NCAA Tournament projections, Sunday, May 26: 11 SEC teams in field of 64

The 2024 NCAA Tournament is almost here. We’re less than 24 hours out from Selection Monday when the complete field of 64 will be revealed.

On Championship Sunday in the SEC, leading publications D1Baseball and Baseball America shared their updated tourney projections.

Both projections have the SEC receiving a record 11 bids. Six teams finished in the Regional host mix, with five more meeting the traditional at-large bid criteria of 13 conference wins and a top-30 RPI.

Ahead of the SEC Tournament championship, Tennessee is the projected No. 1 overall seed. The Vols face an LSU squad that has gotten hot and played its way into the field of 64 with a strong finish to the regular season that has carried into the conference tourney.

Georgia is projected to be an NCAA Regional host, but may have to go on the road in a Super Regional. The Bulldogs are currently projected outside the top 8 national seeds.

Speaking of dogs, the publications are divided on Mississippi State. D1Baseball gives MSU the last national seed to host an NCAA Regional in Starkville. Baseball America, on the other hand, has Dallas Baptist taking the No. 16 spot and hosting the Diamond Dawgs.

Florida is 11th in the pecking order for an at-large bid after eking out an above .500 finish (28-27) and No. 30 RPI with an 0-1 showing in Hoover. Baseball America has Florida in the “Last Four In” at No. 61 overall.

Here are the projections for all 11 teams:

Tennessee (49-11)

• D1Baseball: No. 1 overall national seed, Knoxville Regional host (paired with Starkville Regional, hosted by No. 16 Mississippi State)
• Baseball America: No. 1 overall national seed, Knoxville Regional host (paired with Dallas Regional, hosted by Dallas Baptist)

Kentucky (40-14)

• D1: No. 2 national seed, Lexington Regional host (paired with Terre Haute Regional, hosted by No. 15 Indiana State)
• BA: No. 3 national seed, Lexington Regional host (paired with Terre Haute Regional, hosted by No. 14 Indiana State)

Texas A&M (44-13)

• D1: No. 4 national seed, College Station Regional host (paired with Santa Barbara Regional, hosted by No. 13 UC Santa Barbara)
• BA: No. 4 national seed, College Station Regional host (paired with Santa Barbara Regional, hosted by No. 13 UC Santa Barbara)

Arkansas (43-14)

• D1: No. 5 national seed, Fayetteville Regional host (paired with Raleigh Regional, hosted by No. 12 NC State)
• BA: No. 5 national seed, Fayetteville Regional host (paired with Charlottesville Regional, hosted by No. 12 Virginia)

Georgia (39-15)

• D1: No. 9 national seed, Athens Regional host (paired with Norman Regional, hosted by No. 8 Oklahoma)
• BA: No. 9 national seed, Athens Regional host (paired with Tallahassee Regional, hosted by No. 8 Florida State)

Mississippi State (38-21)

• D1: No. 16 national seed, Starkville Regional host (paired with Knoxville Regional, hosted by No. 1 Tennessee)
• BA: 2-seed in Dallas Regional, hosted by No. 16 Dallas Baptist (paired with Knoxville Regional, hosted by No. 1 Tennessee)

Vanderbilt (38-21)

• D1: 2-seed in Terre Haute Regional, hosted by No. 15 Indiana State (paired with Lexington Regional, hosted by No. 2 Kentucky)
• BA: 2-seed in Terre Haute Regional, hosted by No. 13 Indiana State (paired with Lexington Regional, hosted by No. 3 Kentucky)

LSU (40-20)

• D1: 2-seed in Norman Regional, hosted by No. 8 Oklahoma (paired with Athens Regional, hosted by No. 9 Georgia)
• BA: 2-seed in Stillwater Regional, hosted by No. 11 Oklahoma State (paired with Clemson Regional, hosted by No. 6 Clemson)

South Carolina (36-23)

• D1: 2-seed in Chapel Hill Regional, hosted by No. 3 North Carolina (paired with Corvallis Regional, hosted by No. 14 Oregon State)
• BA: 2-seed in Raleigh Regional, hosted by No. 10 NC State (paired with Norman Regional, hosted by No. 7 Oklahoma)

Alabama (33-22)

• D1: 3-seed in Stillwater Regional, hosted by No. 11 Oklahoma State (paired with Clemson Regional, hosted by No. 6 Clemson)
• BA: 3-seed in Corvallis Regional, hosted by No. 15 Oregon State (paired with Chapel Hill Regional, hosted by No. 2 North Carolina)

Florida (28-27)

• D1: 3-seed in Clemson Regional, hosted by No. 6 Clemson (paired with Stillwater Regional, hosted by No. 11 Oklahoma State)
• BA: 3-seed in Tallahassee Regional, hosted by No. 8 Florida State (paired with Athens Regional, hosted by No. 9 Georgia)

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.