NCAA Regional Profile: #16 National Seed Southern Miss hosts in Hattiesburg, MS

(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: Southern Miss Golden Eagles (Pete Taylor Park)

1. Southern Miss (44-14, 24-6 Sun Belt Conference)

2. Alabama (41-16, 16-14 Southeastern Conference)

3. Miami, FL (31-24, 15-14 Atlantic Coast Conference)

4. Columbia (29-17, 16-5 Ivy League)

#1 Southern Miss

RPI* 19  SOS 67  Record vs Q1: 7-5 Q2: 6-3

There’s a rich baseball tradition at Southern Miss, even as Magnolia State brethren Mississippi State and Ole Miss have won national titles, to the point where Hattiesburg is affectionately known as “Baseburg” to the locals. It’s a tradition that goes back to when Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy, whose 44 is emblazoned on the turf baselines, was also a pitcher, saw the Eagles reach Omaha in 2009 with Coach Corky Palmer, and under Coach Scott Berry, hosted NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals that unfortunately went the way of State and Ole Miss instead.

With Berry’s retirement and pitching coach Christian Ostrander taking over, the Eagles have transitioned the tradition again, staying near the top of the Sun Belt, considered the best “G5” college baseball league, all season. It finally came down to a two-horse race with fellow regional host Coastal Carolina for the regular season championship, both the schools refusing to lose, the Eagles unable to overtake Coastal’s two-game lead even after winning their last 15 regular season contests.

And, true to form, they met again in the tournament championship game, each taking leads before Coastal prevailed 7-5 to win both SBC titles. The Southern Miss 18-game win streak ended, while Coastal's reached 18.

The Eagles are led on the mound by several experienced and talented pitchers, starting with Golden Spikes contender J.B. Middleton, 10-1, 2.01 ERA (also the winner of the Boo Ferriss award as Mississippi’s best college baseball player), along with Kros Sivley (7-1, 3.43 ERA) and relievers Colby Allen (6-4, 3.54 ERA 12 saves) and Landen Payne (2-1, 3.33 ERA, 4 saves).

At the plate, more household names, Nick Monistere (.338, 68 RBI, 19 HR), Matthew Russo (.289, 54 RBI, 17 HR), and Carson Paetow (.275, 59 RBI, 15 HR) lead a team with a .305 average overall and 400 RBI.

How Southern Miss wins the regional: playing in front of capacity crowds, an outfield nicknamed the Rowdy Roost, and an unrelenting depth of both pitching and hitting, the coast is clear to another Super Regional matchup, likely in Nashville.

#2 Alabama

RPI* 13  SOS 20  Record vs Q1: 15-12 Q2: 5-3

The Alabama Crimson Tide started off the 2025 season as hot as anyone in the land, winning 22 of their first 23 games and climbing as high as #8 in the Coaches Poll. Alabama finished the season with 41 overall wins and 16 SEC wins, good enough for a 9 Seed in the SEC Tournament. The Tide went 1-1 in Hoover and were right on the outside of the hosting picture when sites were announced Sunday night.  

Alabama looks to be one of the better 2 Seeds in the country, and they will be playing in their third consecutive regional for the first time since 2009-11. Alabama comes in with very favorable metrics, top 15 in RPI, ELO, and top 25 in most polls.  

Leading the way for the Crimson Tide will be Golden Spikes Semifinalist, Justin Lebron (.315, 72 RBI, 18 HR), leading the SEC in RBIs, and fifth in home runs. Senior Kade Snell (.366, 52 RBI, 10 HR) is another big name to watch in the outfield for the Tide. A couple other guys to keep on your radar in this regional will be Will Hodo (.281, 45 RBI, 14 HR) and Richard Bonomolo Jr. (.320, 50 RBI, 8 HR).  

On the mound, Alabama will be led by starters Riley Quick (8-2, 3.54 ERA, 64 K, 56 IP) and Zane Adams (6-4, 5.54 ERA, 62 K). Out of the bullpen, you will see three guys that have all reached a three-win mark, Carson Ozmer (4-1, 2.89 ERA, 17 Saves), Matthe Heiberger (3-1, 4.88 ERA), and Braylon Myers (3-1, 2.48 ERA, 57 K, 40 IP). 

How Alabama wins the regional: Alabama will need to put together complete performances to pull out as winners of the Hattiesburg Regional. The first game on Friday afternoon against Miami will be very critical to win and be set up in good position. Alabama played Southern Miss this year during a midweek game in April, the Crimson Tide winning that game 10-6.  

#3 Miami

RPI* 40  SOS 11  Record vs Q1: 8-10 Q2: 10-11

Playing in the ACC is a lot like playing in the SEC, albeit at not quite the suffocating depth. And, having a tradition like the Hurricanes doesn’t hurt when the committee is scrutinizing your season. An high strength of schedule, not surprising in the state of Florida with its readily available competition, and an impressive winning record and number of Quad 1 games stands out as well.

Pitching wise, the Canes boast three five-game winners, A.J. Ciscar (5-1, 3.77 ERA), Griffin Hugus (5-7, 4.22 ERA), and Alex Giroux (5-2, 6.31), as well as closer Brian Walters (2-3, 4.89 ERA, 8 saves). At the plate, regulars Daniel Cuvet (.378, 76 RBI, 16 HR), Jake Ogden (.350, 30 RBI, 8 HR), and Derek Williams (.345, 21 RBI, 8 HR) are all hitting over .300.

How Miami wins the regional: The Hurricanes show that like the days of old, you can’t always tell the strength of a team from Florida, or California, purely by its record.

#4 Columbia

RPI* 61  SOS 171  Record vs Q1: 1-9 Q2: 0-0

There’s a lot of prestige in the Ivy League name. It’s where former President George H.W. Bush famously played baseball for Yale, where the 1970s movie Love Story was based, about a hockey player Ryan O’Neal portrayed named Oliver Barrett IV. Princeton basketball was everybody’s darling when they ran the weave in the NCAA tournament.

And so it was that Columbia won its way into this version of the NCAAs by winning the Ivy League tournament championship, 14-6 over Harvard at George Bush Field, by the way. Columbia’s Anton Lazits (.290, 42 RBI, 12 HR) was the MVP, and three others, leading pitcher Thomas Santana (5-3, 5.43 ERA), hitters Jack Kail (.310, 45 RBI, 7 HR), and Cole Fellows (.329, 39 RBI, 5 HR) were All-Tournament.

How Columbia wins the regional: If Southern Miss somehow overlooks the Ivy Leaguers and doesn’t throw Middleton in the first game, Columbia upsets the home team, and gets some Oliver Barrett-like heroics.

*****

*-Warren Nolan RPI