NCAA Baseball Tournament 2026: Field of 64 Bracket Projection
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season before conference tournaments begin, the race for the 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament is heating up. While the season has delivered plenty of surprises, one thing has remained consistent: UCLA has been the clear best team in the country since early March and enters this projection as the unanimous overall No. 1 seed.
The defending national champion LSU has had a disastrous season and currently sits well outside the projected field, becoming one of the biggest stories of the year. Several other preseason contenders have also fallen short of expectations.
Current Standouts and Disappointments
UCLA, Texas, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina have largely lived up to their preseason hype and are positioned as top-4 national seeds. On the flip side, Arkansas, TCU, and Louisville — all expected to contend for high seeds — have struggled. The Razorbacks remain in the projected field but with limited margin for error, while TCU and Louisville are currently on the outside looking in.Here is the latest USA TODAY projection for the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament Field of 64:
NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection
Los Angeles Regional
UCLA*
UC Santa Barbara (32)
Tennessee
Fairleigh Dickinson*
Atlanta Regional
Georgia Tech (2)*
Jacksonville State (29)*
Kentucky
Bethune-Cookman*
Austin Regional
Texas (3)
Miami (Fla.) (30)
Texas-San Antonio*
Army*
Chapel Hill Regional
North Carolina (4)
Missouri State (31)
Liberty
Penn*
Athens Regional
Georgia (5)*
Cincinnati (28)
East Carolina
Niagara*
College Station Regional
Texas A&M (6)
Wake Forest (27)
Oklahoma State
Oral Roberts*
Auburn Regional
Auburn (7)
Virginia (26)
Michigan
Wright State*
Lawrence Regional
Kansas (8)*
Oregon (25)
Virginia Tech
Indiana State*
Starkville Regional
Mississippi State (9)
UCF (24)
North Carolina State
Binghamton*
Corvallis Regional
Oregon State (10)
Arizona State (23)
Gonzaga*
Cal Poly*
Oxford Regional
Ole Miss (11)
Boston College (22)
Western Carolina*
North Florida*
Tallahassee Regional
Florida State (12)
Oklahoma (21)
Pittsburgh
St. John’s*
Hattiesburg Regional
Southern Mississippi (13)
Arkansas (20)
Kent State*
San Diego State*
Myrtle Beach Regional
Coastal Carolina (14)*
West Virginia (19)
Eastern Illinois*
Campbell*
Tuscaloosa Regional
Alabama (15)
Southern California (18)
Tarleton State*
Southeastern Louisiana*
Gainesville Regional
Florida (16)
Nebraska (17)
St. Joseph’s*
Winthrop*
Last Four In: Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Michigan, PittsburghLast Four Out: TCU, Purdue, Louisiana-Lafayette, Clemson*Denotes projected automatic qualifier based on current conference standings.
What’s Next?
The final stretch of the regular season and conference tournaments will be critical. Several bubble teams still have significant opportunities to improve their resumes, while teams already projected in must avoid late collapses that could cost them seeding or even a spot in the field.The official 64-team bracket will be revealed on Selection Monday at the end of May, with regional play beginning the following weekend. The 2026 College World Series is scheduled for June in Omaha, Nebraska.
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