The Alabama Crimson Tide are in Gainesville to close the 2025 SEC baseball regular season against the Florida Gators in a Top 25 matchup that could have a major impact on NCAA Tournament seeding.
Alabama (39-13 overall, 15-12 SEC), ranked No. 16 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, is coming off a huge series win over the Georgia Bulldogs, a top five team in many rankings.
The Crimson Tide are one of many SEC teams hoping to make it to Omaha for this year’s College World Series, a place Alabama baseball hasn’t visited since 1999. Jim Wells was the Tide’s skipper back then, and CWS appearances had become fairly consistent with three in four years.
With regular season play wrapping up this weekend and conference tournaments for the Power Four leagues set to begin next week, USA TODAY Sports experts Eddie Timanus and Erick Smith unveiled their full 64-team projections for the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
The two see Alabama as one of the 16 regional site hosts — barely. The Crimson Tide are the No. 15 seed in USA TODAY Sports’ projections, so a solid weekend in Gainesville and at the SEC Tournament in Hoover would go a long way in making coach Rob Vaughn’s team a lock as a regional host.
West Virginia (40-10), Southeastern Louisiana (37-14) and Fairfield (36-15) are the three teams Smith and Timanus project Alabama would face in a Tuscaloosa Regional, if tournament play began today.
RELATED: More NCAA Tournament expert predictions for Alabama baseball
First pitch for Game 1 of Alabama vs. Florida is at 5:30 p.m. CT Thursday. Right-hander Tyler Fay (0-2, 5.44 ERA) is scheduled to start for Alabama against Florida’s Liam Peterson (8-2, 3.81). The game and series can be streamed on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.
Watch Alabama Crimson Tide vs Florida Gators live on ESPN+
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