When the first pitches of the NCAA baseball tournament are thrown on Friday, the Texas Longhorns will be down the road in College Station. Texas is the No. 3 seed in a regional hosted by rival Texas A&M. At 5 p.m., UT (35-22) will play Louisiana (40-18) in its tournament opener. That game will be preceded by a battle between Texas A&M (44-13) and Grambling (26-26).

Want to know more about the College Station regional? That's as easy as A-B-C.

A is for Aggies

Among the 295 Division I teams, Texas A&M ranks first this season in shutouts pitched (10) and fifth in home runs hit (124). Texas A&M is the No. 3 national seed.

B is for Bufford

Grambling senior Cameron Bufford is his school's all-time leader in home runs. Bufford has hit 45 homers in his four years with the Tigers.

C is for conference tournaments

Texas A&M (SEC), Texas (Big 12) and Louisiana (Sun Belt) all went 0-2 at their conference tournaments last week. Grambling, however, scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Jackson State 6-5 in the SWAC championship game this past Sunday.

D is for D1Baseball

Texas A&M, Louisiana and Texas have all appeared in the D1Baseball poll this season. Texas A&M topped the poll for three weeks in April while Louisiana and Texas have been respectively ranked as high as Nos. 14 and 15.

E is for ERA

Among the 295 Division I teams, Texas A&M (3.97), Louisiana (4.32) and Texas (4.87) rank seventh, 18th and 47th in ERA. Grambling ranks 274th (8.30).

F is for freshmen

Texas A&M third baseman Gavin Grahovac and Louisiana pitcher Chase Morgan were honored as the top freshmen in their conferences this season. Grahovac is hitting .319 with 21 home runs in his collegiate debut. Morgan has compiled a 4-3 record on the mound with a 3.29 ERA.

G is for Gauchos

The winner of the College Station Regional advances to play the winner of a regional hosted by the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. San Diego, Oregon and Fresno State are also competing in the Santa Barbara Regional.

H is for homers

The first three Aggies that typically bat in the Texas A&M lineup — Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery — have combined to hit 75 homers this season. That is more than 203 Division I programs.

I is for innings

No pitcher has thrown more this season than Grambling senior Mason Martinez. In addition to leading Division I pitchers in innings (112⅓) and complete games (five), Martinez's 12 victories rank second nationally. Martinez is 12-2 with a 4.33 ERA.

J is for Jared

The leadoff hitter for Texas in all 57 of its games, sophomore Jared Thomas leads the Longhorns in batting average (.355) and runs (59). He has also been successful on all 16 of his stolen-base attempts.

K is for Kimble

Texas designated hitter Kimble Schuessler started his collegiate career at Texas A&M. After one year with the Aggies, he transferred to Texas ahead of the 2022 season. He is hitting .327 in 2024 while playing catcher.

L is for Longhorns

Among the 295 Division I teams, Texas ranks 17th in homers (109), 20th in doubles (127) and 22nd in slugging percentage (.531).

M is for Miami

Texas and Louisiana were also each other's openers at a 2023 regional hosted by Miami. Eleven of the players who played in UT's 4-2 win — five for Texas and six for Louisiana — are still on their teams' rosters.

N is for natty

Texas is the only team in the College Station Regional that has won a national championship. The Longhorns reigned supreme in 1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002 and 2005.

O is for Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park

Named for former Texas A&M baseball player C. E. "Pat" Olsen, Olsen Field has been Texas A&M's home since 1978 and the stadium received a major renovation in 2012. With a capacity of 6,100, the dimensions of Olsen Field are 330 feet to left and right field and 400 feet to center field with 375 feet into the gaps.

P is for Player of the Year

Texas outfielder Max Belyeu and Louisiana shortstop Kyle DeBarge won the 2024 player of the year awards in the Big 12 and Sun Belt conferences. DeBarge's 21 home runs this season are a school record while Belyeu's 18 homers are tied for seventh place on UT's single-season chart.

Q is for Quebec

A Quebec product, LP Langevin became the sixth Louisiana player to win the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year award this season. Langevin has struck out 100 batters over his 60 innings.

R is for Ragin' Cajuns

Among the 295 Division I teams, Louisiana ranks 15th in WHIP (1.32). Arkansas and Duke are the only teams allowing fewer hits per nine innings than Louisiana's 7.54.

S is for saves

Texas closer Gage Boehm will lead all players in College Station with his eight saves this season. Texas A&M's Evan Aschenbeck and Louisiana's Langevin have both saved seven games.

T is for Tigers

Among the 295 Division I teams, Grambling ranks eighth in on-base percentage (.426), 17th in batting average (.312) and 29th in scoring (8.4).

U is for UNLV

UNLV was the first stop in the head coaching career of Texas A&M's Jim Schlossnagle. According to Texas A&M, Schlossnagle, Augie Garrido, Larry Cochell and Andy Lopez are the only coaches to win multiple College World Series games with two programs. Schlossnagle has won games in Omaha with both TCU and Texas A&M.

V is for victories

Texas A&M, Louisiana, Texas and Grambling have combined for 145 victories. Among the 16 NCAA regionals, that is tied with Stillwater for the 11th-most wins. The teams in both the Corvallis and Knoxville regionals have combined for 158 wins.

W is for weather

According to the National Weather Service, the weather forecast in College Station on Friday calls for a high of 86 degrees with a likely chance of thunderstorms.

X is for X-factors

Texas is 25-0 against non-SEC teams this season. Louisiana is 10-1 in games played on Sunday. Texas is 7-2 in games started by pitcher Ace Whitehead. Grambling is 16-19 in its road and neutral-site contests.

Y is for years

In the 12 years since Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC, the Longhorns and Aggies have played 13 times in baseball. Five of those games have taken place in the postseason. Texas went 2-1 against Texas A&M at a 2014 regional in Houston and then recorded an 8-3 victory over the Aggies at an Austin Regional in 2018. Texas A&M eliminated UT from the 2022 College World Series.

Z is for zero

In its history, Grambling has recorded zero wins against SEC teams. The Tigers are 0-35 against the 14 teams currently in the SEC and that record includes this year's 21-1 and 26-2 losses to Arkansas and LSU.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, Texas A&M, Louisiana, Grambling meet in NCAA baseball regional