NCAA Regional Profile: #14 National Seed Tennessee hosts in Knoxville, TN

(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: Tennessee Volunteers (Lindsey Nelson Stadium)

1. Tennessee (43-16, 16-14 Southeastern Conference)

2. Wake Forest (36-20, 16-14 Atlantic Coast Conference)

3. Cincinnati (32-24, 16-14 Big 12 Conference)

4. Miami, OH (20-32, 23-7 Mid American Conference)

#1 Tennessee

RPI* 11  SOS 12  Record vs Q1: 14-11 Q2: 7-5

It was a tale of two halves for the defending College World Series champions during the 2025 regular season. Early on, they looked like the obvious best team in the country, starting 28-2 overall and 9-1 in the SEC. 

Looking back, they swept a banged-up Florida team and what turned out to be a really bad South Carolina team in that stretch. They won a series against Ole Miss in the middle of April, but then lost their final five SEC series. 

Using the overall team numbers, this was one of the more balanced teams in the conference, both in nonconference and SEC play. They finished 3rd in the SEC in batting average and 3rd in ERA. As you would expect, they finished second in home runs and had the highest slugging percentage in the SEC. The pitching staff held opponents to just a .227 batting average against and led the conference in the regular season with 620 strikeouts. 

Liam Doyle led the way on the pitching side, being named the SEC Pitcher of the Year with a 2.72 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 79.1 innings with a batting average against of just .171. Marcus Phillips was a nice sidekick, posting a 3.72 ERA in 67.2 innings with 80 strikeouts. Tanner Franklin, Dylan Loy, and Nate Snead have been the top arms out of the pen. AJ Russell could be a big weapon for them in the postseason as he works his way back from injury.

It’s an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side as well, but the group has been led by Gavin Kilen, who hit .355 during the regular season with 10 doubles and 14 home runs in 44 games. He’s now also taken over the shortstop job.

Another transfer who had a major impact right away was Andrew Fischer. He led the team with 22 home runs while driving in 55. They had seven players finish the regular season with double-digit home runs.

How Tennessee wins the regional? Liam Doyle gives you a great chance of winning game one in any regional or series. But with the luxury of hosting, you could save him for game two. All of the pieces are there for this team to make another deep run and win it all again, but does this group have the mental toughness to win those close games against great competition? They couldn’t down the stretch of the regular season, but do they flip a switch in June? 

#2 Wake Forest

RPI* 30  SOS 34  Record vs Q1: 9-8 Q2: 6-2

A strong end to the regular season saw Wake Forest lock up an at-large bid into the Tournament. Since April 19th, the Deacs have a 10-5 record, which includes a big road series win against fellow NCAA Tournament team Louisville, and it also includes the ACC Tournament loss to Cal.

Wake Forest went 16-14 in ACC play this season with series wins over Louisville, as mentioned before, and Florida State on the road, as well as a sweep against Miami. It also includes series losses to Boston College at home, Clemson on the road, and being swept by Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

For Wake to win the regional, they’re going to need to pitch, We saw the pitching staff implode at times this season, including in the ACC Tournament loss to Cal, losing 14-12. Wake Forest’s offense is led by Golden Spikes Semifinalist Kade Lewis, as well as veterans Marek Houston, Jack Winnay, as well as some youngsters in Dalton Wentz and Luke Costello.

Grad transfer Matt Scannell has had some big moments this season for Wake Forest, including a massive go-ahead 3-run homerun in the 7th inning against Louisville. Look for him to play a role in Wake Forest advancing out of this regional.

#3 Cincinnati

RPI* 33  SOS 26  Record vs Q1: 6-11 Q2: 10-5

The Cincinnati Bearcats hopefully racked up some travel points this year, having to play on the road and not having a game at their home stadium until March 4. It was good to be home, and they rattled off six wins in a row as a result.

Then, it was time for Big 12 play, on the road at Arizona, and the Wildcats were not accommodating hosts, sweeping the Bearcats, who continued to struggle, returning home to lose two out of three to BYU. Having UCF come into town was good for what ailed them, taking all three over the Knights.

A road series win at Texas Tech followed, then a series win at home against the other Arizona school (State), only to get swept on the road at West Virginia. Back home, the Bearcats entertained Oklahoma State and took two from them, then the roller coaster continued with a road sweep at Kansas followed by a series loss at TCU. Taking two out of three at home from Kansas State finished up the regular season.

At the Big 12 Tournament, the 1-1 showing essentially reflected the unremarkable season, which fortunately was good enough to secure an NCAA bid.

On the mound, the Bearcat leaders in innings pitched are Nathan Taylor (6-2, 3.67 ERA) and Kellen O’’Connor (3-2, 4.68 ERA, 2 saves). Team leaders in saves are Brandon Scheurer and Christian Michell with three each.

At the plate, Cincinnati hits .284 as a team, with two regulars batting .300 or higher: Kerrington Cross (.399, 49 RBI, 12 HRs) and Jack Natili (.340, 50 RBI, 9 HRs). 

#4 Miami, OH

RPI* 80  SOS 155  Record vs Q1: 2-5 Q2: 5-4

Miami University of Ohio got off to a slow start prior to beginning conference action, playing a dozen times, losing seven of them. Once MAC play was under way, though, the Red Hawks surged to a 5-1 mark with a series win over Toledo and a sweep over Northern Illinois, then ratcheted it to 10-2 after a series win over Eastern Michigan and a sweep over Western Michigan.

A series of series wins over Bowling Green, Kent State, Central Michigan, and Ohio followed,  interrupted only by a sweep over Akron, then back to another series win over Ball State, ending the regular season by winning every conference series. The momentum continued in the MAC Tournament, with, of course, three more wins.

On the mound, the leaders in innings pitched are Cooper Katskee (11-1, 2.66 ERA, 1 save), Carson Byers (2-2, 2.65 ERA, 6 saves), and Clayton Burke (6-2, 6.02 ERA).

At the plate, the Red Hawks boast a .299 team batting average, with seven regulars hitting .300 or better: Dominic Krupinski (.361, 42 RBI, 6 HRs), Anthony Zarlingo (.346, 36 RBI, 4 HRs), Dillon Baker (.336, 48 RBI, 13 HRs), Evan Appelwick (.319, 71 RBI, 19 HRs), David Novak (.302, 53 RBI, 13 HRs), Ryan Novak (.301, 47 RBI, 8 HRs), and Ty Batusich (.300, 52 RBI, 6 HRs).

*****

*-Warren Nolan RPI