Clemson Named Baseball Regional Site

by Press Release - Sun May 28 16:03:55 GMT-04:00 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced all 16 regional sites for the 60th annual NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records through Saturday, May 27, are as follows: Alabama (41-19), Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Arkansas (38-19), Fayetteville, Ark.; Cal St. Fullerton (41-13), Fullerton, Calif.; Clemson (46-14), Clemson, S.C.; Georgia (41-19), Athens, Ga.; Georgia Tech (45-16), Atlanta; Kentucky (42-15), Lexington, Ky.; Mississippi (39-20), Oxford, Miss.; Nebraska (42-14), Lincoln, Neb.; North Carolina (45-13), Chapel Hill, N.C.; Oklahoma (40-19), Norman, Okla.; Oregon St. (39-13), Corvallis, Oregon; Pepperdine (39-19), Malibu, Calif.; Rice (49-10), Houston; Texas (40-19), Austin, Texas; and Virginia (46-13), Charlottesville, Va.

By virtue of being awarded a regional, nine of the host institutions also have been selected as at-large teams to the 64-team field. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, have made the field as at-large selections. Clemson, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pepperdine, Rice, would clinch automatic berths by winning their conference tournament championship, which are scheduled for Sunday afternoon. A loss in those tournament championship games makes them an at-large selection. Cal St. Fullerton and Oregon St. already have clinched automatic berths by virtue of winning the Big West Conference and Pacific-10 Conference, respectively. Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 2, to Monday, June 5.

Kentucky and Pepperdine will host a regional for the first time, while North Carolina, Oregon St. and Virginia are hosting for the second time in school history. This will be the 22nd time that Texas has hosted a regional, while Clemson (11th) is the only other institution to host 10 or more times since the NCAA went to the regional format in 1975. Georgia Tech is hosting a regional for the eighth time, while Cal St. Fullerton (sixth), Oklahoma (sixth overall and third time in Norman), Alabama (fifth), Nebraska (fifth), Rice (fifth), Georgia (three) and Mississippi (three) have hosted in the past as well.

Seven sites (Cal St. Fullerton, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oregon St. and Texas) also hosted in 2005.

The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, May 29, during a live, half-hour program on ESPN. The committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the Men's College World Series, and will not reseed the field after play begins. Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.ncaasports.com, Monday, June 5 at approximately Midnight (ET).

Thirty Division I conferences receive an automatic berth in the field of 64, along with 34 at-large selections.

The 60th Men's College World Series begins play Friday, June 16, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.