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AUSTIN (KXAN) — The night before the entire 64-team field is named, the NCAA baseball tournament selection committee released the 16 host sites Sunday for the regional tournaments.
Texas A&M will host a regional at Blue Bell Park and will most likely be given a top-eight national seed, meaning they would also host a super regional series if they advance. The Aggies finished the regular season 44-13 with a second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference West Division at 19-11 and finished the season No. 2 in the RPI.
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The Aggies lost its first two games in the SEC tournament in an early exit, much like the Texas Longhorns did in the Big 12 tournament.
In the latest projections by D1Baseball.com, the Longhorns could be headed to College Station. Folks there believe the Aggies will be the No. 4 national seed and the Longhorns will be the No. 2 seed in the regional. California and Niagara are the other teams in the projected field there. The official field, including the order of the top 16 teams, will be announced at 11 a.m. CT Monday.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos will be a regional host for the second time in school history, but this year will be the first they host at their campus stadium. The Gauchos hosted at Lake Elsinore in 2015, nearly a three-hour drive away from campus.
Florida State will host for a record 36th time while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will host from the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys are hosting for a third consecutive season while the Sooners are hosting for the first time since 2010.