ACC baseball team jumps Arkansas in new Field of 64 postseason projection

The Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team got back on track with a much-needed series victory against Mississippi State in SEC play earlier this week by taking two of three from a tough Bulldogs team that also has a shot at hosting a regional in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Arkansas (42-10 overall, 19-8 SEC) moved up one spot to the No. 5 overall seed in Baseball America’s new Field of 64 projections released Wednesday. On3 has the Razorbacks as a No. 2 seed in its latest postseason forecast this week.

The downside, if you put much stock into these projections, is that it wasn’t enough to keep coach Dave Van Horn’s team from being passed for a higher top eight national seed in Baseball America’s outlook — in large part because of a streaking ACC team that’s now in position to win that conference’s regular-season championship this weekend.

In Baseball America’s projections, North Carolina jumped ahead of Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Clemson to land the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The streaking Tar Heels are 39-11 overall and have won nine of their last 10 games to vault themselves into a three-game lead in the ACC standings entering the final weekend of conference play.

For the second straight week, Kentucky is the projected No. 1 overall seed by Baseball America. The Wildcats climbed one spot to No. 3 in this weeks’ USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

RELATED: Arkansas up to No. 2 in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

Tennessee rose one spot to No. 3 in Baseball America’s projections. Texas A&M is one spot ahead of Arkansas for the No. 4 seed despite losses in four of the Aggies’ last six games after dropping back-to-back series at LSU and Ole Miss.

Joining Arkansas in Baseball America’s projected Fayetteville Regional are Nebraska, Kansas State and Saint Louis. If the Razorbacks win their regional, they would then host a best-of-three Super Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Razorbacks visit College Station for a highly anticipated three-game showdown beginning Thursday. If they can win that series, Arkansas would jump not only Texas A&M in projections entering the SEC Tournament but possibly others teams as well. First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

In the SEC standings race, Kentucky leads Arkansas by one game and will wrap up its regular season at home against Tim Corbin’s Vanderbilt team. Tennessee is tied with the Razorbacks at 19-8 in conference play while the Diamond Hogs lead Texas A&M by two games.

The final Field of 64 that will make up the NCAA Tournament and compete for a berth in the College World Series in Omaha will be unveiled on Selection Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m. CDT.