NCAA baseball regionals: Who has the best chances to go to Omaha?

Buckle up, baseball fans. We're in for one of the wildest NCAA regionals yet.

The 2025 NCAA baseball tournament begins on Friday, and the path to the Men's College World Series in Omaha is stacked with heavy favorites and potential upsets.

Vanderbilt secured the No. 1 overall seed with an emphatic SEC tournament win -- its first top seed since 2007. Reigning national champ Tennessee is seeded at No. 14, while preseason No. 1 Texas A&M missed out entirely.

Outside the SEC and its record 13 berths to the national tournament, the ACC has three regional hosts, and a slew of MLB prospects are slated to take the field. Our experts break down the 64-team field and share their top teams and players to watch, as well as things to keep an eye on as the MCWS comes further into view.

Jump to: Toughest road | Players and teams to watch
Underdogs | Potential supers matchups | Bold predictions

Which regional has the toughest road to Omaha?

Chris Burke: The Conway Regional feels wide open. Host Coastal Carolina rolled through the Sun Belt Conference this year and boasts one of the best pitching staffs in the country (No. 2 ERA). However, it drew No. 4 seed Fairfield, which is no stranger to regional play, and No. 2 and 3 seeds -- Florida and ECU, respectively -- which come in red hot. Florida has won its past six SEC series and is coming off a stretch where it has played some of the best baseball in the country, including series wins versus Arkansas and Texas. ECU has the most regional appearances ever to not play in the MCWS and is coming in fresh off running through the American Conference tournament. Watch out for the Conway Regional; it's gonna be a blast!

Mike Rooney: The Knoxville Regional should be a blast. The Vols may have the most talented roster in the country. The Cincinnati inside game could be problematic for both Wake Forest and Tennessee. Wake Forest brings high talent on both sides of the ball, and there may be leftover drama from star RHP Chase Burns' transfer from Knoxville to Winston-Salem. Finally, Tony Vitello's Vols mysteriously lost their last four home series this year. Tennessee's prize for surviving these trip wires? A visit to Fayetteville with a trip to Omaha on the line.

David Dellucci: The toughest road to Omaha goes through Oxford, Mississippi. All four teams have star power and are no strangers to this environment. Murray State beat Kentucky in Lexington and lost by one run in extra innings vs. the Rebels in Oxford. Western Kentucky won 46 games behind Conference USA Player of the Year Ryan Wideman. Georgia Tech tops the ACC with a .315 batting average and two Golden Spikes semifinalists in Drew Burress and Kyle Lodise. Ole Miss is led by a starting rotation that won a national title and finished the SEC tournament playing in the championship game after beating Florida, Arkansas and LSU. The winner of this regional potentially will go to Athens and face the high-powered Georgia Bulldogs that lead the nation in team home runs (133) and are 29-4 at home.

Ryan McGee: I'm calling the Conway regional the "Brawl at the Beach." I thought Coastal Carolina had an argument for a top-eight seed, but the Chanticleers have always run very hot or very cold when hosting postseason games. Then there's Florida, who has been a roller coaster all season. East Carolina looked like it might clean house midseason and then ran through the AAC conference tourney. And if I'm being honest, I know nothing about Fairfield except that it won the MAAC, and it has an awesome nickname (the Stags). Throw in some salt water taffy and some Carolina beach music, and this feels like the place to be.

Kiley McDaniel: It might be a cop-out to say the 16th-seeded host has the toughest path, but I think the answer is the Hattiesburg Regional. Southern Miss, Miami, Alabama and Columbia are arguably the most evenly matched foursome of teams ... and whoever gets out of that dogfight likely has to face top-seeded Vanderbilt on the road.

What team or player are you most excited to watch this weekend?

Burke: Kade Anderson had the best three-inning stretch I've ever seen at the SEC tournament. He ran through Texas A&M's lineup to the tune of eight strikeouts in the first nine hitters. He finished the game with 12 strikeouts, becoming the nation's leader. Two years ago, LSU rode the dominance of Paul Skenes to a title -- could Kade Anderson be that guy this year?

Rooney: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is the alpha who drives the Bruins. His leadership helped this team return to the postseason for the first time in three seasons. The Bruins did it in style, earning a share of the Big Ten regular-season title while also securing a host site. Cholowsky will be in the conversation for first pick overall in the 2026 MLB draft, as he displayed his high-end talent (.369-23-69) and his fearless attitude (20 HBPs) in 2025.

Dellucci: Cam Cannarella is a fearless player who excels in clutch situations. He comes into the Clemson Regional hitting .344, but over the past month, he has turned it up, hitting .448. Cannarella can win a ballgame with his bat, glove and speed; as the pressure builds, so does his performance.

McGee: The "Bash Bruddahs" at Arkansas, Wehiwa and Kuhio Aloy, are must-see TV. Heartbreak always seems to descend on Fayetteville, as the Hogs once again come up short of winning it all. If they are finally led to the hardball promised land by a couple of brothers from Maui, someone should start writing a Hollywood screenplay immediately.

McDaniel: I mentioned in my recent mock draft that Arkansas RHP Gage Wood could be the player in line to make the most money this postseason, with a shot to break into the top-20 picks if he has multiple strong starts.

What potential Cinderellas should we be watching?

Burke: Cinderella probably isn't the right word for the No. 16 seed, but in today's world, it feels like any non-power conference team fits the bill. With that said, I'll go with Southern Miss to be the non-power conference school to keep your eye on. The Golden Eagles have four legit starters and an offense that features six guys with 10+ homers. Also, they finished the season winning 18/19. Don't be shocked if they find their way to a super or beyond.

Rooney: Western Kentucky is a dangerous No. 3 seed in Oxford. Center fielder Ryan Wideman is a 6-foot-5 dynamo who looks like he missed his appointment at the NFL combine, and skipper Marc Rardin won three national titles at junior college powerhouse Iowa Western. Historic brands Arizona State and Oklahoma State are No. 3 seeds with talent and pedigree, and both clubs' best baseball may be ahead of them. No. 4 seed Murray State won 39 games with a top-20 offense, and the Racers are 1-0 versus the SEC this year ... just saying.

Dellucci: Mississippi State made one of the biggest turnarounds in college baseball. The Bulldogs are 9-2 after head coach Chris Lemonis was relieved of his duties. The new Mississippi State home run king, Hunter Hines, combined with Ace Reese (21 home runs) presents problems for every pitching staff in the country, while Pico Kohn and Evan Siary are a formidable 1-2 punch in the starting rotation.

McGee: I don't know if they officially qualify as an underdog, but Wake Forest really intrigues me. Not so long ago, we were entering the tournament watching the Demon Deacons put together a championship run, and they nearly delivered. This team is not that team, but in their fourth straight tournament appearance, they won't be intimidated by Knoxville. If the Deacs get on a heater, they have an Omaha run in them.

McDaniel: I like Western Kentucky as a No. 3 seed, but getting past Georgia Tech and Ole Miss is a tall task. Fellow No. 3 seed Arizona State has a slightly easier path (in the Los Angeles Regional) with UCLA, UC Irvine and Fresno State as an unlikely but possible mountain to climb.

What potential super regional are you hoping for?

Burke: This one is easy. The potential for an Arkansas vs. Tennessee super is as good of a potential super as I can remember. Two teams that have been ranked No. 1 at some point this year, two fan bases that don't like each other and two rosters that have as many top draft prospects as any in the country. This would be a super regional for the ages.

Rooney: Clemson at LSU lights up the spicy meter in a big way, and both sets of Tigers look the part of an Omaha club. Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge will bring world-class energy for this matchup. Oregon at North Carolina feels like a Men's College World Series pairing that would be happening a week too soon.

Dellucci: I'm hoping for a Tennessee vs. Arkansas super regional. Both teams are very similar: flame throwing pitchers who can throw in the triple digits, high powered offenses featuring college baseball's premier sluggers and two head coaches with a lot of history. Liam Doyle vs. Wehiwa Aloy with a trip to Omaha on the line will be electric.

McGee: LSU vs. Clemson. Tiger Rag vs. Tiger Rag. Death Valley vs. Death Valley. Great baseball programs, sure. But this is about two of college baseball's most perfectly bonkers grandstand fanbases being in the same place at the same time. I just want to see the satellite imagery of all the barbecue smoke rising up from the bayou like a cloud pillar from the Old Testament.

McDaniel: I'll give you three. Florida vs. Auburn and Tennessee vs. Arkansas could both be SEC slugfests in supers. Florida State vs. Oregon State would be a fascinating SEC-less, draft-oriented matchup with two top-10 locks in LHP Jamie Arnold and SS Aiva Arquette in a cross-country tussle.

What are your bold predictions for regionals?

Burke: While I won't be surprised if a few regional hosts fall at home, I'm having a hard time seeing too many upsets on the way to Omaha. That said, it's been a pretty foggy picture this year at the top, so I'm excited to see how it all shakes out. There's no clear-cut favorite to win it all ... let the chaos begin!

Rooney: My first bold prediction is that the winner of the Knoxville-Fayetteville pod will win the national title. My second bold prediction is that we will see a non-SEC team (as currently constituted) break through to the MCWS Finals for the first time since 2019 when Michigan faced Vanderbilt. Finally, this regional round will produce at least two super regionals that include zero one-seeds.

Dellucci: Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina are not only talented teams that have each mounted 18-game win streaks this year and will be very tough to beat as regional hosts. Omaha will consist of five teams from the SEC.

McGee: We're going to set a record for extra inning games in the first round. Too many good first-day pitchers not to have a slew of extended nights!

McDaniel: UC Irvine or Arizona State are both distinctly possible spoilers for host UCLA. A Georgia vs. Georgia Tech super is also a juicy and distinct possibility, to the dismay of Ole Miss fans. Maybe it isn't bold, but I'd be scared to face Tennessee or LSU. Both are potential favorites in Omaha that aren't top-5 national seeds.