May 30, 2010

Columbia, S.C. –
South Carolina has been selected as one of the 16 regional host institutions for the 2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship as announced by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee on Sunday afternoon. By virtue of being awarded a regional, South Carolina has been selected as an at-large to the 64-team field of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. South Carolina heads into the postseason with a 43-15 record. More information on the 2010 Columbia Regional will be released following the announcement of the 64-team field on Monday afternoon at 12:30 pm on ESPN.

This is Carolina’s 26th overall appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. South Carolina has reached eight College World Series as well as seven NCAA Super Regionals. South Carolina’s 11 consecutive trips to the NCAA Baseball Tournament (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) is the longest current streak of the 12 SEC schools. This marks the 12th time in school history that the Gamecocks will host an NCAA Regional in baseball. Since the move to the Regional-Super Regional format, Carolina has hosted an NCAA Regional six times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010).

The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, May 31, during a live, half-hour program on ESPN. The committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the Men’s College World Series, and will not reseed the field after play begins. Thirty Division I conferences receive an automatic berth in the field of 64, along with 34 at-large selections. The 64th Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday June 19 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows: Arizona State (47-8), Tempe, Ariz.; Arkansas (40-18), Fayetteville, Ark.; Auburn (40-19), Auburn, Ala.; Cal State Fullerton (40-15 through Saturday, May 29), Fullerton, Calif.; Coastal Carolina (51-7), Conway, S.C.; Connecticut (47-14), Storrs, Conn.; Florida (42-15), Gainesville, Fla.; Georgia Tech (45-13), Atlanta; Louisville (48-12), Louisville, Ky.; Miami (Florida) (40-17), Coral Gables, Fla.; Oklahoma (44-15), Norman, Okla.; South Carolina (43-15), Columbia, S.C.; Texas (46-11), Austin, Texas; TCU (46-11), Fort Worth, Texas; UCLA (42-13), Los Angeles; Virginia (47-11), Charlottesville, Va.

The regional hosted by Coastal Carolina will be played at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The regional hosted by Connecticut will be played at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Conn.

By virtue of being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team field. Arkansas, Auburn, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (Florida), Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and Virginia, have made the field as at-large selections. Arizona State (Pacific-10), Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Coastal Carolina (Big South) and TCU (Mountain West) have clinched automatic berths by virtue of winning their conference tournament championships.

Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 4, to Monday, June 7. Texas is hosting for the 25th time, while this will be the 23rd time that Miami (Florida) and the 20th time that Arizona State has hosted a regional.

South Carolina (12th) and Georgia Tech (10th) are the only other institutions to host 10 or more times since the NCAA went to the regional format in 1975. Cal State Fullerton and Florida are hosting for the ninth time, while Arkansas and Oklahoma are hosting a regional for the fifth time. Auburn and Virginia are hosting for the fourth time.

Coastal Carolina and Connecticut (first time since 1977) are hosting for the third time, while Louisville, TCU and UCLA (first time since 1986) are all hosting for the second time. Eight institutions (Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Florida, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Oklahoma, Texas and TCU) also hosted in 2009.

The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, May 31, during a live, half-hour program on ESPNHD. The committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the Men’s College World Series, and will not reseed the field after play begins.

Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/cws , Monday, June 7 at approximately 11 p.m. (ET). There are 30 Division I conferences which will receive an automatic berth in the field of 64, along with 34 at-large selections. The 64th Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday, June 19, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

OTHER REGIONAL SITE SELECTION INFORMATION

Southeastern 4 (Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, South Carolina)
Atlantic Coast 3 [Georgia Tech, Miami (Florida), Virginia]
Big East 2 (Connecticut, Louisville)
Big 12 2 (Oklahoma, Texas)
Pacific-10 2 (Arizona State, UCLA)
Big South 1 (Coastal Carolina)
Big West 1 (Cal State Fullerton)
Mountain West 1 (TCU)