⚾ 🥎 🏆⚾ - 2026 CWS Super Regionals: SAT: SEC v SEC at 11 with State & UGA / Three tonight with Bama at 9 ET
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Baseball Guide: Tuscaloosa Regional - Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 7 seed Alabama baseball returns to action on Friday, May 29, competing in its opening contest of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional against ...
The Crimson Tide will open its NCAA Tournament run with a matchup against Alabama State on Friday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 7 national seed Alabama baseball returns to action on Friday, May 29, competing in its opening contest of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional against Alabama State. The Crimson Tide is 15-0 all-time against the Hornets, including a 2-0 mark in two games earlier this season.
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All 16 NCAA baseball regionals, previewed
The 2026 college baseball season has come down to this: 64 teams competing across 16 regional sites. D1Baseball has us covered with a preview for every regional from Athens to Tuscaloosa.
www.ncaa.com
Tuscaloosa Regional preview
It’s a regional packed with teams that sizzled their way into the postseason. Alabama exceeded preseason expectations, earning the No. 7 overall national seed in its breakout third year under Rob Vaughn. The Crimson Tide has won eight of its last 11 games and features one of the top pitching staffs in the country. Oklahoma State went 13-3 down the stretch and moved from a bubble team to a solid two-seed, collecting its 13th consecutive NCAA berth. With 137 home runs as a team, second only to Georgia nationally, the Cowboys bring a powerful offense to Tuscaloosa. Winners of the Big South tournament, USC Upstate enters the postseason on a heater, going 14-2 in the month of May. Alabama State won 34 games this season and claimed the SWAC tournament title at Rickwood Field on Sunday. The Hornets come to Tuscaloosa on an eight-game winning streak as winners of 14 of their last 16.
Most Exciting Player: Oklahoma State’s Kollin Ritchie is second in the nation in home runs with 29 this season. The junior outfielder has 47 career homers and has had a pair of three-homer games this spring, along with a two-homer game against Vanderbilt. He can change the game with one swing. He is slashing .335/.478/.828 this season with 12 doubles and 73 RBIs. His numbers got better in Big 12 play, showing he can handle the better arms conference play presents. He’s batting .387/.537/.847 with 14 homers and 33 RBIs within the Big 12. He’s also a player who will take his walks, drawing 44 on the year, along with 14 hit by pitches against 64 strikeouts. He has a Weighted Runs Created Plus (WRC+) of 181, tops in the regional.
Best Hitter: Oklahoma State’s Alex Conover has a .383/.496/.675 slash line with 14 homers, 36 RBIs, 14 doubles, and 15-for-19 in stolen bases. His hits often come in bunches, with a quartet of four-hit games and nine more games with three hits. The junior outfielder has more walks (40) than strikeouts (39) and batted an impressive .416 in conference play, hitting 11 of his 14 dingers. He has a WRC+ of 169, second only to his teammate Ritchie in the regional.
Best Defensive Player: USC Upstate’s Tyler Lang played catcher all season without committing an error until he finally made his first one against Longwood on Sunday. That was a 52-game errorless streak handling just under 350 chances. He has also thrown out 16 would-be basestealers while contributing with a .304 batting average.
Best Pitcher: Alabama ace Tyler Fay is best known for his complete-game, nine-inning no-hitter against Florida in March. The redshirt junior righthander has logged a team-high 90 innings this season, holding opponents to a .230 batting average. He has 104 strikeouts against just 20 walks. Fay throws a sinking fastball up to 97 mph, a slider, a changeup, and a cutter, and averages 65.7% strikes across his arsenal. Fay will pitch inside, as he’s hit 13 batters.
X-Factor: Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron entered the season as a Golden Spikes contender. His season hasn’t gone as expected, batting only .262 overall (.229 in SEC play) and committing 18 errors. But make no mistake, this is the most talented player in this regional and one of the most tooled-up prospects in the nation. Lebron has the ability to carry his team through the postseason with highlight defensive plays and a powerful bat. He’s also stolen 38 bases in 39 tries. He leads the regional with a 13.38 (Defensive Runs Saved) DRS value despite the errors. How will Lebron perform on the biggest stage?
There's a video through the link that offers a short preview followed by picks up through Omaha. The face has Bama winning their regional only to fall to FSU. The reasoning offered was pitching in the post season. I find that ... well, let's just say I think the pitching staff has been the most constant thing about Bama this season: Fay, Adams, then Upchurch.
I know, that occasional inconsistency we've seen ...
@UAgrad93 the other day I mentioned the metrics and how I've been following PEAR. Somewhere along the line I also mentioned the stat they pointed to was how many games Bama has been blown out. BIG crooked numbered kill shots. It's that metric they say keeps Bama out of Omaha.
I found it again ...
I know, that occasional inconsistency we've seen ...
@UAgrad93 the other day I mentioned the metrics and how I've been following PEAR. Somewhere along the line I also mentioned the stat they pointed to was how many games Bama has been blown out. BIG crooked numbered kill shots. It's that metric they say keeps Bama out of Omaha.
I found it again ...
The Chapel Hill Regional, game one, with Tennessee and E Carolina; that looks like something to keep up with. The home field for UNC is a weird one...left field extending quite a few feet versus right field. 20', or more, down those lines. (I need to look. It's significant.)
The wind is supposed to be blowing towards the right field foul pole with gusts hit 12 or so. It'll make for an interesting game with a #2 and #3...one of them happens to be UT playing in the Carolina's.
The wind is supposed to be blowing towards the right field foul pole with gusts hit 12 or so. It'll make for an interesting game with a #2 and #3...one of them happens to be UT playing in the Carolina's.
1-1 M7, on the U
Been watching this one and Barn has no answers right now. Right fielder for Barn with a park league mistake on a ball hit down the line. Throws his hands up claiming ball is wedged under the fence, but then continues to reach down and pick it up! Throwing the hands up is supposed to signal the umpire to come down and check. You definitely don’t continue! Gave up an additional 90 feet to the batter.
B9, two outs, and UT just hit a game tying HR with ECU. 2-2. Southern Miss Regional ... they are holding on to a one run lead, B6.
Losing your first game in a regional ... history hates on ya.
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