Tennessee baseball's opponents are set for the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The Vols will meet Northern Kentucky to get things started with Southern Miss and Indiana also in the Knoxville Regional.
Here's what you need to know about the Vols' opponents.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Southern Miss
Record: 41-18
Conference: 20-10 Sun Belt (2nd)
Conference Tournament: Sun Belt Champions
Stat leaders:
BAVG - Dalton MacIntyre (.389) *minimum 2 PA/G*
HR - Slade Wilks (14)
ERA - Billy Oldham (3.97) *minimum 1 IP/G*
Quick notes:
The last time the Vols took on Southern Miss was in last year's Super Regional. Tennessee took the series in three games to punch its ticket to the College World Series. The Golden Eagles have reloaded despite a change at head coach. With Scott Berry retiring, Christian Ostrander has stepped into the role.
Southern Miss is No. 70 in team batting average and No. 54 in ERA.
Indiana
Record: 32-24-1
Conference: 15-9 Big Ten (3rd)
Conference Tournament: 3rd place
Stat leaders:
BAVG - Devin Taylor (.352) *minimum 2 PA/G*
HR - Devin Taylor (18)
ERA - .371 *minimum 1 IP/G*
Quick notes:
Indiana was toward the top of the Big Ten standings and parlayed it into a solid run in the tournament. The team is led at the plate by Devin Taylor who leads the squad in batting average and home runs. With mostly poor pitching, the plate has been where games are won. The teams last met in 2019 where the Vols pulled off a sweep at home.
The Hoosiers are No. 68 in batting average and No. 148 in team ERA.
Northern Kentucky
Record: 35-22
Conference: 19-11 Horizon (2nd)
Conference Tournament: Horizon League Champions
Stat leaders:
BAVG - Treyvin Moss (.388) *minimum 2 PA/G*
HR - Liam McFadden-Ackman (21)
ERA - Tanner Gillis (4.60) *minimum 1 IP/G*
Quick notes:
Against SEC opponents, Northern Kentucky is 2-4 on the year with a pair of wins over Missouri who scraped at the bottom of the SEC East. It was swept by Georgia and also lost a match to Indiana who is also in the regional. Tennessee is 2-0 in the series by a combined score of 33-1 in matches played in 2019 and 2020.
The Norse are No. 6 in the country in team batting average and No. 244 in ERA.
–––––
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
–––––
