On Friday the men’s NCAA baseball tournament begins with regional play, as 64 teams look to be one of the eight to book a spot in the Men’s College World Series in Omaha next month.
While the top 16 teams in the tournament get a boost by hosting the regionals this weekend, the entire Field of 64 is loaded from top-to-bottom this year. That includes some teams that could surprise this weekend.
Let’s look at some sleepers that could make some noise during regionals. Here, we are looking at teams that secured either a No. 3 or a No. 4 seed in their regional, but could be left standing when the weekend is over.
Troy (No. 3 seed, Gainesville regional)
We start with Troy, a team that booked an at-large spot in the field despite bowing out in the Sun Belt Conference tournament as a No. 4 seed. The conference secured five spots in the field, starting with Southern Miss, who will be hosting a regional this weekend.
The reason you should keep an eye on Troy? They were tested by one of the toughest schedules in the nation. According to this year’s Strength of Schedule rankings, Troy had the eighth-toughest schedule in the nation, ahead of several teams that secured spots in the Top 16 on Selection Monday.
Yes, they finished with a 32-29 record, but that schedule includes wins over tournament teams such as Georgia (in Athens), Alabama, a season sweep of Alabama State, a series win against Texas State, and a series win against Louisiana.
They’ve been tested by tough competition all season, and that could pay off this weekend
Jacksonville State (No. 3 seed, Hattiesburg regional)
Jacksonville State finished 25th in RPI this season, which had them potentially in line for a No. 2 seed.
Instead, they found themselves on the No. 3 line, in the Hattiesburg regional along with Southern Miss, Virginia, and Little Rock. But the Jaguars, who won Conference USA, have the pitching to go far in this tournament. The Jaguars enter regionals with the eighth-best team ERA in the nation, and a staff that allowed just 7.12 hits per nine innings this year, third-best in the nation. They have three top-tier starters in Steven Cash, Beau Bryans, and Eli Pillsbury, each with an opponent’s batting average below .231.
This is also a team that beat Auburn twice this season, including a run-rule, 15-4 win back in April.
If the old adage holds, that good pitching beats good hitting, Jacksonville State could be moving on.
Liberty (No. 3 seed, Athens regional)
Liberty is another team that fared well in RPI terms, finishing at 32 in that metric.
The Flames also won more than 40 games for just the seventh time in program history, finishing with a 41-19 record. That schedule included a series win over tournament team The Citadel, a series win over fellow sleeper Jacksonville State, and wins over tournament teams West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and NC State.
Liberty also boasts a strong pitching staff, with a bank of arms that posted one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in the nation (2.69, ranking 17th). Ben Blair is one of the arms to watch, as the junior right-hander recorded 106 punchouts and posted a WHIP of just 1.02.
Again, if pitching leads the way, Liberty could be a problem in the Athens regional.
Oh and one more thing: The Flames are road warriors. They enter regionals with the sixth-best road record in the country, having gone 19-6 away from Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Arizona State (No. 3 seed, Lincoln regional)
When the Sun Devils were announced as the No. 3 seed in the Lincoln region, many were surprised.
Including the bright minds at Baseball America. In their rankings of all 64 teams in the tournament, they placed Arizona State at No. 14 overall, the highest of any team in the Lincoln regional.
The Sun Devils are led offensively by sophomore Landon Hairston, one of the semifinalists for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award. Hairston enters the NCAA tournament among baseball’s leaders in several offensive categories, including batting average (.413, fifth in the nation), hits (92, tied for fifth), on-base percentage (.518, tenth in the nation), home runs (28, tied for fourth in the nation), and slugging percentage (.897, best in the nation).
But this is a lineup that can hit from top-to-bottom, as the Sun Devils have the sixth-best batting average as a team in the nation, as well as the sixth-best slugging percentage as a team in the nation.
They might be the No. 3 seed in their region, but this is a team that could truly make it to Omaha.
Northeastern (No. 4 seed, Lawrence regional)
To turn a phrase from none other than Wayne of Letterkenny fame, Northeastern is on this list for one major reason.
The Huskies led the nation with a total of 210 stolen bases this year, the only team to eclipse the 200-steals mark and a number that was 29 swipes clear of VMI in second. Carmelo Musacchia led the way with 44 steals — fourth-most in the nation — followed by teammate Harrison Feinberg, whose 42 swipes were fifth in college baseball this season. All told, seven players on the roster stole 12 or more bases for Northeastern this season.
If the Huskies can get on base in Lawrence, they can create some havoc on the basepaths.
That could see them steal something else this weekend.
