessful in so many legal battles recently — most notably a 9-0 loss in a 2021 Supreme Court decision — the NCAA and its richest, most influential conferences decided last spring to strike a revolutionary agreement by settling these cases instead of risking a court defeat that might cost them as much as $10 billion. The House settlement will pay thousands of former athletes — playing from 2016-2024 — a whopping $2.8 billion in backpay from lost name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation. Even more groundbreaking, the settlement paves the way for schools, for the first time ever, to directly compensate athletes in a system that features an annual cap and a new enforcement entity that is expected to more heavily scrutinize booster-backed payments. While paychecks can begin to be distributed from schools to athletes on July 1 — the official start date of settlement implementation — the new enforcement entity, the College Sports Commission, an LLC operated mostly by the power leagues, immediately takes effect with Wilken's approval of the agreement. "This is new terrain for everyone. ... Opportunities to drive transformative change don't come often to organizations like ours. It's important we make the most of this one," NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement released Friday night. "We have accomplished a lot over the last several months, from new health and wellness and academic requirements to a stronger financial footing. Together, we can use this new beginning to launch college sports into the future, too." Advertisement It means that any new contract struck between an athlete and a third-party entity, such a business, brand, booster or collective, is now subject to the new Deloitte-run NIL clearinghouse. The clearinghouse, dubbed "NIL Go," is charged with evaluating NIL deals between athletes and third parties to determine their legitimacy. It puts an end, perhaps, to schools hurriedly signing current players and transfers to new contracts before the approval of the settlement in deals that frontload a majority of the compensation. Contracts signed before the settlement approval and paid out before July 1 were not subject to the clearinghouse or cap, leading to a 'mad dash' in the basketball and football portal. Power conference leaders are targeting a Major League Baseball executive to manage the College Sports Commission as CEO, multiple sources tell Yahoo Sports. Bryan Seeley, a former assistant U.S. attorney who has served for more than a decade as MLB's vice president of investigations and deputy general counsel, is believed to be the preferred candidate for the CEO role of college sports' new enforcement entity. Despite plenty of hurdles in the settlement's years-long approval process, those who negotiated the deal have long expected it to be approved because of the sheer numbers involved. More than 85,000 athletes have filed claims for the backpay and just 600 have opted out or objected to the agreement — a paltry number that did not faze the judge. Advertisement Wiken's decision, coming two months after the final hearing in Oakland, California, puts an end to what was thought to be one of the last looming hurdles of a deal: roster limits. In a concept authored by the power conferences, the settlement imposes new limits on sports rosters, many of which had not previously existed. In a recent filing, the NCAA and power leagues agreed to revise settlement language to permit schools to grandfather-in athletes on existing teams or those who have been cut this year, as well as recruits who enrolled on the promise of a roster spot. College sports is about to enter a whole new era. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) With its approval, the settlement ushers into college sports a more professionalized framework but one, many believe, that is ripe for more legal scrutiny. Already, attorneys are gearing up for future legal challenges over, at the very least, the new NIL clearinghouse, Title IX and the capped compensation system — much of which can be resolved, legal experts contend, with a collective bargaining and/or employment model that college executives have so far avoided. Advertisement The settlement's approval is only the first in what many college leaders describe as a two-step process to usher in stability in the college sports landscape. Step 2 may be even more difficult: lawmakers producing a congressional bill to codify the settlement terms and protect the NCAA and power conferences from legal challenges over enforcement of their rules. Five U.S. senators have been meeting regularly in serious negotiations over legislation, but no agreement has been reached. Here's an explainer of college sports' new world delivered by the settlement's approval: Revenue-share pool Each school is permitted — not required — to share up to a certain amount of revenue annually with their athletes (the cap). Per the settlement agreement, the cap is calculated by taking 22% of the average of certain power school revenues, most notably ticket sales, television dollars and sponsorships. Advertisement In Year 1 — July 2025 through June 2026 — the cap amount is projected to be $20.5 million. While each school is charged with determining how to distribute those funds, most power conference programs are planning to distribute 90% to football and men's basketball, as those are, for the most part, the only revenue-generating sports for an athletic department. In Year 1, that's about $13-16 million for a football roster and $2-4 million for men's basketball, with the remaining amount shared with women's basketball, baseball, volleyball and other Olympic sports. While the 22% cap will remain the same through the 10-year settlement agreement, the cap money figure will rise based on built-in escalators (4% increase in Year 2 and Year 3), scheduled recalculations (after each third year) and additional cash flows into athletic departments, such as when conferences enter into new, more lucrative television deals or/and begin receiving new College Football Playoff monies. Advertisement Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Yahoo Sports this summer that he expects the cap to break $25 million by the time the Year 4 recalculation happens. There are exceptions, though, that can artificially lower the annual cap, most notably up to $2.5 million in additional scholarships that a school offers. Enforcement entity A new non-NCAA enforcement entity — an LLC predominantly managed by the power conferences — will oversee and enforce rules related to the revenue-share concept. The company, College Sports Commission, is expected to be headed by a CEO as well as a head investigator for enforcement matters. The entity is charged with assuring that schools remain under the cap and that third-party NIL deals with athletes are not the phony booster-backed deals so prevalent over the last four years. Advertisement An enforcement staff is expected to be hired to investigate and enforce rules related to cap circumvention, tampering, etc., and are charged with levying stiff penalties. Violators may be subject to multi-game coach suspensions, reductions in a school's rev-share pool as well as reductions in allowed transfers, and significant schools fines. However, the biggest looming uncertainty of the settlement agreement involves a Deloitte-run NIL clearinghouse that must approve all third-party NIL deals of at least $600 in value. The "NIL Go" clearinghouse is using a fair market value algorithm to create 'compensation ranges' for third-party deals. Deloitte is expected to approve or disapprove deals in as little as one day, and athletes can resubmit rejected deals at least once with alterations suggested by the clearinghouse. For example, Deloitte may deem a submitted $100,000 deal between an athlete and third party to actually be valued at $50,000. The player can alter the deal to align with the clearinghouse's suggested figure or the school can cover the difference by accepting a reduction against their revenue-pool cap. Deals rejected for a second time are referred to the CEO and enforcement staff and are then processed through an appeals system via court-overseen arbitration. Arbitration rulings are expected within 45 days, according to the settlement. Advertisement Athletes who lose arbitration cases and still accept compensation in the rejected deal are deemed ineligible. Rev-share contracts Starting with the fall basketball and football signing periods, schools began readying for this new era. Some even signed players to revenue-sharing agreements that begin to make payments on July 1 or later, contingent on the settlement's approval. Other players signed contracts with school booster collectives that featured a clause assigning the contract to the school on July 1. For the most part, the contracts grant schools permission to use a player's NIL rights — a reason for the compensation — but these agreements feature language often found in employment contracts, including buyouts, athlete requirements and prohibitions as well as the freedom for schools to reduce the players' compensation based on their academic standing and performance. Advertisement Already, the agreements are a subject of legal scrutiny. In January, Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas left the university to enroll at Miami despite signing a revenue-share contract with UW. In public statements, Wisconsin has suggested it will pursue legal action against Lucas and/or Miami, which, it suggested, tampered with an athlete under contract. Lucas' representatives believe the contract is not enforceable as it was contingent on settlement approval when signed. The situation is a potential landmark case on settlement-contingent revenue-sharing agreements.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Who is Tony Vitello? Meet Tennessee baseball coach ahead of NCAA super regional
Who is Tony Vitello? Meet Tennessee baseball coach ahead of NCAA super regional Show Caption Hide Caption 5 men's NCAA baseball tournament players to watch The Mongomery Advertiser's Adam Cole and The Tennesseean's Aria Gerson break down the top players to watch in the men's NCAA baseball tournament. Tony Vitello has Tennessee baseball two wins away from returning to the College World Series for the second consecutive season, as the Vols look to defend last year's national championship. To get back to Omaha, Vitello will need to lead his program to a super regional win against a program that he once served as an assistant coach for: Arkansas. No. 14 Tennessee and No. 3 Arkansas are set to open up the Fayetteville Super Regional on June 7 at 5 p.m. ET at Baum–Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. REQUIRED READING: NCAA baseball tournament bracket: Super regional matchups, schedule, pairings for CWS Vitello enters the Fayetteville Super Regional against Arkansas holding a 341-129 overall record during his tenure at Tennessee. Tennessee, the lower seed in the Fayetteville Super Regional, is 106-72 overall against ranked teams under Vitello. Here's what to know about Vitello ahead of the Fayetteville Super Regional: Who is Tony Vitello? Tony Vitello is the skipper of Tennessee baseball, a position that he has held since 2018. He's also one of the top coaches in college baseball. He is the lone coach to have led Tennessee to a College World Series national title, which the Vols earned last season with a 2-1 series win against Texas A&M. The Vols' win over the Aggies ended a 25-year-long curse of the No. 1 overall seed not winning the NCAA baseball tournament. "Kids are tough these days. They will do what you ask them to do," Vitello said after the Vols' CWS title win. "I know our fans got us through that tough inning. That was a group effort on the mound. If you're in the SEC, you're going to be a superstar player, but you need to be a good teammate, and that's what these guys were." Since taking over on Rocky Top, Vitello has transformed the Tennessee baseball program into one of the top programs in the country, and a consistent one at that. Vitello made Tennessee history during the Vols' 5-1 win over Samford back in February, as he became the fastest coach in program history to reach 300 wins. The Fayetteville Super Regional marks the fifth consecutive super regional that the Vols have appeared in under Vitello, who has led Tennessee to six straight NCAA Tournaments. To put into perspective the impact Vitello has had on the program in the postseason, the Vols had a postseason drought that dated back to 2005 before he took over in 2017. As noted by Tennessee's game notes for the Fayetteville Super Regional, the 257 victories that Vitello has led the Vols to since 2021 are the most of any team in the country and 29 wins ahead of Arkansas. He's led the Vols to the SEC regular season and SEC tournament championships twice in his tenure, first in 2022 and then in 2024. Did Tony Vitello coach at Arkansas? Yes, Vitello spent four years on the bench at Arkansas as one of Dave Van Horn's assistant coaches. Vitello held his spot on Van Horn's staff from 2014-17 and served as the Razorbacks' hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Noted in Vitello's Tennessee profile, Arkansas averaged nearly 38 wins in the four seasons he was with the Razorbacks. He helped Arkansas to three seasons of at least 40 wins and a 2015 College World Series appearance. "(Vitello's) a really a big-time competitor. He likes to compete at everything he does, whether it's shooting baskets, free throws, it doesn't matter," Van Horn told reporters of Vitello on June 6. "He grew up that way. His dad's a high school coach. He was always, as a young kid, always with his dad's teams and all the way to JUCO to Missouri, playing. In his coaching career, he's very competitive on the recruiting trail and everything else. So that's what it takes to have success at this level." Tony Vitello coaching history, record Vitello got his start in coaching at the Power 4 conference level at his alma mater, Missouri from 2003 through 2010. He then joined now-Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle's staff at TCU ahead of the 2011 college baseball season. He'd spend three seasons with the Horned Frogs as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before joining Van Horn's staff at Arkansas. He was hired as Tennessee's coach, his first head coaching stint, on June 7, 2017. Here's a year-by-year breakdown of how Tennessee has fared under Vitello:
