The 2025 NCAA baseball tournament is set to begin, featuring a 64-team field announced on Monday. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) dominated the rankings, with six of the top eight national seeds and a total of eight regional hosts. Vanderbilt, after clinching the SEC championship, has claimed the top overall seed.
The top four seeds in the tournament consist solely of SEC teams, with Vanderbilt, Texas, Arkansas, and Auburn leading the way. Notably, Auburn’s position as a top seed comes as a surprise since it was often overlooked in many predictions.
The last four teams to make the tournament include Arizona State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and USC, while Southeastern Louisiana, UConn, Troy, and Virginia were the first four teams to miss out. Vanderbilt’s strong season record (42-16) and RPI placed them firmly at the top, setting the stage for their pursuit of the championship title.
Regional hosts for the tournament have been selected and span across various cities, including Athens, Auburn, Austin, and others. Tournament play will commence on May 30, running through June 2, followed by the super regionals from June 6-9, and the College World Series kicking off on June 13.
In addition to the pure competition, the tournament also shone a light on the smaller programs that battled through conference tournaments to earn their automatic bids, such as Stetson, who, despite a weather-related disruption in the ASUN championship, has been awarded a spot.
There is plenty of excitement surrounding this year’s tournament, especially with SEC teams looking to showcase their dominance in NCAA baseball once again. The format allows for thrilling matchups, and fans can look forward to high-stakes action throughout the ensuing weeks as teams vie for the coveted championship.
Overall, this year’s tournament promises to deliver captivating performances and surprise moments, underlined by a spirit of competition and resilience from all participating teams.