2012 NCAA Baseball Regionals: Predictions, Sleepers, And Upsets

NCAA Regionals start today, which means <INSERT QUOTE FROM EVERY COACH IN AMERICA ABOUT "THE SEASON STARTS OVER" HERE>. And what fun would a new year of tournament play be without completely accurate, 100% reliable predictions?

Today we're predicting winners for all regionals, letting you know what teams could make a run, who could be sent home earlier than planned, plus a bunch of other vital regional information.

Gainsville Regional

#1 Florida (42-18) (#1 National Seed)

#2 Georgia Tech (36-24)

#3 College of Charleston (37-20)

#4 Bethune-Cookman (34-25)

Winner: Florida. Despite a disappointing performance in the SEC Tournament last week, this is a very good ballclub. The Gators lead the country in home runs, and are tenth in team ERA.

Los Angeles Regional

#1 UCLA (42-14) (#2 National Seed)

#2 San Diego (41-15)

#3 New Mexico (36-22)

#4 Creighton (26-28)

Winner: UCLA. The Bruins have won 13 of their last 15, including wins over Pepperdine, Cal State Fullerton, and Purdue. They should win their regional pretty easily.

Tallahassee Regional

#1 Florida State (43-15) (#3 National Seed)

#2 Mississippi State (39-22)

#3 Samford (39-21)

#4 UAB (32-28)

Winner: Mississippi State. When regionals come around it's better to be hot than good, and the Bulldogs have won six of seven and are 10-5 in May. They are also fourth in the country with a team ERA of 2.58. The Noles in May? 7-8 and have lost three in a row.

Waco Regional

#1 Baylor (44-14) (#4 National Seed)

#2 Dallas Baptist (39-17)

#3 Texas-Arlington (36-23)

#4 Oral Roberts (37-23)

Winner: Baylor. To immediately contradict myself, Baylor has been up and down over the last few weeks, but they have been playing teams much better than the ones in their regional. Texas-Arlington did beat the Bears 5-4 in March, and have won midweek games over Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas A&M.

Eugene Regional

#1 Oregon (42-17) (#5 National Seed)

#2 Cal State Fullerton (35-19)

#3 Indiana State (41-17)

#4 Austin Peay (38-22)

Winner: Oregon. Here's some fun facts: the last time Oregon hosted postseason baseball was 1954, and this is their first national seed in program history. Not bad for not even having a team five years ago. The Ducks don't score a lot of runs, but they have excellent pitching, allowing only 7.19 hits/9 innings, which is second in the country.

Chapel Hill Regional

#1 North Carolina (44-14) (#6 National Seed)

#2 East Carolina (35-22-1)

#3 St John's (37-21)

#4 Cornell (31-15-1)

Winner: North Carolina. The Tarhells have won 15 of 16, and have won those games by an average of almost five runs. They're doin' work.

Baton Rouge Regional

#1 LSU (43-16) (#7 National Seed)

#2 Oregon State (38-18)

#3 Belmont (39-22)

#4 Louisiana-Monroe (31-28)

Winner: LSU. Going with the Tigers at Alex Box, but Oregon State will make them earn it. The Beavers swept Oregon last week, and have series wins over Stanford and UCLA. But with series wins at Florida and South Carolina, the Tigers thrive on the big stage.

Columbia Regional

#1 South Carolina (40-17) (#8 National Seed)

#2 Clemson (33-26)

#3 Coastal Carolina (41-17)

#4 Manhattan (33-25)

Winner: South Carolina. A mighty fine job by the selection committee making Clemson go to their national seed arch rival for postseason play. The Gamecocks shouldn't have a ton of trouble here.

Charlottesville Regional

#1 Virginia (38-17-1)

#2 Oklahoma (38-22)

#3 Appalachian State (39-16)

#4 Army (41-13)

Winner: UVA. Oklahoma will make them work for it, as the Sooners have been playing very good baseball over the past few weeks. The Cavalier bats should be able to keep Virginia alive to the next round, though.

College Station Regional

#1 Texas A&M (42-16)

#2 TCU (36-19)

#3 Ole Miss (35-24)

#4 Dayton (31-28)

Winner: Texas A&M. The Aggie pitching staff is downright deadly, and neither TCU nor Ole Miss has the chops to overcome it. If they can get 4 or 5 runs from their offense, A&M can beat anybody in the country.

Coral Gables Regional

#1 Miami (36-21)

#2 UCF (43-15)

#3 Missouri State (39-20)

#4 Stony Brook (46-11)

Winner: Miami. This one could be very, very close. UCF and Miami split a pair of games in the regular season, and the Knights have played very solid baseball all season, but the Canes are just a few steps ahead of them.

Gary Regional

#1 Purdue (44-12)

#2 Kentucky (43-16)

#3 Kent State (41-17)

#4 Valparaiso (35-23)

Winner: Kentucky. A lot of people expected Kentucky to get a host and #1 regional seed, as they were first in the SEC going into the last weekend. The Wildcats and Boilermakers are about on the same level, but Kentucky has played and beaten more quality opponents, so the scale tips in their favor.

Houston Regional

#1 Rice (40-17)

#2 Arkansas (39-19)

#3 Sam Houston State (38-20)

#4 Prairie View A&M (28-33)

Winner: Rice. The Owls had an unexpectedly poor showing in the C-USA Tournament, but Arkansas has been trending downward for a while. Sam Houston could beat Arkansas and give Rice a good game Saturday, but they won't be able to hang on and upset them.

Stanford Regional

#1 Stanford (38-16)

#2 Pepperdine (34-21)

#3 Michigan State (37-21)

#4 Fresno State (30-26)

Winner: Stanford. The Cardinal and Pepperdine are pretty evenly matched, but Stanford has been more successful against quality opponents. Michgan State has a pretty good record, but baseball that far north is just a giant blob of awful.

Raleigh Regional

#1 NC State (39-17)

#2 Vanderbilt (33-26)

#3 UNC Wilmington (38-21)

#4 Sacred Heart (25-30)

Winner: Vanderbilt. NC State has been consistently good all season, but they're 5-5 in their last ten, and while they've beaten above average teams, they haven't been able to beat many of the great ones. Vandy, on the other hand has won 9 of 11 with two wins over Florida, two wins over LSU, and a win over South Carolina.

Tucson Regional

#1 Arizona (38-17)

#2 New Mexico State (35-22)

#3 Louisville (39-20)

#4 Missouri (32-26)

Winner: Arizona. The Aggies beat the Wildcats twice earlier in the season, but 'Zona has been consistently good against better competition over the course of the season. The Wildcats will survive the weekend.

Based on these predictions, your Super Regional matchups for next week would look like:

#1 Florida vs Vanderbilt

#2 UCLA vs Texas A&M

Stanford vs Mississippi State

#4 Baylor vs Rice

#5 Oregon vs Kentucky

#6 North Carolina vs Arizona

#7 LSU vs Miami

#8 South Carolina vs Virginia

I See You Creepin'

Every year there are a few teams that slide in the tournament under the radar, and then commence to raising hell. Here are some of the teams that could put it together and make a run towards Omaha:

- East Carolina

- Oklahoma

- Missouri State

- Pepperdine

Well That Certainly Ended Quickly

On the flip side, there are always teams that look like they could do some damage, only to flail around for two games and head home. This year's teams are:

- Florida State

- Clemson

- TCU

- Dallas Baptist

Let's Cheer For Them So That In 20 Years Disney Will Make A Movie About Them

There are three teams with losing records that made the tournament by virtue of winning their conference tournament and receiving an automatic bid. Cheer for them wholeheartedly, even though will probably get destroyed.

- Creighton

- Prairie View A&M

- Sacred Heart

Enjoy the tournament, everyone.