HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee will have to wait awhile before it takes the field again.
The Vols were bounced from the SEC Tournament following a 3-0 loss to Texas A&M at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Tuesday.
Tennessee entered the matchup with the possibility of earning a top 16 national seed and hosting a regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in the NCAA Tournament next week. A win would have put the Vols in the conversation while two would have likely locked it up.
Instead, Tennessee was sent home early and now has to wait out its tournament fate, which will almost certainly include playing regional games elsewhere.
According to projections, the consensus is that the Vols (38-19) will be a No. 2 seed but the destinations vary. Tennessee is ranked No. 13 nationally and 16th in RPI.
The official field of 64 will be announced on Monday, May 29 at noon ET on ESPN2.
Here is a look at where the Vols are projected to play and the potential match ups.
Coral Gables, Florida
Projector: D1Baseball
Host: Miami Hurricanes
D1Baseball has had Tennessee playing everywhere from Terre Haute, Indiana to Conway, South Carolina over the last three weeks but its most recent projection pits the Vols against 1-seed Miami, 3-seed Kent State and 4-seed Wright State at Alex Rodriguez Park.
The Hurricanes (37-18) are in the ACC Tournament this week after winning a key series against Duke to close the regular season and finish second in the ACC Coastal vision. Miami has won 12 games vs. top 25 teams and currently rank No. 17 in RPI.
Kent State (41-14) dominated MAC play on its way to winning the regular season conference title. The Flashes entered the postseason with nine wins in their last 10 games and are 45th in RPI.
Wright State (35-20) is a familiar opponent for the Vols. The last time Tennessee faced the Raiders was in the Knoxville regional in 2021 when Drew Gilbert hit a walk off home run to win 9-8. Wright State sits at No. 82 in RPI and finished first in the Horizon League regular season standings.
Terre Haute, Indiana
Projector: Baseball America
Host: Indiana State Sycamores
A regional site that has popped up more than a few times for Tennessee is Terre Haute, Indiana along with host and 1-seed Indiana State, 3-seed Notre Dame and 4-seed Wright State.
The Sycamores (38-14) is projected as the No. 16 national seed here and is No. 10 in RPI with wins over Indiana, Purdue and Vanderbilt. Regular season champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State can lock up a host in the conference tournament.
Notre Dame (30-23) provides a particularly interesting match up. The Fighting Irish knocked Tennessee out of the tournament one game shy of the College World Series in Knoxville a year ago and have an RIP of 47th. Notre Dame finished fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division standings.
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