Razorbacks will host NCAA regional for third straight tournament

Getting to play a regional at Baum-Walker is a big benefit to the Hogs who were 32-4 there during the regular season. It's a tough environment for anyone coming in to play a game.

“I just feel like home games, we played well here,” Van Horn said a couple of weeks ago. “The crowds were good. The weather was not good at the beginning, [but] it’s been great lately. Our guys are comfortable here, and we field the ball. We don't make a lot of errors.”

Since sweeping Missouri, the Razorbacks are 13-10 and have only won two of their final six SEC series. Arkansas does have a rowdy Baum-Walker in its back pocket with a 32-4 record, which is the third straight season with 30+ home victories. 

Over the past two tournaments, Arkansas has failed to advance to the Super Regionals despite playing at home.

Arkansas earned the No. 5 overall seed last season and won its first game against Southeast Missouri State. A loss to Kansas State in the winners bracket forced out the Razorbacks backs against the wall. 

With home field advantage, the Hogs ended their season with a loss in an elimination game against SEMO, 6-3. 

TCU was able to upset nationally seeded Arkansas in a Monday, winner-take-all regional final in the 2023 tournament. In both losses, the Razorbacks allowed the Horned Frogs to score a combined 32 runs. 

The full NCAA Tournament bracket will be released Monday, May 26 at 11 A.M. CT on ESPN2.

Arkansas is currently projected by D1 Baseball as the No. 3 national seed with Kansas, Creighton and Little Rock slotted in the regional field.

“Conventional wisdom says that if we make a regional, we probably get sent to Fayetteville,” Little Rock coach Chris Curry said in April when the Trojans played a regular-season game against the Hogs.

The Fayetteville Regional is matched up against the winner of the projected No. 14 seed Tennessee which has West Virginia, Western Kentucky and Miami, Ohio expected in the Knoxville regional.  

As of Sunday, Arkansas currently sits No. 5 in the RPI rankings with a 43-13 overall record. The Razorbacks have a 14-10 record against Quad-1 opponents, 28-3 against teams in quadrant's three and four.

The expectation is that the SEC will have up to 13 bids extended Monday, which is the most of any conference this year. Kentucky is currently on the bubble and has been projected in the Clemson regional. Texas A&M is still on the bubble after winning two games in Hoover, Alabama at the SEC Tournament.

NCAA baseball tournament schedule

• Selection show: Monday, May 26, 11 AM CT, ESPN2
• Regionals: May 30-June 2
• Super Regionals: June 6-9
• College World Series: June 13-23

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