Alabama baseball was not one of this year’s regional hosts, but the Crimson Tide won’t be far from home when it opens up play in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Alabama was named as the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional and will be paired up with No. 1 seed Southern Miss, No. 3 seed Miami and No. 4 seed Columbia. Alabama beat Southern Miss, 10-6, in Tuscaloosa on April 8.

The Tide will begin play in the double-elimination regional against Miami on Friday at 2 p.m. CT.

The winner of the Hattiesburg Regional will move on to face the winner of the Nashville Regional, which is hosted by No. 1 overall seed and SEC champion Vanderbilt, in the super regionals.

Despite head coach Rob Vaughn’s campaigning last week, Alabama learned Sunday night that it would not be one of the 16 regional hosts. The Tide ranks No. 13 in RPI and is No. 20 in strength of schedule, according to Warren Nolen.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer,” Vaughn said last week when asked about Alabama’s hosting chances following his team’s SEC Tournament defeat to Tennessee. “This team went out and won every single midweek game all year. We lost one non-conference game all year. We’ve done some really good things. You win 17 games in the league with the top 12 RPI. I think it’s kind of silly that we’re talking about, are we hosting, are we not? It should be seeded in the top 16.”

Alabama (41-16) is coming off its first 40-win regular season since 2002. This year’s regional appearance marks the Tide’s third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, a feat it hasn’t achieved since 2009-11. Last year, Alabama lost to Central Florida and Stetson in the Tallahassee Regional. In 2023, the Tide hosted and won its regional before losing at Wake Forest in the super regionals.

Alabama has made five College World Series appearances in program history. Its most recent trip to Omaha, Nebraska was in 1999.

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. – A Georgia man wanted for murder was captured recently in Alabama after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase, attempting a violent carjacking, and sparking an extensive overnight manhunt.

What we know:

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) identified the suspect as 28-year-old Mike Thomas of Stockbridge. Authorities say Thomas was wanted for a murder charge in Georgia when Evergreen Police officers in Conecuh County attempted to stop him on May 18. Thomas fled, prompting a multi-agency pursuit along Interstate 65.

The chase ended in Baldwin County, Alabama, near mile marker 45 when officers successfully deployed spike strips, disabling Thomas’ vehicle. After crashing, Thomas allegedly attempted to carjack an 18-wheeler that was stopped in traffic, pistol-whipping the driver in the head and face. A passenger inside the truck fired at Thomas, who then abandoned the attempt and fled on foot into nearby woods.

Law enforcement from multiple agencies—including ALEA’s Aviation Unit, the Alabama Department of Corrections’ K-9 team, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit, and others—joined in the search. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office activated its SWAT team due to the dangerous nature of the suspect, who had reportedly fired shots at pursuing officers earlier in the chase.

After more than six hours of searching, Thomas was apprehended around 5:45 a.m. on May 19. He was found with a gunshot wound to the leg, believed to have occurred during the failed carjacking. He was transported to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation.

What’s next:

The case is being handled by ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation and spans multiple jurisdictions. Once the investigation is complete, findings will be turned over to the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office.

Officials praised the coordinated effort, calling the outcome a successful example of interagency cooperation.