The Tennessee Volunteers have landed a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, paired up with North Carolina. The Tar Heels went 45-11-1 this season, landing the No. 5 national seed. North Carolina will open with VCU, while Tennessee has been matched up with East Carolina.
Tennessee finished the year strong, bouncing back from a rough start to SEC play. The Volunteers won three of their last four SEC series, solidly putting themselves in the field after their status was in question for much of the season.
Today’s draw though? It’s a rough one. North Carolina is one of the best teams in the country, while East Carolina is one of the stronger mid-major programs in America. VCU won the A-10 to advance.
Tennessee will open against ECU on Friday at noon ET. ESPNU will have the coverage.
Friday, May 29
- Game 1: No. 2 Tennessee vs No. 3 East Carolina, noon ET on ESPNU
- Game 2: No. 1 UNC vs No. 4 VCU, 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Saturday, May 30
- Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, noon on TBD (elimination game)
- Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. on TBD
Sunday, May 31
- Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, noon on TBD (elimination game)
- Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. on TBD
Monday, June 1
- Game 7: Regional championship game (if necessary), TBA on TBD
How the NCAA Baseball Tournament works
The opening round consists of 16 4-team regionals, which will be played in a double-elimination format. One team will advance from each regional, setting up a super regional round. 16 remaining teams will play three-game series, with eight teams advancing to Omaha to take part in the College World Series.
The College World Series consists of two, four team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then face off in a three-game series to determine a national champion.
The College World Series is set to begin on June 12th and run through June 22nd. Tennessee has seven all time appearances in the event, most recently winning the national title back in 2024.