NCAA baseball tournament 2024: Regional takeaways as ACC, SEC shine on road to College World Series (2024)

There was no debate on Selection Monday around which team deserved top billing in the 2024 postseason. Tennessee confirmed its status as the team to beat with a dominant run through its regional, winning all three games by at least six runs and averaging an 11-spot offensively. The Vols set a new single-season program record for home runs in the process, mashing 12 long balls across three outings to reach 159 on the year — good for No. 1 nationally by a wide margin. The explosive lineup pairs beautifully with a terrific pitching staff and makes Tony Vitello a strong bet to break through with his first national championship atop the program.

All five ACC host teams won their regionals, and in turn, they set a conference record with five squads advancing to the super regional round. Virginia, North Carolina, NC State, Clemson and Florida State combined for a 15-1 record over the weekend, and each of them had an SEC opponent in their regionals. What's more, the ACC posted a better winning percentage than the SEC. These two power conferences make up more than half of the remaining teams in the bracket with five apiece and represent all but one remaining national seed (Oregon State being the outlier).

Postseason demons once again reared their ugly heads for an Arkansas program that regularly contends for national championships but still remains in search of its first CWS title. The Razorbacks fell out of their own regional for the second-straight year, and making matters even more stunning was the fact that they lost to the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in their corner of the bracket. Ace pitcher Hagen Smith was the most dominant arm in college baseball all year but surrendered a season-high six earned runs in a loss to Kansas State, and Dave Van Horn's squad later suffered a shocking setback to Southeast Missouri to stumble out of the field. They were the only top-eight seed eliminated in regional play.

Selection Monday came with ample controversy as the NCAA selected East Carolina as the final national seed, slotted Arizona comfortably into hosting territory and arguably snubbed teams like Indiana State, Mississippi State, Duke, Wake Forest and Dallas Baptist from top-16 seeds. Not a single one of those teams — even the fortunate ones who played on their home turf — advanced to the super regionals. They all had a chance to make a statement as deserving hosts, but nobody stepped up.

The selection committee made their priorities known when they slotted Florida comfortably into the field, overlooking a losing record in conference play and inconsistent results throughout the year and instead favoring strength of schedule and RPI — much to the ire of college baseball fans outside the Sunshine State and SEC footprints. The Gators effectively laughed off everyone who deemed them unworthy of postseason consideration with a run through the Stillwater regional, beating host Oklahoma State in a de facto best-of-three series to clinch a 10th super regional under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

The NCAA Tournament is always good for a few surprises every year, but none were as big in 2024 as what Evansville did in the Greenville Regional. The Purple Aces knocked off host ECU twice to win their first regional in program history, and in turn, they became the ninth No. 4 seed in modern postseason history to advance to the super regional round. Momentum isn't everything in college baseball, but when teams play their best ball at the end of the year, these things have a way of happening. Unfortunately for the Purple Aces, they draw a brutal super regional pairing, and their road to Omaha goes through top-seeded Tennessee.

More than one-quarter of the remaining field opened the tournament on the No. 3 seed line. UConn, Kansas State, West Virginia, Florida and Oregon all advanced out of their respective regionals as heavy underdogs, and they did so with a sparkling combined record of 16-2. Putting multiple victories over regional hosts under their belts makes each of these teams proven threats to their upcoming super regional opponents, and while none figure to be betting favorites in the next round, there is plenty of precedent for at least one to punch a ticket to Omaha.

Arkansas was the only top-eight seed to fall out of the bracket last weekend, and the vast majority of premier national championship contenders cruised through regional play with perfect 3-0 marks. Regional sweeps seemed to be a bit more common in 2024 than in most years. North Carolina was the exception as it went to Game 7 with LSU, but there is no shame in needing three games to win two against a surging SEC opponent. In all likelihood, this year's national champion resides within the group of Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State.