South Carolina baseball learns NCAA Tournament path, Columbia Regional schedule

Michael Lananna
·2 min read

There will be postseason baseball in Columbia, after all.

Though South Carolina (39-19) struggled in the last month of the season, the Gamecocks’ overall body of work earned them a regional hosting bid. And on Monday afternoon, the Gamecocks learned who they’ll be hosting this weekend as the No. 1 seed at Founders Park.

USC is the No. 15 national seed and will welcome NC State, Campbell and Central Connecticut State for a regional this weekend. USC and Central Connecticut State will play their first game Friday.

USC’s regional is paired in the full NCAA bracket with the Gainesville Regional, which No. 2 Florida is hosting.

Head coach Mark Kingston and his team watched the NCAA Tournament selection show from The Cockaboose Club in Williams-Brice Stadium — an event open to the public. The Gamecocks are coming off a 1-2 run in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, and Kingston has talked about the importance of getting players back to full health before their regional run begins.

The Gamecocks lost 13 of their final 18 games of the season, in part, because of a slew of injuries to the team’s starting infield and pitching staff. At one point, starting third baseman Talmadge LeCroy, shortstop Braylen Wimmer and second baseman Will McGillis all sat due to injuries. Both LeCroy and Wimmer have returned to the lineup. The pitching staff lost starters Noah Hall and Will Sanders as well as promising freshman Eli Jerzembeck. Only Sanders is expected to be available in the regional.

Despite USC’s late-season struggles, the Gamecocks built a strong NCAA tournament resume with a historic start to the season — the team’s best start since 1975. The Gamecocks soared to No. 3 in the national rankings after a home sweep of Florida pushed their season record to 34-6. USC lost the next four SEC series, but even after the slide, the Gamecocks sit at No. 8 in the RPI and No. 4 in strength of schedule — metrics that earned them a hosting bid.

——This is a breaking story and will be updated.——

NCAA Tournament regional host sites

Regional sites, listed with host institutions:

  • Auburn, Alabama — Auburn

  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana — LSU

  • Charlottesville, Virginia — Virginia

  • Clemson, South Carolina — Clemson

  • Columbia, South Carolina — South Carolina

  • Conway, South Carolina — Coastal Carolina

  • Coral Gables, Florida — Miami

  • Fayetteville, Arkansas — Arkansas

  • Gainesville, Florida — Florida

  • Lexington, Kentucky — Kentucky

  • Nashville, Tennessee — Vanderbilt

  • Stanford, California — Stanford

  • Stillwater, Oklahoma — Oklahoma State

  • Terre Haute, Indiana — Indiana State

  • Tuscaloosa, Alabama — Alabama

  • Winston-Salem, North Carolina — Wake Forest