Where South Carolina baseball stands in latest NCAA Tournament field predictions
COLUMBIA — South Carolina baseball battled through close games all season and was inconsistent at times but is now projected to host a regional game in the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 14 Gamecocks (30-14, 11-10 SEC) are riding a two-game win streak after defeating Kentucky in a weekend series and East Tennessee State 15-2 on Wednesday. South Carolina is tied with Vanderbilt for third in the SEC East.
Selection day for the NCAA Tournament isn't until May 27 (noon, ESPN2), but the Gamecocks were featured in the latest field of 64 projections by Baseball America and D1Baseball.
Last year, South Carolina had its most successful season in the past five years under coach Mark Kingston after reaching 42 wins and the super regional round of the NCAA tournament. In 2022, the Gamecocks had a below .500 record and missed the tournament. The Gamecocks won the national championship in 2010 and 2011.
Here's a look at where South Carolina sits in the postseason projections ahead of its series at Missouri.
Baseball America's projection for South Carolina
Baseball America's projections have the Gamecocks as the No. 1 seed in their region and the No. 12 seed overall. The region includes Wake Forest as the second seed, No. 3 College of Charleston and No. 4 Samford.
D1Baseball's projection for South Carolina
D1Baseball projects South Carolina as the No. 10 seed overall and again the top seed in the regional. D1's projections differ, predicting that the Columbia Region will include No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina, No. 3 seed Georgia Tech and No. 4 seed USC Upstate.
The Gamecocks beat USC Upstate 14-8 on March 19.
2023 TOURNAMENT: Why South Carolina baseball's 2023 season journey shows promise for the future
South Carolina baseball 2024 schedule
Next four opponents:
May 3-5: at Missouri
May 7: at Winthrop
May 9-11: vs Georgia
May 16-18: at Tennessee
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina baseball latest 2024 NCAA tournament projections
