What needs to happen for Tennessee to host Super Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium
Tennessee baseball missed out on the possibility of being a regional host after going one-and-done in the SEC Tournament with its 3-0 loss to Texas A&M on May 23. But don’t count the Vols out from hosting a Super Regional next week.
In fact, they could be one win away from doing just that.
Tennessee is in the driver’s seat in the Clemson Regional after an 8-1 win over Charlotte Friday night and a 6-5 comeback win over host Clemson, the No. 4 national seed, Saturday night in a 14-inning thriller.
On the opposite side of the bracket was No. 13 Auburn, but the Tigers went 0-2 in their own regional and were bounced after a 6-3 loss to Penn Friday night in 11 innings then a 7-2 loss to Southern Miss Saturday night.
Penn, the No. 4 seed in the Auburn Regional, is 2-0 after wins over Auburn and Samford. Southern Miss, the No. 2 seed, lost 4-2 to Samford on Friday before bouncing back and eliminating Auburn.
Vols need one more win to clinch Clemson Regional and advance to Super Regional round
In the Super Regional format, if the national seeds do not advance, it comes down to schools who submitted bids to host Super Regional play.
What Tennessee needs to position itself for a host spot in the Super Regional round is a win today coupled with a Southern Miss loss today or tomorrow. The Vols play at 6 p.m. Eastern Time against the winner of today’s early game between Clemson and Charlotte.
If Penn or Samford advances out of the Auburn Regional, and the Vols win the Clemson Regional, Tennessee could host Super Regional play, dependent on the other bids to host.
“The committee will make the determination of that when the situation comes up and the site would be announced on Tuesday morning,” NCAA media representative Jeff Williams said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. ”Since there is no true seeding of the No. 2 seeds (in regionals), it would largely just be looking at the merits of the two bids (venue, hotels, guarantees, etc.) but it would be fully a committee decision.”
Should the Vols lose today and win Monday, while Southern Miss wins three straight games to win the Auburn Regional, the Super Regional host would be determined by an official tiebreaker from the committee.
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Clemson or Charlotte, Sunday 6 p.m. ET
According to NCAA baseball rules, the selection “the committee shall review the hosting proposals according to the site selection criteria (e.g., quality and availability of the facility, revenue potential and other available accommodations) to determine the host. If only one of the teams has submitted a proposal, that team shall host if the proposal is acceptable.”
Tennessee hosted both Regional and Super Regional play the last two seasons. The Vols went to Omaha for the College World Series in 2021 after beating Wright State and Liberty in the Knoxville Regional, then sweeping LSU in the Super Regional best of three.
The Vols last season beat Alabama State, Campbell and Georgia Tech in the Knoxville Regional, but were eliminated by Notre Dame in three games in the Super Regional.
