Miami Hurricanes baseball named NCAA regional host for first time since since 2016
Initial mission accomplished.
For the first time since 2016, the University of Miami has been named one of 16 host sites for the upcoming weekend’s opening round of the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament — also known as the regionals.
The NCAA announced only the host sites Sunday. The Hurricanes will learn during the selection show at noon Monday (ESPN2) the three teams that will travel to Mark Light Field in Coral Gables for the Friday through June 6 double-elimination regionals.
Monday’s field-of-64 announcement will also reveal whether the Hurricanes earn a coveted top-eight national seed. Because of how the Hurricanes (39-18, 20-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) finished the season — losing six of their last eight games, including both ACC Tournament games — they are on the bubble of being awarded as one of those top eight seeds.
If UM isn’t designated as one of those eight, should the Canes win their four-team Coral Gables regional, they likely (but not definitely) would have to travel to play the next round of the tournament, known as the super regionals. The eight teams that survive the super regionals will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 17.
“There’s no doubt you have to pick yourselves up,’’ UM coach Gino DiMare said after the Hurricanes dropped their second ACC tourney game Friday to Wake Forest, an embarrassing 16-3 defeat that was cut short to seven innings because of the conference’s 10-run rule. “There’s no doubt our guys are down. I could kind of see it on their faces before the game. Something just didn’t quite seem right. Body language wasn’t quite what I’d like. I was saying something to them and of course they assured me they were fine. But just a little funk we’re going through right now.”
UM fell to NC State 9-6 in its ACC tourney opener Wednesday. By Sunday evening, the Hurricanes, who were ranked as high as No. 5 when the regular season ended May 21, had plunged several spots in RPI to No. 15.
Keep in mind that RPIs could change as league tournaments conclude late Sunday.
The Florida Gators (39-22, 15-15 Southeastern Conference), who lost 8-5 to top-ranked Tennessee on Sunday in the SEC title game, also were named a host. The Gators had been widely projected to come to Coral Gables for the regional, but their strong showing in the conference tourney resulted in a rapid RPI rise to No. 12.
UM lost two of three at home to the Gators in early March.
Last season, the Canes traveled to UF in Gainesville for the regionals. But both teams were eliminated before playing each other in the tournament.
Though 2016 was the last time the Canes advanced to the College World Series, UM traditionally has had a strong baseball program, making 25 CWS appearances and winning national titles in 1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001.
DiMare reminded reporters Friday that after UM lost 20-5 March 20 at Clemson, they went on a 14-game winning streak. They began May with five consecutive victories before their untimely slump.
“We’ve got an unbelievable opportunity,” the coach said. “Everybody is 0-0 starting on Friday. Everybody is at the same record. We should be hosting a regional. I’m not sure about the other one [Super Regional].
“We play well in our ballpark. There’s no doubt the biggest coaching move that I have to make right now is making sure mentally our team is in a good place. That’s the biggest thing I’m concerned about.
“We gotta make sure we do that moving forward before Friday.”
NCAA regional hosts
Auburn, Alabama: Auburn (37-19)
Austin, Texas: Texas (42-18 before Big 12 final)
Blacksburg, Virginia: Virginia Tech (41-12)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina: UNC (38-19)
College Park, Maryland: Maryland (45-12)
College Station, Texas: Texas A&M (37-18)
Coral Gables: Miami (39-18)
Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State (44-14 before Sunday late-night final)
Gainesville, Florida: UF (39-22)
Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina (42-18)
Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Southern Miss (43-16)
Knoxville, Tennessee: Tennessee (53-7)
Louisville, Kentucky: (38-18-1)
Stanford, California: Stanford (40-14 before Sunday late-night final)
Statesboro, Georgia: Georgia Southern (40-18)
Stillwater, Oklahoma: Oklahoma State (39-20)
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 8:38 PM.
