College World Series Bracketology: Who's in? 8th 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 the regular season and tournament games through May 17. The teams underlined are the current projected automatic bid, based on being the highest seed still in their conference tournament. Teams in bold are teams that have clinched the conference automatic bid.

Last Five Teams In

Virginia Tech
East Carolina
Missouri State
Louisiana
Clemson

First Five Teams Out

Troy (29-27, 17-13 Sun Belt)
Notre Dame (30-21, 13-17 ACC)
Texas State (34-22, 16-14 Sun Belt)
California (29-25, 12-16 ACC)
Southeast Missouri (38-16, 18-9 Ohio Valley)

Los Angeles Regional (UCLA)

#1 UCLA (48-6, 28-2) vs Long Island (27-20, 26-7)
UCF (31-20, 19-11) vs NC State (32-21, 14-16)

Despite dropping two games in conference play, UCLA finishes the regular season as the top overall seed. UCF moved up to a regional No. 2 seed after winning their final two series of the regular season. NC State will look to secure their place in the field, but must win five straight games to do so. Long Island dominated FDU in the final weekend series, claiming the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Conference tournament.

⚾️𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞-𝗧𝗢-𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞🦈@LIU_Baseball runs it back as NEC regular season champs and the top seed in the tournament after clinching a series win over FDU yesterday‼️#NECBaseball x #NECchamps x @LIUAthletics pic.twitter.com/T2nLFLJ15F
— NEC Baseball (@necbaseball) May 16, 2026

Oxford Regional

#16 Ole Miss (36-20, 14-16) vs Tarleton (34-19, 12-6)
Oregon State (43-12) vs High Point (36-18, 17-7)

Ole Miss and Oregon State were in a dead heat for the final regional hosting spot. The Rebels earned the No. 16 seed due to a better RPI, but they can solidify it with a strong showing in the SEC Tournament. High Point has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games to earn the No. 1 seed in the Big South tournament. Despite winning the regular season title, Tarleton has lost three of its last four games.

Gainesville Regional

#8 Florida (37-18, 18-12) vs Rider (30-17, 22-8)
Oklahoma State (36-19, 18-12) vs Virginia Tech (29-23, 15-15)

Florida jumped up to the top have of national seeds after dominating LSU last weekend, closing the regular season winning 8 out of its last 10 games. Oklahoma State earned one of the final two quarterfinal byes, while Virginia Tech earned the No. 7 seed in the ACC after taking two of three against Clemson. Rider regained the top seed in the MAAC after Niagara dropped two of three to Mount Saint Mary’s.

Tallahassee Regional

#9 Florida State (38-16, 19-11) vs Yale (30-13-1, 14-6-1)
Tennessee (37-19, 15-15) vs East Carolina (33-21-1, 17-10)

Florida State earned a double-bye in the ACC Tournament after winning 8 of its last 10 games. Tennessee won series against Texas and Oklahoma to finish the regular season strong, but will have to win five games to win the SEC Tournament. East Carolina finished the regular season tied with UTSA, but the Roadrunners won the tiebreaker. Yale defeated Brown 7-5 on Sunday to win the Ivy League, earning the Bulldogs its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2017 and just its second bid in the 21st century.

THE BULLDOGS ARE IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 🌿🏆#ThisIsYale pic.twitter.com/JEMS4IDVLV
— Yale Baseball (@YaleBaseball) May 17, 2026

Auburn Regional

#5 Auburn (36-18, 17-13) vs Oral Roberts (32-22, 22-6)
Miami (36-17, 16-14) vs Arizona State (36-18, 19-11)

Auburn dropped three of its last four games, including a midweek game against Jacksonville State. In its last 12 games, Miami is 6-6 and has not had a winning streak of more than two games since the beginning of April. Arizona State earned the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament after defeating Houston in two of three games last weekend. Oral Roberts won the Summit League by 5-and-a-half games and is the only team with a .500 or higher record.

Lincoln Regional

#12 Nebraska (41-14, 23-7) vs San Diego State (33-22, 16-8)
Oklahoma (32-20, 14-16) vs Clemson (31-25, 10-20)

After getting swept by Ohio State, Nebraska won its final seven games to give the Cornhuskers a chance to host a regional for the first time since 2008.

J'Shawn Unger calls game 😤

No. 24 @HuskerBaseball sweeps Minnesota 🧹 pic.twitter.com/bFjpq0OEjT
— Big Ten Baseball (@B1Gbaseball) May 16, 2026

Former Big 12 rival Oklahoma is coming into the SEC Tournament cold, losing 8 of its final 12 games. Clemson is the last time in the field and will have to face Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday. San Diego State looks to win the Mountain West title in its final season before moving the the new Pac-12.

Chapel Hill Regional

#4 North Carolina (43-10-1, 22-8) vs Bucknell (26-22, 17-9)
Coastal Carolina (36-19, 21-9) vs Liberty (38-18, 21-9)

One game seemed to send its participants in opposite directions. On April 28, Coastal Carolina defeated North Carolina 12-2. Since that defeat, the Tar Heels won seven straight games before falling the in-state rival NC State on the final day of the season. For the Chanticleers, they went 5-6 that included its first weekend conference series lost since March 24, 2025 and its first back-to-back series losses since April 2024. Liberty has lost three of its final eight games, while Bucknell starts the Patriot League Championship series against Holy Cross on Monday.

Los Angeles Regional (USC)

#13 USC (42-14, 20-10) vs SIU Edwardsville (32-22, 19-7)
Arkansas (36-19, 17-13) vs Campbell (39-15, 26-4)

USC earned a bye to the Big Ten quarterfinals, despite having its eight game winning streak broken by Oregon to end the season. Arkansas has won four straight SEC weekend series to give the Razorbacks a first round bye in the SEC Tournament.

Statement: Our team faced multiple extended delays over the weekend, extensive travel days and challenging rest and recovery periods as there's a drive into deep right field by Arkansas and that'll be a home run. And so that'll make it a 16-12 ballgame. pic.twitter.com/NlM6LXGl64
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 16, 2026

Campbell is the top seed of the CAA Tournament, and will face the lowest seed remaining of Wednesday’s first round.

Athens Regional

#6 Georgia (43-12, 23-7) vs Bethune-Cookman (37-18, 23-7)
Jacksonville State (42-13, 23-7) vs Boston College (36-20, 17-13)

Georgia look to win the SEC Tournament for the first time ever. Since the Bulldogs finished runner-up in the 2008 College World Series to underdog Fresno State, its only advanced to a Super Regional once. Jacksonville State is looking for its first Conference USA tournament title, having won the OVC title four times. Boston College finished as the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament, looking for its four NCAA Tournament berth since joining the ACC.

Starksville Regional

#11 Mississippi State (39-16, 16-14) vs St. John’s (30-24, 15-6)
Kansas (39-16, 22-8) vs Gonzaga (35-17, 22-5)

Mississippi State dropped to No. 11 national seed after losing the last three series of the season. Kansas is looking to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since 1993-94 after winning the Big 12 regular season title. The Jayhawks won a regular season title for the first time in 67 seasons, its first since winning the Big Eight in 1949. Gonzaga looks to win its final West Coast tournament before leaving for the Pac-12, while St. John’s looks for its 11th Big East title.

Austin Regional

#3 Texas (40-12, 19-10) vs Wright State (25-26, 17-7)
TCU (33-20, 17-13) vs Virginia (35-20, 14-16)

Texas would welcome former Southwest Conference rival TCU to Austin. Virginia dropped to a regional No. 3 seed after dropping its third straight conference weekend series. Wright State is looking for its 14th Horizon League title and fifth in its last six seasons.

Morgantown Regional

#14 West Virginia (37-13, 21-9) vs Lamar (32-25, 19-11)
Oregon (38-15, 20-10) vs Miami (OH) (38-15, 25-8)

West Virginia is looking to make its fourth straight NCAA Tournament, its longest streak since 1961-64. Since Oregon revived its baseball program in 2009, the Ducks have made 10 NCAA Tournaments, but only won a conference tournament once in 2023 in the Pac-12. Miami (OH) is looking for its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since 1973-74. Lamar and McNeese start the Southland Conference championship series on Thursday, with the Cardinals look for its first NCAA berth since 2010.

THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN 🤩

No. 2 Lamar and No. 5 McNeese will meet in the Southland Baseball Championship Series from May 21-23 in Beaumont! pic.twitter.com/peo26LXanE
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) May 17, 2026

College Station Regional

#7 Texas A&M (39-13, 18-11) vs Binghamton (28-20, 17-7)
Cincinnati (37-19, 17-13) vs Missouri State (32-18, 20-10)

All teams in this regional moved up or down a spot or two on the regional seed line. Missouri State is the only team not facing either a single-elimination or double-elimination tournament. Conference USA is the only conference that has pool play to determine who advances to the semifinals.

Tuscaloosa Regional

#10 Alabama (37-18, 18-12) vs North Florida (31-22, 22-8)
Mercer (43-13, 15-6) vs Louisiana (34-21, 16-14)

Mercer is looking to make its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2019. Louisiana is looking for its fourth tournament appearance in the past six seasons. The Ragin’ Cajuns have not advanced to a super regional since 2015. For North Florida, the Ospreys are looking for its first NCAA Tournament bid at the Division I level. The last time North Florida made the postseason was in 2005, as they were the runner-up in the Division II College World Series to Florida Southern.

Atlanta Regional

#2 Georgia Tech (45-9, 25-5) vs Illinois-Chicago (24-27-1, 16-8)
UC Santa Barbara (37-16, 22-8) vs Kentucky (31-20, 13-17)

Georgia Tech continues to hold down to the No. 2 national seed. UC Santa Barbara earned the Big West top seed with a sweep of Cal Poly, but a loss to California Baptist dropped them a couple spots in the No. 2 regional seed line. Kentucky, to get out of the bubble, will have to win at least two games to advance to the SEC quarterfinals.

Winston-Salem Regional

#15 Wake Forest (38-18, 16-14) vs Saint Joseph’s (35-18, 25-5)
Southern Miss (40-14, 22-8) vs UTSA (36-19, 17-10)

Since getting swept by Georgia Tech in late April, Wake Forest has gone 10-1 to end the season to work its way into a Top 16 seed. Since a three-game losing streak in mid-April, Southern Miss has worked its to the Sun Belt regular-season title, going 15-2 to take advantage of Coastal Carolina’s late season collapse.