Southern Miss baseball landed a spot on the NCAA’s shortlist to host an NCAA Regional. If the Golden Eagles host it would be their third time in program history and first time since 2017.
The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced the 20 predetermined preliminary-round sites for this year’s baseball tournament on Friday.
Southern Miss and other Conference USA members, Charlotte and Louisiana Tech, along with both Ole Miss and Mississippi State both also made the list.
If Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss all host a regional, it would be the for time for all three to do so at the same time.
The NCAA opted to predetermine host sites rather than announce them after the completion of each conference’s tournament due to the health and safety protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 20 selected sites, the committee will choose 16 to host-round games, with eight of those regional sites hosting super regionals.
The list includes Arizona, Arkansas, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida, Gonzaga, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.
Currently, the Golden Eagles, which are 33-15 overall and 20-7 in C-USA, hold a half-game lead over Louisiana Tech in the C-USA West standings.
Southern Miss currently holds a rating percentage index (RPI) of 26. The Golden Eagles will finish their regular season this weekend against Florida Atlantic and then compete in the C-USA tournament from May 26-30.
The final 16 predetermined sites will be revealed at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 30. The bracket and pairings for the 2021 NCAA baseball tournament will be released at 11 a.m. on May 31.
