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Tennessee baseball: Everything to know about the Knoxville Regional

Published: May 27, 2024 · 2:43 PM EDT

Tennessee officially learned what most already knew on Monday. The SEC Tournament-winning Volunteers have earned the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.

On Friday, the Vols will welcome Southern Miss, Indiana, and Northern Kentucky to town for the Knoxville Regional. It’ll be the eighth time UT has hosted a Regional in program history and the third time in 4 years under coach Tony Vitello. Tennessee, the only team in the country to enter this year’s NCAA Tournament with 50 wins, is 20-5 all-time in regional games played at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The pod for UT sets the stage for a rematch of last year’s Hattiesburg Super Regional, which Tennesse won in 3 games to advance to the College World Series.

Tennessee will open against Northern Kentucky on Friday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Indiana faces Southern Miss in the afternoon slot on Friday.

The Vols are looking to make it back to Omaha for what will be the third time in the last 4 years. Here’s everything you need to know about the Knoxville Regional.

4 Northern Kentucky — 35-22 overall, 19-11 Horizon

RPI: 149 | Quad 1: 0-6 | Quad 2: 2-2 | Quad 3: 4-3 | Quad 4: 27-11

Northern Kentucky absolutely blasted Youngstown State 23-5 in the Horizon League Championship game to capture the program’s first Horizon title in program history. The Norse will be making their first NCAA Regionals appearance.

In 3 games at the Horizon League Tournament, NKU smacked 36 hits and plated 38 runs. Senior outfielder Treyvin Moss earned the MVP of the Horizon League Tournament after going 7-for-13 with 1 home run, 12 RBI, 5 runs, 3 steals, and 3 bases on balls in 3 games. He had an on-base percentage of .625.

NKU’s starting pitchers were also dominant in the conference tourney. Ben Gerl, Tanner Gillis, and Clay Brock recorded 24.1 innings with 24 strikeouts, 19 hits allowed, and 11 earned runs. Relief pitchers only had to throw for 2.2 innings in 3 games. Gerl is a lefty while Gillis and Brock are both right-handed pitchers.

Gillis went 8-3 on the season with a 4.6 ERA in 13 starts. In 71.2 innings, Gillis gave up 60 hits with 80 strikeouts.

Brock went 8-3 with a 7.07 ERA in 15 starts. In 77.2 innings, Brock gave up 96 hits with 69 strikeouts.

Gerl went 5-6 with a 7.68 ERA in 15 starts. In 77.1 innings, he gave up 85 hits with 66 strikeouts.

Right-handed reliever Aaron Massie led the Norse with 5 saves in 23 appearances. He posted a 3.16 ERA with 19 hits allowed and 21 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

3 Indiana — 32-24-1 overall, 15-9 Big Ten

RPI: 55 | Quad 1: 6-10 | Quad 2: 6-4 | Quad 3: 12-6-1 | Quad 4: 14-4

Indiana makes its way into the NCAA Tournament after falling in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are making their second consecutive trip to the postseason and their 11th all-time. IU lost in a winner-take-all game against Kentucky in the Lexington Regional last season. They have not made the CWS since 2013

Indiana has been hot since the start of April. IU won 17 of its final 28 games and 6 of its final 7 B1G series. The offense scored 10 or more runs 12 times over the final 2 months and has lost by more than 3 scores just 3 times since the start of April.

IU’s offense is led by first-team All-Big Ten outfielder Devin Taylor. The sophomore hit a career-best 18 home runs this season. IU also finished top-10 in doubles, with 134. Shortstop Tyler Cerny (23) and third baseman Josh Pyne (22) both finished top-25 nationally in doubles.

The Hoosiers are led on the mound by right-handed pitcher Connor Foley and lefty Ty Bothwell. Foley posted a 3.71 ERA in 13 starts with 80 strikeouts and 33 hits allowed in 60.2 innings of work. Bothwell made 9 starts and posted an ERA of 4.9. He worked 79 innings with 82 strikeouts and 80 hits allowed. IU also has a pair of capable relievers in Drew Buhr and Jacob Vogel. Vogel posted a 2.42 ERA in 20 appearances, with 24 strikeouts and just 16 hits allowed in 22.1 innings. Buhr has 46 strikeouts in 45.2 innings of work. He posted a 3.35 ERA in 20 appearances with 38 hits allowed.

2 Southern Miss — 41-18 overall, 20-10 Sun Belt

RPI: 26 | Quad 1: 8-8 | Quad 2: 11-4 | Quad 3: 8-2 | Quad 4: 8-4

The Golden Eagles enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the country. They captured the Sun Belt Championship on Sunday with a 14-11 win over Georgia Southern, rallying with 5 runs in the top of the ninth to win their second consecutive league title. It was also their 14th win in their last 15 outings.

Southern Miss played Mississippi State to a 5-4 defeat on March 5 and beat Alabama 9-7 a week later. They lost to Ole Miss 8-3 on March 19 but avenged that loss with a 7-4 win over the Rebels on May 14.

The Golden Eagles were stress-tested often throughout the regular season, with 20 wins in games decided by 3 runs or less. They had another 3 games that went to extras. That showed in the Sun Belt Tournament.

They were tied with Coastal Carolina entering the eighth inning in the opener. They trailed Troy and Georgia Southern entering the eighth innings as well. In all 3 games, they outscored opponents 13-0 in the eighth and ninth innings.

Right-handed senior Billy Oldham, right-handed junior Niko Mazza, and right-handed sophomore Colby Allen are the names to know on the mound for Southern Miss. Oldham is 7-2 in 15 starts this season with an ERA of 3.97. He has 96 strikeouts and 74 hits allowed in 90.2 innings of work. He also has a complete game on his résumé. Mazza has a 4.43 ERA and an 8-3 record in 15 starts this season. he has 92 punchouts with 77 hits allowed in 81.1 innings of work. Allen has 7 saves with an ERA of 3.86 in 26 appearances. He has 74 strikeouts with 58 hits allowed in 58.1 innings of action.

Allen hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 10.1 innings dating, back to May 5. He also has 5 of his 7 saves during that span. Allen pitched in 3 of the 4 conference tournament games, earning 2 wins and a save. He was named the tournament MVP for his efforts.