D-II Baseball Regional Preview

NOTE: Teams in conferences covered by D-II South Sports are marked in BOLD type.

The selections have been made. Now, the road to an NCAA Division II baseball national championship begins in earnest. Here's a quick preview and analysis of the regional fields in both the South and Southeast Regions, respectively. Team won-lost records are marked in parentheses.

South--at Magnolia, Arkansas (May 14-18, 2009)

Tournament Website

Bracket

TEAMS

1. Southern Arkansas (49-9)

2. Barry (44-9)

3. West Alabama (37-14)

4. Tampa (38-15)

5. Lynn (38-16)

6. Florida Southern (38-14)

7. Valdosta State (41-19)

8. Stillman (35-20)

Analysis: While there's no surprise as to who's in the South Regional bracket, the big surprise has to be in who isn't: No. 15 (Collegiate Baseball) Delta State. Despite being nationally ranked several national polls for most of the season, and earning the West Division's top seed for the Gulf South Conference tournament, the Statesmen found themselves outside looking in after being snubbed for a regional bid. Still, this regional tournament has a star-studded cast in terms of teams, with six of the top 20 squads in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll playing this weekend: No. 1 Southern Arkansas, No. 3 Barry, co-No. 7 West Alabama, No. 10 Tampa, No. 14 Florida Southern, and No. 19 Valdosta State. It's too bad only one of these eight teams listed above can move on to Cary, N.C., the site of this year's national tournament.

Southeast--at Aiken, South Carolina (May 14-17, 2009)

Tournament Website

Bracket

TEAMS

1. USC Aiken (39-17)

2. Francis Marion (36-13-1)

3. Georgia College & State University (37-17)

4. Catawba (35-16)

5. Tusculum (36-16)

6. Belmont Abbey (34-24)

Analysis: Although they grabbed the top three seeds for this regional, the Peach Belt Conference only managed to get three teams there. No. 5 USC Aiken still managed to earn the host's role for the Southeast bracket despite being bounced early as the No. 1 seed by No. 8 seed Augusta State in the PBC tournament. Like the South bracket, the Southeast Regional also has its share of nationally ranked teams playing for the right to go to North Carolina. In addition to the Pacers, there's also the other co-No. 7 team in the Collegiate Baseball poll, Francis Marion, as well as No. 20 GC&SU, No.21 Catawba, and Tusculum--which, ironically--finished in a three-way tie for the No. 30 ranking with UNC Pembroke, another good team from D-II South Nation on the outside looking in, and New Mexico Highlands. Also, No. 23 Armstrong Atlantic State was left out of the Southeast field despite a decent 38-18 record.

Who's in?

The start of the NCAA Division II baseball tournament is just around the corner, with regionals starting later this week. Following are the teams in both the South and Southeast Regions, respectively, that have clinched automatic bids to the regionals. Teams in conferences covered by D-II South Sports are marked in BOLD type.

South Region

Gulf South: Southern Arkansas

SIAC: Stillman

Sunshine State: Barry

Southeast Region

Conference Carolinas: Belmont Abbey

Peach Belt: Francis Marion

South Atlantic: Catawba

Click here, or on the title of the post above, for a list of all automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Division II baseball championships.