Full Bracket
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Cincinnati, UConn and ECU were among the 64 teams announced Monday afternoon to compete in the 2019 NCAA Baseball Championship. The American has had at least three NCAA tournament teams in each of the last five years.
The American is one of seven conferences (SEC (10), ACC (8), Big Ten (5), Big 12 (5), Pac-12 (5) and Missouri Valley (3)) to have at least three teams punch tickets to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, May 31-Monday, June 3.
For a second-straight year, ECU (43-15) was selected as one of 16 regional hosts, clinching the No. 10 national seed. An American team has hosted a regional in each of the past three seasons and in four of the past five years. Houston (2017 and 2015) and Louisville (2014) are the two other American Athletic Conference teams to have hosted a regional over the league’s six-year span. In addition to hosting in 2018, ECU hosted a regional at Clark-LeClair Stadium in 2009, and also hosted opening round regional tournaments on two occasions at different venues.
ECU, which became the first team in American Athletic Conference history to win 20 league games, clinched its first American regular season title. The Pirates won all eight of their regular season conference series and have been ranked as high as No. 6 nationally. ECU makes its fourth NCAA Championship appearance in the past five years, earning its 30th overall regional berth. The Pirates open tournament play against No. 4 seeded Quinnipiac (29-27) on Friday, May 31 at 6 p.m. ET, as the Greenville Regional also features No. 2 seeded NC State (42-17) and No. 3 seeded Campbell (35-19).
Picked to finish eighth of nine teams in The American’s preseason coaches’ poll, Cincinnati (30-29) powered its way through the conference’s tournament in Clearwater en route to winning its first conference postseason baseball title since 1967. With the tournament victory, the Bearcats clinched The American’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, marking the Bearcats’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 1974. Cincinnati will be the No. 4 seed in the Corvallis Regional and will take on the host and No. 16 national seed Oregon State (36-18-1) on Friday at 10 p.m. ET. The other half of the bracket features Big East champion, No. 2 seeded Creighton (38-11), and No. 3 seeded Michigan (41-18).
UConn (36-23) was selected as the No. 2 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional hosted by Oklahoma State (36-18). The Huskies return to the NCAA tournament for a second-straight year, earning their 21st overall regional bid and sixth since 2010. UConn kicks off its regional action against No. 3 seeded Nebraska (31-22), as the Oklahoma City Regional also features Ivy League champion No. 4 seeded Harvard (27-14).
Thirty-one (31) Division I conferences received automatic bids in the field of 64, along with 33 at-large selections. The regional format for the NCAA Championship is a double-elimination with the winning 16 teams advancing to Super Regionals, which will be held from June 7-10. The top eight teams remaining will host the Super Regionals on-campus in a best-of-three series with the eight winners advancing to Omaha. The College World Series begins play Saturday, June 15 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
2019 NCAA Baseball Championship | May 31
Greenville Regional | Greenville, N.C.
No. 3 Campbell vs. No. 2 NC State.................Noon (ESPN3)
No. 4 Quinnipiac at No. 1 ECU..........................6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Corvallis Regional | Corvallis, Ore.
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 Creighton..................................4 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 4 Cincinnati at No. 1 Oregon State.......................10 p.m. (ESPNU)
Oklahoma City Regional | Oklahoma City, Okla.
No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 2 UConn.........................1 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 4 Harvard at No. 1 Oklahoma State.....................7 p.m.
All times Eastern