South-Carolina
Where South Carolina baseball is projected in NCAA Tournament bracket ahead of Georgia series
South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston and Parker Noland
South Carolina Mark Kingston and infielder Parker Noland talk about the Gamecocks season ahead of the series against Kentucky
COLUMBIA — With a little over three weeks until Selection Monday, South Carolina baseball is still projected to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament, but D1 Baseball dropped its prediction from No. 10 to No. 16.
Baseball America still has South Carolina as the No. overall 12 seed, the same as last week.
The No. 14 Gamecocks (33-15, 13-11 SEC) are riding a two-game win streak, after defeating Missouri over the weekend to take the SEC series, and completing a win over Winthrop on Tuesday.
Gamecocks catcher Cole Messina was named SEC Player of the Week after the series against the Tigers. Messina was 9-for-14 with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBI in four games last week.
The Gamecocks will now host No. 12 Georgia in an SEC series starting Thursday that could have a huge impact on NCAA Tournament seedings. The final SEC series for the 2024 season is against No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville May 16-18.
Here’s a look at where South Carolina sits in the postseason projections ahead of its series vs Georgia:
D1 Baseball’s projection for South Carolina
This week, D1 Baseball projects the Gamecocks as the No. 16 seed overall, first in the region, projected to host No. 2 seed Oregon State, No. 3 seed Georgia Tech and No. 4 seed High Point in Columbia. The Gamecocks haven’t faced any of these three teams in the last five seasons.
Baseball America’s projection for South Carolina
Baseball America’s updated field of 64 has the Gamecocks playing against No. 2 seed NC State, No. 3 seed Central Florida and No. 4 seed Columbia, as the host. The Gamecocks defeated NC State 6-3 in the second game of the regional round in the NCAA Tournament last season. They have not played the other three teams in the last two years.
MAY 1 PROJECTIONS: Where South Carolina baseball stands in latest NCAA Tournament field predictions
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin