HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee remains projected to host during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament by multiple publications following its thrilling 7-5 win over No. 1-seed Texas in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
The Vols arrived in Hoover needing to win a couple of games in order to host a regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium next weekend. Their 15-10 win over Alabama on Wednesday inched them closer to hosting, but they were still on the outside looking in heading into their extra-innings win over projected No. 1 overall seed Texas.
D1Baseball moved Tennessee to the No. 15 national seed on Friday morning, while Baseball America listed UT as the No. 14 seed in its projections. Aria Gerson of The Tennessean projects the Vols to land as the No. 11 overall seed.
Those projections remain the same on Saturday morning as No. 8-seed Tennessee begins its game against No. 4 Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Vols are looking to advance to the title game in the conference tournament for the fourth time in the past five years.
D1Baseball projects Tennessee to host No. 2 West Virginia, No. 3 Miami and No. 4 Miami (OH) in its Knoxville Regional. The Vols’ regional is paired with the Fayetteville Regional that features No. 2 national seed Arkansas, No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Creighton and No. 4 Little Rock.
“The only change came when Tennessee forced its way into the hosting picture with SEC Tournament wins over Alabama and Texas,” D1Baseball wrote Friday about their latest projections. “The Volunteers now have a top-ten RPI, an 18-14 SEC mark, and a whole lot of positives from the old eye-test. It’s the kind of resume that always hosts.”
Baseball America, on the other hand, projects Tennessee to host No. 2 West Virginia, No. 3 East Tennessee State and No. 4 Bryant in its Knoxville Regional. Baseball America also pairs the Knoxville Regional with the Fayetteville Regional that features No. 3 national seed Arkansas, No. 2 Northeastern, No. 3 Virginia and No. 4 Central Connecticut.
The Defending Champs
Tennessee will punch its sixth straight ticket to the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is released during the selection show on Monday, May 26. Super regionals will be held Friday, June 6 through Monday, June 9. The 77th College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska will begin on Friday, June 13.
Vitello led Tennessee to its first national championship in its seventh appearance at the Men’s College World Series last season. It was UT’s first appearance in the CWS Finals since 1951 when it finished as the runner-up to Oklahoma.
Tennessee became the first No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament to win the national championship since Miami did so in 1999. UT also became the first SEC team to reach the 60-win mark in a single season and just the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title and the NCAA Men’s College World Series in the same year.
Vitello’s first national championship during his seventh season as head coach at Tennessee came in his fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, and in its third trip to Omaha in four seasons. UT is the only SEC program and one of just two teams nationally (Virginia) to have appeared in the College World Series in three of the last four seasons (2021, 2023, 2024). Tennessee just completed its first back-to-back trips.
Tennessee is 27-11 in five NCAA Tournament appearances under Vitello. His 27 NCAA Tournament wins are tied for the most in UT history with Rod Delmonico, who is the program’s all-time wins leader (699). Delmonico went 27-19 in eight tournament appearances to lead the Vols to the College World Series three times (1995, 2001, 2005).
