:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26013756/Screenshot_2025_05_31_4.13.23_PM.png "Mariners Game #57: 5/31/25, Twins in Seattle")
The NCAA baseball tournament bracket reveal always creates dialogue surrounding the top 16 seeds. The college baseball world tries to decipher in less than four days which No. 1 seeds have the easiest route to the Super Regionals — or what the potential Men’s College World Series field will look like.
However, some of the best storylines in recent memory have come from Cinderella-like lower seeds. Who doesn’t remember 2023 Oral Roberts, 2012 Stony Brook and 2008 MCWS champion Fresno State?
This year’s field could birth the next team that wears the glass slipper.
Here are seven No. 3 and No. 4 seeds that could win their regional.
No. 3 Western Kentucky
Oxford is arguably the toughest regional in the 64-team field — and the Hilltoppers are part of the reason behind that.
The Ryan Wideman show is one of the best in the country, as the junior center fielder and CUSA Player/Newcomer of the Year was head and shoulders better than his counterparts. Wideman hit .408 during the regular season, the best in the CUSA and 15th nationally, while collecting 89 hits, 64 RBI and 42 stolen bases — a conference-best in two of three categories.
The pitching staff features CUSA Pitcher of the Year in sophomore right-hander Drew Whalen, who posted the second-best ERA in the conference at 2.84. He didn’t have his best stuff during the conference tournament, but his 9-2 record backs up how good he was this season.
WKU is 3-4 against teams in the 2025 NCAA tournament, including a 2-1 loss to the No. 4 seed in their regional, Murray State, in February. However, they are boiling with momentum as conference champions.
No. 4 Columbia
Momentum is the name of the game in the postseason, and Columbia is one of the hottest teams entering the NCAA tournament at the perfect time.
The Lions currently ride a nine-game win streak and tote the Ivy League Player of the Year in junior shortstop Sam Miller. The Lions won the conference tournament after downing top-seed Yale, mashing seven homers in the title game. They hold the highest RPI amongst No. 4 seeds.
Of course, the Hattiesburg regional won’t be a pushover. Columbia has to fight through Southern Miss and its Right Field Roost, Alabama and Miami (Fla.). However, a positive is that the Golden Eagles are the lowest-ranked regional host.
The Lions have never made it to a Super Regional — no Ivy League team has since 1974 — but they have won at least one game in their last two NCAA tournament appearances.
No. 3 East Carolina
East Carolina is on a roll entering the NCAA tournament, and it could be a very tough out.
The Pirates had a rather quiet regular season, enduring multiple rough patches and losing their five-time regular-season champions streak. Only one player was named to the AAC All-Conference First Team.
The conference tournament washed those woes away with eight players named to the All-tournament team and freshman second baseman Braden Burress getting named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
It’s been night and day in Greenville, N.C.
Between ECU’s four-game winning streak and past NCAA tournament experience, seven straight appearances with two Super Regional trips, expect a strong showing in Conway.
REGIONAL RUNDOWNS: Every 2025 college baseball regional, previewed
No. 4 Miami (Ohio)
The Redhawks’ top two arms make them a threat to win the Knoxville Regional in redshirt sophomore right-hander Cooper Katskee and junior lefty Carson Byers.
The duo were virtually the best pitchers in the MAC in multiple categories by a large margin. Katskee, Miami (Ohio)’s ace, was the MAC Pitcher of the Year with a 2.66 ERA and opposing batting average at .186 — the only pitcher in the conference below .200. Byers works out of the bullpen, but he has over 70 innings to his name and holds the best ERA in the MAC at 2.65.
The Redhawks pitching staff hasn’t been as dominant outside of those two, but it did get the job done in the MAC tournament. The offense isn’t too shabbym either, sporting a .299 batting average and scoring 22 runs in three games to win the conference tournament title.
Knoxville is flooded with talent in Tennessee, Wake Forest and Cincinnati, but Miami (Ohio) has the tools, especially on the mound, to compete.
No. 3 Cal Poly
Cal Poly is another team that utilized its conference tournament to prove how dangerous it could be in whatever regional it would end up getting
The Mustangs ended the regular season on a four-game win streak and beat UC Irvine, a No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles regional, back-to-back to win the Big West tournament.
And the team doesn’t have a 1-2 combination or knockout punch that’s mowing down these opponents — it’s a collective effort. Jabs, body shots, bob-and-weave, Cal Poly is a well-balanced machine. Three of its infielders received All-Big West First Team honors, while the other two position players made the second team.
They are the only three-seed inside the top 30 nationally in RPI (29).
The Mustangs are 5-9 against teams this season in the NCAA tournament, 0-6 versus No. 1 seeds, which isn’t stunning. Yet, with two of those wins coming in their last two games, they’ve proven to be battle-tested.
TOURNEY THOUGHTS: Toughest regional and national champion picks for the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament
No. 4 Murray State
Time to revisit the Oxford regional. This time with the Racers.
Murray State hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since the movie “Finding Nemo” hit theaters in 2003, but the team is one of the most talented No. 4 seeds in the field. Redshirt senior center fielder Jonathan Hogart and junior catcher Will Vierling both received All-MVC First Team honors, while redshirt senior right fielder Dustin Mercer secured conference tournament MVP.
They have two starters that they’ve relied on in right-handers junior Nic Schutte and senior Isaac Silva, who combined for a 3.41 ERA in conference play, and a bullpen that shined in the MVC tournament.
The Racers have the tools to keep up with Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky’s high-powered offenses, not to mention they beat WKU in February.
Although the NCAA tournament is a foreign playing field for most of the players, it’s a veteran-led group that’s hitting its stride at the right time and having a fun time — just watch their rendition of a football offense to celebrate making the tournament.
No. 3 Stetson
Stetson enters the NCAA tournament with arguably the best starting pitcher in the Auburn Regional with redshirt senior lefty Jonathan Gonzalez.
The southpaw has a complete game to his name on top of a 2.18 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .192 batting average during the regular season. He helped Stetson steamroll through the ASUN for the second straight season behind an 8-2 record.
Whenever he’s been on the mound, the Hatters feel good about their chances.
Stetson will hand the keys to Gonzalez in its first game against NC State, but questions will arise later in the weekend on what other arms the Hatters can lean on if they face Auburn.
