Tennessee’s quest for another College World Series journey will start in Lindsey Nelson Stadium but could face a sizable roadblock after that.
Tony Vitello’s Volunteers (43-16) received the No. 14 national seed for the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament and will begin play Friday at 6 p.m. in the Knoxville Regional against Miami of Ohio (35-21). Wake Forest (36-20) and Cincinnati (32-24) round out the four-team regional, with the Demon Deacons and Bearcats set to open the double-elimination format Friday at 1.
The Vols are 9-0 under Vitello in NCAA regional games that take place at home, sweeping Northern Kentucky, Indiana and Southern Mississippi last spring by the combined score of 33-12.
Should Tennessee advance out of its regional, the Vols would be paired with No. 3 Arkansas (43-13) provided the Razorbacks prevail in the Fayetteville Regional. Arkansas won a best-of-three series over Tennessee at Baum-Walker Stadium during the last weekend of the regular season.