INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee has announced the 16 regional sites for its 69th annual baseball championship, and for the first time in their 33-year Division I history, the Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State Bears have been selected to host an NCAA Regional.
Missouri State, which captured the program’s third MVC Tournament title earlier Sunday and brings a 45-10 overall record into the postseason, will host a four-team regional next Friday (May 29) through Monday (June 1) at Hammons Field in Springfield. By virtue of being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team championship field.
Each regional field features four teams, playing in a double-elimination format. The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and current records are as follows:
Baton Rouge, La. — LSU (48-10)
College Station, Texas — Texas A&M (45-11)
Champaign, Ill. — Illinois (47-8)
Coral Gables, Fla. — Miami (Fla.) (44-14)
Dallas, Texas — Dallas Baptist (43-13)
Fort Worth, Texas — TCU (43-11)
Fullerton, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton (45-10)
Gainesville, Fla. — Florida (43-16)
Houston, Texas — Houston (42-18)
Lake Elsinore, Calif. — UC Santa Barbara (40-15)
Los Angeles, Calif. — UCLA (42-14)
Louisville, Ky. — Louisville (43-16)
Nashville, Tenn. — Vanderbilt (42-18)
Springfield, Mo. — Missouri State (45-10)
Stillwater, Okla. — Oklahoma State (37-18)
Tallahassee, Fla. — Florida State (41-19)
The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced Monday at 11 a.m., when Valley Coach of the Year Keith Guttin’s squad will learn which three teams will join them in the Springfield Regional. The one-hour program will be televised live on ESPNU. Game times will be finalized Monday following the NCAA’s announcement of the entire postseason tournament field.
Missouri State players and coaches will view the show at Big Whiskey’s Downtown, 311 Park Central East, in Springfield, with the general public invited to attend. Doors open at 10 a.m. and admission is free, with lunch specials available to those in attendance.
Tickets for the Springfield Regional will go on sale at Noon (CT) Monday (May 25) and will be available for online purchase only through a special ticket link on MissouriStateBears.com. Beginning Tuesday (May 26), phone and in-person ticket orders will be also accepted only through the Hammons Field Box Office (Gate 1 only) at (417) 863-2143 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
— MSU Sports Information —