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Pac-12 Baseball

29 NCAA Champions,
the most of any conference

5 Pac-12 baseball teams set to begin NCAA Regionals on Friday

Jun 1, 2023
John P. Lozano/Rob Moseley/Karl Maasdam/Rebecca Sasnett/isiphotos.com/GoDucks.com/Arizona Athletics

The 2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Field of 64 is set and 5 teams from the Pac-12 are all ready to make the push to the College World Series in Omaha.

Here’s a look at how each team has made it to the regionals of the NCAA Tournament and what's ahead this weekend.

Stanford Regional

  1. No. 8 Stanford (38-16)
  2. Texas A&M (36-25)
  3. Cal State Fullerton (31-22)
  4. San Jose State (31-25)

Opener: No. 8 Stanford vs. San Jose State on Friday at 2 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Stanford won its second straight Pac-12 regular-season title and claimed four of five major Pac-12 yearly awards, headlined by All-Americans Alberto Rios and Quinn Mathews. Rios became the first Cardinal to be named Player of the Year since Jed Lowrie in 2004. Rios' .400 batting average ranked third in the conference and top-30 in the nation, while he was top five in the Pac-12 in RBI (2nd, 63), slugging percentage (2nd, .742), on-base percentage (3rd, .504), hits (4th, 76) and home runs (5th, 16).

Confidence runs deep in throughout this Stanford lineup, which ranks second in the Pac-12 in scoring thanks in big part to a Conference-best 102 home runs.

The pitching is led by Mathews, who secured Stanford's second consecutive Pitcher of the Year award after going 7-3 in his senior season with a 3.20 ERA in 98.1 innings. He ended the regular season leading the Pac-12 with 121 strikeouts, which also ranked third in the country. 

Stanford is making its 35th appearance in the NCAA Regional and is the only Division I program to have hosted in each of the last six tournaments. The Cardinal put together a second consecutive season in which it earned a top-eight national seed. 

Nashville Regional

  1. No. 6 Vanderbilt (41-18)
  2. Oregon (37-20)
  3. Xavier (37-23)
  4. Eastern Illinois (38-19)

Opener: Oregon vs. Xavier on Friday at 10 a.m. PT on ESPN+ 

After clinching a berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament, Oregon is now headed to Nashville to open NCAA Tournament play behind the likes of All-Pac-12 First Team standouts Sabin Ceballos and Drew Cowley. Ceballos, a junior from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, claimed All-Pac-12 First Team and Pac-12 All-Tournament Team honors ahead of regional action. 

Ceballos posted team-highs in batting average (.349), on-base percentage (.450) and walks (31) during the regular season, while ranking second in home runs (13), RBI (54) and slugging percentage (.640). He would go on to add to these numbers with an impressive showing in the Pac-12 Tournament, which included a go-ahead home run in extras to secure Oregon’s spot in the semifinals.

Cowley, a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award honoring the nation's top shortstop, finished the regular season leading the Ducks in hits (70), home runs (15), RBI (60) and slugging percentage while ranking second in OBP (.427) and walks (26). The senior’s RBI total set a new single-season record at Oregon and his HR count is 2nd all-time for a single season in program history. 

The Ducks as a team have mashed a program-record 89 home runs this season. Their bullpen was masterful during the Pac-12 Tournament title run, allowing just three runs in 24.1 innings.

Oregon is headed to its third straight NCAA Regional and will look to advance to Super Regionals for the first time since 2012. The Ducks open against the Big East champion Xavier Musketeers.

Baton Rouge Regional 

  1. No. 5 LSU (43-15)
  2. Oregon State (39-18)
  3. Sam Houston (38-23)
  4. Tulane (19-40)

Opener: Oregon State vs. Sam Houston on Friday at 5 p.m. PT on ESPN+ 

A pair of All-Pac-12 First Team selections in Travis Bazzana and Garret Forrester lead the way for the Beavers ahead of OSU’s 22nd all-time trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

Bazzana now has two first-team selections in his career behind what has been an incredible sophomore year campaign. He leads the Pac-12 in stolen bases (36), runs scored (75), walks (59) and on-base percentage (.509). He's also among the league leaders with 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 53 RBI.

Forrester notched his second first-team selection of his career as well after tallying 11 doubles, 10 home runs, 52 RBI and 56 walks in his junior season. 

Oregon State, which ranked third in the Pac-12 in both runs scored and ERA, is making its third trip to an NCAA Regional under Mitch Canham. The Beavers are hoping to reach the Men's College World Series for the first time since they won their third national title in 2018.

Their first test is against Sam Houston, whose offense exploded for 72 runs on its way to a WAC Tournament title.

Stillwater Regional

  1. No. 11 Oklahoma State (41-18)
  2. Dallas Baptist (45-14)
  3. Washington (34-18)
  4. Oral Roberts (46-11)

Opener: Washington vs. Dallas Baptist on Friday at 10 a.m. PT on ESPN+

Jason Kelly's first season as the UW head coach has been a successful one with the Huskies making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since their first-ever Men's College World Series appearance in 2018. Led by all-conference honorees Cam Clayton and Will Simpson, Washington finished third in the Pac-12, its best finish since 2016.

Clayton has not missed a game this season with 52 games started for the Huskies. He leads the team with 20 doubles and sent out a career-best 10 home runs to go along with a batting average of .325 ahead of NCAA tournament play. 

Simpson collected back-to-back All-Pac-12 honors after hitting the third-most homers in the Pac-12 (18). His RBI total (56) and slugging percentage (.650) are also team-highs for the redshirt junior from Sammamish, Washington. 

Expect to see Stu Flesand III in the opener against Dallas Baptist. The UW right-hander earned All-Pac-12 honors after going 7-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 85 innings.

Fayetteville Regional: 

  1. No. 3 Arkansas (41-16)
  2. TCU (37-22)
  3. Arizona (33-24)
  4. Santa Clara (35-18)

Opener: Arizona vs. TCU on Friday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPNU

This marks Arizona's 42nd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, the sixth-most in the nation.

The Wildcats are led by Pac-12 award winners in Chase Davis and Nik McClaughry. Davis took home Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2023 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament behind 12 RBI and two homers in a four-game stretch to a runner-up finish. He's the Pac-12 leader in home runs (21).

McClaughry saw recognition for his play with his glove this season after being awarded 2023 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Coached by Chip Hale for the second season, racked up 20 wins against Top 100 RPI teams and had the 25th toughest schedule in the nation. They have one of the most potent offenses in the country, ranking in the top-15 in the country in batting average (.320, 9th), doubles (149, 2nd), hits (670, 5th), runs (492, 15th) and scoring (8.6, 12th).

Junior first baseman Kiko Romero is currently tied for the program single-season record in RBI (86).

Arizona's starting pitching also keyed its run to the Pac-12 Tournament Championship Game. Cam Walty (5-0, 5.33 ERA) is expected to get the nod against TCU, the Big 12 Tournament champion.