Tennessee baseball earns No. 1 overall seed, hosting Knoxville Regional for NCAA Tournament
Tennessee baseball is hunting a fourth straight regional title.
The No. 1 Vols (50-11) open against No. 4 Northern Kentucky (35-22) in the Knoxville Regional on Friday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network). No. 2 Southern Miss (41-18) and No. 3 Indiana (34-24-1) are on the opposite side of the bracket.
The Knoxville Regional is paired with the Greenville Regional, which is hosted by the No. 16 national seed East Carolina. Wake Forest is the No. 2 seed in the Greenville Regional. The winners of the two regionals will face in the super regional.
Regionals will take place May 31-June 3. Super regionals are slated for June 7-9 or June 8-10. The College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, starts June 14.
Tennessee is hosting a regional for the third time in the past four seasons. The Vols advanced to the College World Series as a host and the No. 3 national seed in 2021. They hosted again in 2022 as the No. 1 overall seed but lost in a three-game super regional to Notre Dame.
Tennessee has made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Vitello. UT had a breakthrough in 2019 to gain a bid for the first time since 2005. It was a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional that season, falling to the Tar Heels in the final.
UT enters the postseason after sweeping the SEC titles for the second time in three seasons. Tennessee won a share of the SEC regular-season title then rolled to an SEC Tournament title, which it clinched with a 4-3 win against LSU on Sunday.
STAFF: Tennessee baseball didn’t need the SEC Tournament title. It needed what it found out.
The Vols have won at least 50 games for the third time in the past four seasons. They had won 50 games or more twice in program history prior.
NCAA Knoxville Regional schedule, TV times
All times EDT
Friday's games
Game 1: Indiana (32-24-1) vs. Southern Miss (41-18), 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Game 2: Tennessee (50-11) vs. Northern Kentucky (35-22), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
Saturday's games
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, noon; TV TBD
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.; TV TBD
Sunday's games
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, noon; TV TBD
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m.; TV TBD
Monday's game (if necessary)
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, TBD
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball is No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament, hosting regional
