All of the details.
Tennessee baseball might have just gotten hot at the right time. The Volunteers rolled through the SEC Baseball Tournament this weekend, even after dropping their first game to Vanderbilt. Tennessee beat LSU 4-3 on Sunday, putting the finishing touches on a resume that landed them the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Volunteers move on to host the Knoxville Regional this weekend, which will begin on Friday. Tennessee is scheduled to open NCAA Tournament play on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET against Northern Kentucky.
The regional round features a four-team, double-elimination bracket. 16 teams will be left standing by Monday night.
Knoxville Regional Seeding
(1) Tennessee
(2) Southern Miss
(3) Indiana
(4) Northern Kentucky
Knoxville Regional Schedule
Friday, May 31
Game 1 – [2] Southern Miss vs. [3] Indiana, 1 ET (ESPN+)
Game 2 – [1] Tennessee vs. [4] Northern Kentucky, 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
Saturday, June 1
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, Noon ET (TBD)
Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m. ET (TBD)
Sunday, June 2
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, Noon ET (TBD)
Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6 p.m. ET (TBD)
Monday, June 3
Game 7 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6, TBD (TBD)
Knoxville Regional Odds
Tennessee was one of 11 teams from the SEC to make the field, making their run this weekend that much more impressive. The Volunteers will be hosting their eighth regional in program history — their third in the last four seasons. Tennessee has won their last five regionals as the host team.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Tennessee is a -250 favorite to advance out of the region. Southern Miss is +330, Indiana is +700, while Northern Kentucky sits at +5000.
Tennessee holds the second best odds to win the College World Series at +600. Texas A&M is the favorite at +500.
Super Regional Look-Ahead
I know, I know — all focus on this weekend. But it’s hard not to peek ahead considering what the committee did… and they knew exactly what they were doing. The Knoxville Regional is paired up with the Greenville Regional, which features 16-seed East Carolina. It also features Wake Forest and former Tennessee flamethrower Chase Burns.
Burns hit the transfer portal last offseason, even after becoming a legitimate star during last season’s NCAA Tournament run. Should both Tennessee and Wake advance, get your popcorn ready for the Supers.
Wake Forest, despite being the No. 2 seed in the region, is favored to advance. The Demon Deacons are -120 to make it to the Supers, while host East Carolina is +170. Evansville is +800 and VCU is +1100.
We’ll have eyes on this bracket all weekend long.
(Odds as of Monday morning)