Four Big 12 programs were selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. For the first time in Conference history, three teams were awarded top-eight national seeds: No. 2 Texas, No. 6 TCU and No. 8 Texas Tech. Additionally, Oklahoma State earned a No. 2 seed in the Tucson Regional. All of the regionals open on Friday, June 4.
This marks the 21st time in 24 NCAA Championship selections that at least four Big 12 squads will participate in the regionals. Overall, the Conference has made 122 NCAA appearances and owns a 243-173 (.584) mark in regional play. The Conference has three teams hosting NCAA Regionals for a second-consecutive tournament and the seventh time overall.
Texas, the Big 12 regular-season co-champions, will make its nation-leading 60th appearance in the NCAA Championship and will host the Austin Regional. The Longhorns (42-15) will face No. 4 Southern on Friday in a 1 p.m. CT contest on LHN. No. 2 Arizona State and No. 3 Fairfield are on the other side of the bracket. The winner of this regional will face the winner of the Gainesville Regional.
After becoming just the sixth program to win the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, TCU will host McNeese in a 6 p.m. CT opening round matchup on ESPN3. If the Horned Frogs (40-17) win Friday, they will face the winner of the Oregon State/Fairfield matchup. Fort Worth’s regional is paired with the Columbia regional. TCU is one of just 12 teams nationally to play in 15 of the last 17 regionals.
For a fifth-consecutive season, Texas Tech will host a regional in Lubbock. The Red Raiders (36-15) were slotted as a No. 8 national seed and open the weekend against Army West Point in a 11 a.m. CT contest on ESPNU. The victor of that matchup will face the winner of UCLA/North Carolina. The Lubbock Regional champion will face the winner of the Stanford Regional. Tech is the only team in the country hosting an NCAA Regional for the fifth straight tournament.
Oklahoma State (35-17-1) travels west to play UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the Tucson Regional. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN3. No. 1 seed Arizona and Grand Canyon make up the other side of the bracket. The victor of the regional will face the Oxford Regional winner next week. The Cowboys are making their 46th overall and eighth-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance.
Baylor was listed by the selection committee as the first team out of the Championship. Within 24 hours of the announcement of the bracket, if a team selected to the Championship is unable to participate in the regionals, the Bears would be selected as a replacement.