College World Series Bracketology: Who's in? 5th Edition

Syndicate Sports is getting into the bracketology business, starting with the Road to Omaha.

To determine the field, we used Warren Nolan and averaged the RPI and ELO rankings to establish the overall seeds. Any movement up or down a seed line was made to ensure that two teams of the same conference are not placed in the same regional, in accordance to NCAA rules.

The regions are sorted by the region they would face in the super regionals. For example, the No. 1 seed is paired with the No. 16 seed.

All team records are based on the completion of games on April 26. Teams underlined are the current projected automatic bid from their conference.

Last Five Teams In

Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh
Kentucky
NC State
UAB

First Five Teams Out

Michigan (27-17, 12-9 Big Ten)
Vanderbilt (26-19, 10-11 SEC)
Missouri State (26-15, 14-7 Conference USA)
High Point (29-14, 11-4 Big South)
Clemson (26-19, 6-15 ACC)

Los Angeles Regional (UCLA)

#1 UCLA (39-4, 21-0) vs Fairleigh Dickinson (26-18, 19-5)
Virginia (29-16, 12-12) vs Oklahoma State (28-16, 11-10)

Since the Big Ten moved away from a divisional format in 1988, only Ohio State (1994 & 1999) and Indiana (2014) have finished regular season play with fewer than five conference losses. UCLA is on the verge of being the first undefeated team since 1981, the first season the Big Ten held a conference tournament. Oklahoma State swept Texas Tech to move them outside the bubble. Getting swept by Pittsburgh pushed Virginia to the bottom end of the Regional No. 2 seed line.

Normal Regional

#16 Oklahoma (29-14, 11-10) vs SE Missouri State (31-13, 12-6)
Southern Miss (31-13, 13-8) vs Creighton (25-16, 10-2)

Oklahoma was one of the beneficiaries of both Florida State and Coastal Carolina dropping from the top 16, despite losing the weekend series to Auburn. Creighton took the Big East auto bid from St. John’s after sweeping Butler. Southern Miss stays at a Regional No. 2 seed, but is one big victory away from hosting duties.

Corvallis Regional

#8 Oregon State (33-9) vs Bethune-Cookman (31-13, 17-4)
Oregon (32-11, 15-6) vs Kentucky (27-15, 9-12)

Pac-12 fans will enjoy seeing the Civil War rivalry in the NCAA Tournament. Oregon went undefeated last week, sweeping Penn State and upsetting Oregon State on the road. Kentucky continues to drop, although they ended a five-game losing streak with a Sunday victory over South Carolina.

Starkville Regional

#9 Mississippi State (34-10, 13-8) vs Indiana State (24-20, 10-5)
Wake Forest (28-17, 11-13) vs UAB (28-16, 12-6)

Since getting swept by Tennessee, Mississippi State is on a eight game winning streak, sweeping South Carolina and LSU. Wake Forest fell a couple spots as a Regional No. 2 after getting swept in a close series to Georgia Tech. UAB is the last team in, despite upsetting Alabama and taking two of three against Memphis.

College Station Regional

#5 Texas A&M (33-8, 14-6) vs Rider (23-14, 16-5)
UCF (25-15, 14-7) vs UC Santa Barbara (27-14, 13-8)

Texas A&M stays at No. 5 nationally after taking two of three against Florida on the road. UCF re-entered the field after a dominant sweep of Utah, outscoring the Utes 34-6 on the road. UC Santa Barbara, on the other hand, dropped to a Regional No. 3 seed after dropping a Big West series against Cal State Fullerton.

Athens Regional

#12 Georgia (34-11, 15-6) vs San Diego State (26-18, 10-5)
Florida State (29-14, 12-9) vs Miami (OH) (29-13, 17-7)

Georgia stays at No. 12 after taking the weekend series against Ole Miss. Florida State dropped to a Regional No. 2 seed after getting swept by Stanford. Miami (OH) took the MAC auto bid from Kent State, with the tiebreaker being a series win over the Golden Flashes earlier in the season.

Austin Regional

#4 Texas (32-9, 13-7) vs Wright State (19-21, 12-3)
East Carolina (28-16-1, 12-6) vs Arizona State (31-14, 14-7)

Despite winning the weekend series against Vanderbilt, Texas was outscored by the Commodores 9-4 in the final two games. ECU continues to climb up the seeding chart, riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping South Florida this past weekend. The Pirates offense has outscored its opponents in that winning streak 54-16, with two of the victories coming by run rule.

Tuscaloosa Regional

#13 Alabama (29-16, 10-11) vs Lamar (24-20, 16-8)
Boston College (33-14, 16-8) vs Western Carolina (29-16, 10-5)

Since defeating Oklahoma in the beginning of April, Alabama has failed to win a conference series. The Crimson Tide has been outscored by more than seven runs five times, including a 11-2 loss to UAB last Tuesday. Western Carolina took the Southern Conference auto bid, breaking a three-way tie with Samford and Wofford.

Auburn Regional

#6 Auburn (30-13, 12-9) vs North Florida (24-19, 15-6)
TCU (28-15, 13-8) vs Virginia Tech (22-20, 11-13)

While Auburn stays at No. 6 seed, the rest of the region is on the rise. TCU has won six games in a row, taking a series against Baylor before sweeping Houston. Virginia Tech enters the field for the first time, coming off two straight series wins against Pittsburgh and NC State.

Lincoln Regional

#11 Nebraska (33-11, 17-4) vs Winthrop (28-16, 11-4)
Tennessee (29-15, 10-11) vs NC State (27-16, 10-11)

Nebraska continues to moved up the seed list, with a series victory over Illinois adding to their resume. Tennessee moved up four spots after taking two of three against Alabama, while NC State continues to hoover on the bubble after falling to Virginia Tech.

Chapel Hill Regional

#3 North Carolina (36-8-1, 17-7) vs Pennsylvania (18-19, 12-6)
Cincinnati (29-17, 10-11) vs Gonzaga (27-14, 15-3)

North Carolina stays in the top three after winning two out of three against in-state rival Duke. Cincinnati had a up-and-down week, losing to Wright State before taking two of three against a ranked West Virginia squad. Gonzaga is close to a Regional No. 2 seed after extending its win streak to 14 games after sweeping Loyola Marymount. Penn heads into its final regular season series a half game ahead of Brown and Yale.

Gainesville Regional

#14 Florida (29-16, 11-10) vs Cal Poly (24-18, 15-6)
Coastal Carolina (30-13, 17-4) vs Campbell (29-14, 20-4)

Florida continues to drop, after losing six of its last eight games, including midweek contests to Bethune-Cookman and Jacksonville. Despite winning the series against Texas State, Coastal Carolina dropped to a Regional No. 2 seed after falling to UNC Wilmington midweek.

Lawrence Regional

#7 Kansas (33-11, 17-4) vs Oral Roberts (25-17, 16-3)
Jacksonville State (36-9, 18-3) vs Pittsburgh (28-14, 10-11)

Since March 25, Kansas is 17-2 and both losses coming in conference play. The Jayhawks currently have a three-game lead over Arizona State and UCF. Pittsburgh re-enters the field for the first time in three weeks, thanks to victories over West Virginia and a sweep of Virginia.

Oxford Regional

#10 Ole Miss (31-14, 11-10) vs Binghamton (22-16, 12-3)
Miami (32-12, 12-9) vs UTSA (29-14, 12-6)

Ole Miss ran into the class of the SEC last weekend, dropping two games to Georgia. Miami took two out of three against California, while UTSA keeps a slim hold of the American auto bid.

Atlanta Regional

#2 Georgia Tech (36-7, 19-5) vs Navy (29-15, 15-8)
West Virginia (28-12, 13-8) vs Liberty (31-13, 15-6)

After dropping the first two games against North Carolina, Georgia Tech is on a five-game winning streak. This includes dominating Georgia in a run rule victory and sweeping Wake Forest. West Virginia has lost three of its last four games, including a 23-1 loss to Pittsburgh mid-week. Navy currently holds a slim lead over Army and Bucknell in the Patriot League, looking for its first NCAA Tournament since 2016.

Los Angeles Regional (USC)

#15 USC (34-11, 16-8) vs Tarleton (28-15, 8-4)
Arkansas (29-16, 11-10) vs Saint Joseph’s (29-14, 19-2)

USC returns to hosting duties after sweeping Purdue at home. Aside for its season-ending series against Oregon, the Trojans have weekend series against teams with RPIs over 100. Tarleton overtakes Utah Tech as the WAC’s auto bid, with the Texans looking for its first NCAA Tournament bid at the D1 level.

Conference Breakdown