NCAA Regional Profile: #13 National Seed Coastal Carolina hosts in Conway, SC

(NCAA photo/CBC image)

By College Baseball Central writers Micah Beutell, Bo Carter, Noah Darling, Caleb Donnelley, Mark Garland, Andrew Kube, Doug Kyle, Jake Mastroianni, Jake McKeever, Andrew Riedell, and Colton Watson

Host: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (Springs Brooks Stadium/Vrooman Field)

1. Coastal Carolina (48-11, 26-4 Sun Belt Conference)

2. Florida (38-20, 15-15 Southeastern Conference)

3. East Carolina (33-25, 13-14 American Conference)

4. Fairfield (39-17, 21-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

#1 Coastal Carolina

RPI* 8  SOS 66  Record vs Q1: 5-5 Q2: 10-4

Coastal Carolina became a household name in college baseball following the 2016 season, after the Chanticleers outlasted Arizona in a rain-plagued and postponement-delayed Men’s College World Series championship series, winning two one-run games, 5-4 and 4-3, after dropping the opener to the Wildcats 3-0. The team was led by Head Coach Gary Gilmore, who retired last season after more than 1100 victories and turned the team over to Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Kevin Schnall.

When the NCAA baseball committee awarded a tournament bid and 3-seed to Coastal over at least one higher-finishing Sun Belt school, some critics cited it as a sentimental move. But, Gilmore’s team went into the Clemson Regional and defeated 2-seed Vanderbilt and 4-seed High Point before bowing to the host Tigers in the regional final.

There is always a touch of uncertainty when the 29-year reins are handed to a new head coach, but Coastal has picked up nicely from the Gilmore legacy in 2025. They haven’t led wire to wire in the SBC race, swapping frontrunner spots a time or two with SBC runner-up (regular season and tournament) Southern Miss and third-place Troy. But, like some Rocky-Apollo battles, the stretch run was a thing of college baseball beauty to behold, as USM went into an 18-game winning streak trying to overtake Coastal, eventually fended off by the Chanticleers, who won their 18th straight themselves with a 7-5 win in the Sun Belt tournament championship. Both teams were deemed worthy of hosting a regional by this year’s committee.

The Coastal pitching is led by a trio of starters, Jacob Morrison (11-0, 1.90 ERA), Cameron Flukey (6-1, 3.16 ERA), and Riley Eikhoff (6-2, 3.19 ERA), plus a trio of closers, Ryan Lynch (2-1, 0.61 ERA, 7 saves), Dominick Carbone (5-0, 2.36, 5 saves), and Scott Doran (1-0, 4.15 ERA, 2 saves).

Hitting .288 as a team, Coastal has four regulars batting .300 or better, Caden Bodine (.333, 36 RBI, 3 HR), Dean Mihos (.320, 18 RBI, 2 HRs), Colby Thorndyke (.308, 33 RBI, 1 HR), and Sebastian Alexander (.301, 47 RBI, 9 HR). Their leading power hitter is Blake Barthol (.282, 49 RBI, 12 HRs).

How Coastal Carolina wins the regional: the winning streak turns legal at 21, the win total turns middle aged at 51, and a solid and deep host is challenged but withstands two hot opponents.

#2 Florida

RPI* 17  SOS 3  Record vs Q1: 11-17 Q2: 7-2

This is another one of those 2 Seeds you did not want to host. The Gators seemed to have hit their stride at the right time, going 9-3 in their last 12 SEC games. Came in last year as a 3 Seed in Stillwater and ran the table, making the College World Series for the second year in a row. Kevin O’Sullivan has earned the reputation as a postseason coach. It seems the experts see Florida as one of the favorites for the Conway Regional. This regional should be one of the most competitive in the country. The Gators will be missing Luke Heyman (.301, 44 RBI, 13 HR) as he got injured a few weeks ago and will be missing the entire postseason. But the Gators have won despite the injuries that have occured this season. 

On the mound Liam Peterson (8-3, 4.10 ERA, 95 K, 32 BB, 68 IP) is one of the premier pitchers in all of College Baseball, he will be a first round pick next year. Another guy, Aidan King (6-2, 2.76 ERA, 65.1 IP, 72 K, 21 BB) has led this Gators pitching staff in ERA. The entire weekend rotation for Florida is filled with premier arms, that will shut down some powerful lineups. The Gators are dangerous and a team to keep watch on during the Road to Omaha.

How Florida wins the regional: Some keys for Florida to win the regional are keep doing you, keep playing your game, trusting the process, this team is talented, and has the experience and  depth to make another deep run. This team may have had some injuries but they are here for a reason, and they can continue to shine and play very good baseball.

#3 East Carolina

RPI* 66  SOS 56  Record vs Q1: 2-8 Q2: 4-6

In what fans called a down year or a retooling year, the Pirates, led by Head Coach Cliff Godwin, have found their way back in the NCAA Tournament. They swept their way through the AAC Tournament that put them in the tournament for the seventh straight year.

The Pirates come in with a record of 33-25 and an RPI of 66 and a strength of schedule of 33 this season. They went 13-14 in conference with three series wins. ECU is led by walk-on All-AAC Freshman team selection Braden Burress, who also won the AAC Tournament Outstanding Player award. This season, Burress hit .392 with 29 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Dixon Williams was a First Team All-AAC selection, hitting .296 with 13 HRs and 48 RBIs while stealing 22 bases. Pitching for the Pirates, they are headlined by Ethan Young and Ethan Norby, both of whom have been very good this year with 196 strikeouts combined.

#4 Fairfield

RPI* 74  SOS 214  Record vs Q1: 0-0 Q2: 2-4

It took nearly 10 years, and it did take 10 innings, but Fairfield is back in the NCAA Tournament thanks to winning the Metro Atlantic Tournament, 7-6 over Rider. The Stags from Fairfield, CT, got a solo home run in the first extra inning to prevail in the back-and-forth conference final. It marked the second time Fairfield has won the MAAC Tournament and the automatic bid gets them in the NCAA Tournament for the third time, first since 2021.

The Stags are led by a couple starting pitchers, Ben Alekson (9-1, 3.24 ERA) and Bowen Baker (8-1, 3.20 ERA), with their best closer Kevin Kell (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 4 saves).

At the plate, batting . 295 as a team, Fairfield has five regulars hitting .300 or better, Dean Ferrara (.381, 57 RBI, 8 HRs), Matthew Bucciero (.351, 66 RBI, 14 HRs), Luke Nomura (.331, 52 RBI, 14 HR), J.P. Kuczik (.323, 38 RBI, 4 HRs), and Tyler Kipp (.300, 40 RBI, 3 HRs). Bucciero and Nomura share the team home run lead.

How Fairfield wins the regional: The Stags get some heroes from unexpected places, such as the game-winning MAAC blast from Nolan Colby, who hits .201 and had just four homers prior.

*****

*-Warren Nolan RPI