Tennessee Baseball Gets Another NCAA No. 1 Overall Seed - Now, Can It Win It All?

It's another glimmering, championship-laced, 50-win season for the Tennessee Volunteers, who received their second No. 1 overall seed in three years on Monday for the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

But can the Vols finally advance deep into the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which starts June 14 and will run until June 23 or 24? Tennessee has made the finals once, losing to Oklahoma, 3-2, in 1951, through six trips to the CWS in all (1951, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2021, 2023).

Tennessee, 50-11 champions of the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament, will begin their albatross-riddled quest for a first ever national championship in baseball on Friday against Northern Kentucky (35-22) in Knoxville (7 p.m., SEC Network). Northern Kentucky is the No. 4 seed in Knoxville.

Tennessee Takeover: Vols Beat LSU To Win SEC Tournament Title

"I think it's difficult for any team to win in the NCAA Tournament, and it's also very difficult to win this tournament because of the caliber of athlete you're surrounded by," Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said after beating defending and seven-time national champion LSU, 4-3, on Sunday to win the SEC Tournament for the second time in three years.

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello and the Vols have received their second No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament in three years. (Getty Images)

"And we were able to do that. So we did that, but it's over with," Vitello said. "And we were able to do this, and it's over with. So this should give you confidence. No one can take it away from you, but it's time to move on to the next thing."

It sure seems like it's Tennessee's turn to win a national championship in baseball. The last three have come from the SEC - Mississippi State in 2021, Ole Miss in 2022 and LSU last year. All three struggled the year after, though LSU rebounded dramatically in recent weeks. So, it seems like Vitello and company would take a rare average season for a title.

Tennessee Baseball In Familiar Position

Tennessee was right here two years ago at this time - No. 1 in the nation at 53-7 after beating Florida to win the SEC Tournament and the No. 1 overall seed with expectations to win it all after spending virtually the entire season at No. 1. The brash and cocky Vols finished with the best record in school history at 57-9. But they didn't even make it to Omaha, losing at home in the Super Regional, best-of-three round to Notre Dame, which was not even a top 16 seed.

"I think for right now, all we can do is keep playing our best baseball regardless of the results of the '22 year," said junior center fielder Hunter Ensley, who was on that 2022 team. "Just because we won this SEC Tournament has no correlation between a regional or super regional. For us, the guys in the locker room, focusing on the next day, really, the next task mentality, and going game by game."

SEC regular season co-champion Kentucky (40-14) received its first top eight national seed in program history at No. 2, followed by Texas A&M (44-13) at No. 3. North Carolina (42-13) is the No. 4 seed. Arkansas (43-14) at No. 5 and Georgia (39-15) at No. 7 gave the SEC five national seeds. Clemson (39-15) is the No. 6 seed with Florida State (42-15) at No. 8.

The SEC put 11 teams in all in the NCAA Tournament - the most by any conference in history. The other six from the SEC are SEC Tournament finalist LSU (40-21), Vanderbilt (38-21), Mississippi State (38-21), South Carolina (36-23), Alabama (33-22) and Florida at just 28-27.

NCAA Tournament Pairings For Friday, TV Times

(All Times Eastern)

Athens, Georgia, Regional hosted by Georgia
#1 Georgia (39-15) vs. #4 Army West Point (31-21), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#2 UNCW (39-19) vs. #3 Georgia Tech (31-23), 7 p.m., ESPN+

Bryan-College Station, Texas, Regional hosted by Texas A&M
#1 Texas A&M (44-13) vs. #4 Grambling (26-26), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Louisiana (40-18) vs. #3 Texas (35-22), 6 p.m., ESPNU

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Regional hosted by North Carolina
#2 LSU (40-21) vs. #3 Wofford (41-18), 12 p.m., ESPNU
#1 North Carolina (42-13) vs. #4 LIU (33-23), 6 p.m. ESPN+

Charlottesville, Virginia, Regional hosted by Virginia
#1 Virginia (41-15) vs. #4 Penn (24-23), 12 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Mississippi St. (38-21) vs. #3 St. John’s (NY) (37-16-1), 7 p.m., ESPN+

Clemson, South Carolina, Regional hosted by Clemson
#2 Vanderbilt (38-21) vs. #3 Coastal Carolina (34-23), 12 p.m., ESPN2
#1 Clemson (41-14) vs. #4 High Point (34-25), 7 p.m., ACCN

Corvallis, Oregon, Regional hosted by Oregon State
#2 UC Irvine (43-12) vs. #3 Nicholls (38-20), 4 p.m., ESPN+
#1 Oregon St. (42-14) vs. #4 Tulane (35-24), 9 p.m., ESPNU

Fayetteville, Arkansas, Regional hosted by Arkansas
#1 Arkansas (43-14) vs. #4 Southeast Mo. St. (34-25), 3 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Louisiana Tech (45-17) vs. #3 Kansas St. (32-24), 8 p.m., ESPN+

Greenville, North Carolina, Regional hosted by East Carolina
#1 East Carolina (43-15) vs. #4 Evansville (35-23), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Wake Forest (38-20) vs. #3 VCU (37-21), 6 p.m., ESPN+

Knoxville, Tennessee, Regional hosted by Tennessee
#2 Southern Miss. (41-18) vs. #3 Indiana (32-24-1), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#1 Tennessee (50-11) vs. #4 Northern Ky. (35-22), 7 p.m., SECN

Lexington, Kentucky, Regional hosted by Kentucky
#1 Kentucky (40-14) vs. #4 Western Mich. (32-21), 12 noon, SECN
#2 Indiana St. (42-13) vs. #3 Illinois (34-19), 7 p.m., ESPN+

Norman, Oklahoma, Regional hosted by Oklahoma
#1 Oklahoma (37-19) vs. #4 Oral Roberts (27-30-1), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Duke (39-18) vs. #3 UConn (32-23), 7 p.m., ESPN+

Raleigh, North Carolina, Regional hosted by NC State
#2 South Carolina (36-23) vs. #3 James Madison (34-23), 2 p.m., ESPN+
#1 NC State (33-20) vs. #4 Bryant (36-19), 7 p.m, ESPN+

Santa Barbara, California, Regional hosted by UC Santa Barbara
#2 San Diego (40-13) vs. #3 Oregon (37-18), 3 p.m., ESPNU
#1 UC Santa Barbara (42-12) vs. #4 Fresno St. (33-27), 9 p.m., ESPN+

Stillwater, Oklahoma, Regional hosted by Oklahoma State
#2 Nebraska (39-20) vs. #3 Florida (28-27), 3 p.m., ESPN+
#1 Oklahoma St. (40-17) vs. #4 Niagara (38-15), 7 p.m., ESPN+

Tallahassee, Florida, Regional hosted by Florida State
#1 Florida St. (42-15) vs. #4 Stetson (40-20), 12 p.m., ACCN
#2 Alabama (33-22) vs. #3 UCF (35-19), 6 p.m., ESPN+

Tucson, Arizona, Regional hosted by Arizona
#2 DBU (44-13) vs. #3 West Virginia (33-22), 3 p.m., ESPN2
#1 Arizona (36-21) vs. #4 Grand Canyon (34-23), 9 p.m., ESPN+