May 28, 2006
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Indianapolis, Ind. - The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced all 16 regional sites for the 60th annual NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on Sunday. Stanford was not selected as one of the sites after completing the 2006 regular season with a 30-25 overall record and an 11-13 conference mark that placed the Cardinal tied for fifth in the final Pac-10 standings. The Cardinal did win series against three teams -- Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Fresno State (WAC) and Texas (Big 12) -- that won their regular season titles as well as nine of its last 13 games to make a late postseason bid.
The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at 9:30 a.m. (PT) on Monday, May 29, during a live, half-hour program on ESPN. The committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the Men's College World Series, and will not reseed the field after play begins. Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on ncaasports.com, Monday, June 5 at approximately 8:00 p.m. (PT).
The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records through Saturday, May 27, are as follows: Alabama (41-19), Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Arkansas (38-19), Fayetteville, Ark.; Cal State Fullerton (41-13), Fullerton, Calif.; Clemson (46-14), Clemson, S.C.; Georgia (41-19), Athens, Ga.; Georgia Tech (45-16), Atlanta, Ga.; Kentucky (42-15), Lexington, Ky.; Mississippi (39-20), Oxford, Miss.; Nebraska (42-14), Lincoln, Neb.; North Carolina (45-13), Chapel Hill, N.C.; Oklahoma (40-19), Norman, Okla.; Oregon State (39-13), Corvallis, Oregon; Pepperdine (39-19), Malibu, Calif.; Rice (49-10), Houston; Texas (40-19), Austin, Texas; and Virginia (46-13), Charlottesville, Va.
By virtue of being awarded a regional, nine of the host institutions also have been selected as at-large teams to the 64-team field. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, have made the field as at-large selections. Clemson, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pepperdine and Rice, would clinch automatic berths by winning their conference tournament championship, which are scheduled for Sunday afternoon. A loss in those tournament championship games makes them an at-large selection. Cal State Fullerton and Oregon State already have clinched automatic berths by virtue of winning the Big West Conference and Pacific-10 Conference, respectively. Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 2 - Monday, June 5.
Kentucky and Pepperdine will host a regional for the first time, while North Carolina, Oregon State and Virginia are hosting for the second time in school history. This will be the 22nd time that Texas has hosted a regional, while Clemson (11th) is the only other institution to host 10 or more times since the NCAA went to the regional format in 1975. Georgia Tech is hosting a regional for the eighth time, while Cal State Fullerton (sixth), Oklahoma (sixth overall and third time in Norman), Alabama (fifth), Nebraska (fifth), Rice (fifth), Georgia (three) and Mississippi (three) have hosted in the past as well.
Seven sites (Cal State Fullerton, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oregon State and Texas) also hosted in 2005.
Stanford completed the 2006 regular season with a 30-25 overall record and an 11-13 Pac-10 mark to finish tied for fifth in the conference. The Cardinal has qualified for the NCAA's postseason event for 12 consecutive campaigns (1994-2005).
Thirty Division I conferences receive an automatic berth in the field of 64, along with 34 at-large selections.
The 60th Men's College World Series begins play Friday, June 16, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.
Courtesy of ncaasports.com