USC GETS REGIONAL BID, CLEMSON DOES NOT

South Carolina was one of 16 schools awarded host sites for the NCAA Baseball Tournament Sunday night, but Clemson was passed over.

Only the regional hosts were announced Sunday. The top eight national seeds and the 64-team field will be announced at midday Monday.

USC is one of four Southeastern Conference teams named to be regional hosts. The others are LSU, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

Five Atlantic Coast Conference teams were selected: Florida State, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The other seven regionals were awarded to Cal State Fullerton, Indiana, Kansas State, Louisville, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA.

USC entered the SEC Tournament expecting to earn a regional host designation, but had to sweat out the process after going 0-2 in the tournament.

Mississippi State and Arkansas were other SEC teams believed to be in contention to be hosts. Mississippi State went 3-1 head-to-head against the Gamecocks, including a win in the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas lasted longer in the SEC Tournament than USC did and swept the Gamecocks head-to-head, but is believed to have been hurt by its lower RPI and Strength of Schedule.

Clemson was thought to be in good shape to earn a regional spot until it went 0-3 in the ACC Tournament. Virginia Tech may have played itself into a regional host position with a 3-0 record in pool play to reach the ACC title game against North Carolina.

Clemson considered a lock to receive one of the at-large bids to the tournament on Monday. Coastal Carolina also is among the teams under consideration.

NCAA