FSU joins defending national champs among nation's top 8 seeds; Miami stays home
Peter Burke, Local10.com Managing Editor
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Gators are the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA baseball tournament.
Florida (42-17) will attempt to claim a second consecutive national championship after beating LSU in last year's College World Series championship series.
Recommended Videos
The Gators were the top seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament, losing to LSU and Arkansas. They'll host Columbia (20-28) in the Gainesville regional. Florida Atlantic (40-17-1) and Jacksonville (39-19) are the other regional teams.
Columbia earned an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament by winning the Ivy League.
Joining the Gators among the top eight national seeds are No. 2 Stanford (44-10), No. 3 Oregon State (44-10-1), No. 4 Mississippi (46-15), No. 5 Arkansas (39-18), No. 6 North Carolina (38-18), No. 7 Florida State (43-17) and No. 8 Georgia (37-19).
The Seminoles won back-to-back Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles for the first time in school history, defeating Louisville 11-8 in 10 innings Sunday. It was FSU's third ACC championship in four years.
FSU has been to the College World Series 16 times under longtime head coach Mike Martin, who recently claimed the all-time wins record in college baseball history, but the Seminoles have yet to win it all.
Florida State coach Mike Martin smiles as he speaks to reporters after an NCAA tournament regional game against UAB, June 1, 2012, in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Seminoles, making their 41st straight NCAA tournament appearance, will face Samford (36-24) in the Tallahassee regional. Oklahoma (36-23) and Mississippi State (31-25) will also travel to Tallahassee.
Samford is 7-1 in its last eight games, including a 4-0 record in the Southern Conference tournament.
Meanwhile, Miami (28-25) missed out on an NCAA tournament berth for the second consecutive season. The Hurricanes participated in an NCAA-record 44 straight postseason appearances between 1973-2016.
It's an anticlimactic ending for head coach Jim Morris, who is retiring after 25 years. Assistant coach Gino DiMare will take over in 2019.
1 / 14
Mark Richt, left, talks to head baseball coach Jim Morris after being introduced as the new football coach at the University of Miami, Dec. 4, 2015, in Coral Gables, Florida.Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, left, and his brother, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, right, pose with University of Miami baseball coach Jim Morris in Miami, June 25, 1999. The two governors visited several cities in Florida on a fund-raising campaign.Jim Morris is retiring after 25 seasons as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. Here is a look back at the longtime Hurricanes skipper's career.Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon, right, talks to University of Miami head coach Jim Morris before an exhibition game against the Hurricanes, March 1, 2005, in Jupiter, Florida.Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Morris speaks to his team during practice before the 2018 season-opening series against Rutgers at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Feb. 13, 2018. Morris, who has been at the helm since 1994, is retiring at the end of the season.Jim Morris poses for a family photograph outside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field with his wife, Nhan, and son, Will.Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Morris celebrates with his players after his team won the 1999 College World Series.Miami head coach Jim Morris works with his players during practice at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Feb. 13, 2018.Miami coach Jim Morris looks over team practice at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, June 12, 2015.Long before he was head coach of the Hurricanes, Jim Morris served as an assistant coach under Mike Martin at Florida State during the 1980 and 1981 seasons.Georgia Tech head baseball coach Jim Morris receives a Gatorade bath from his players after the Yellow Jackets won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 1987.Jim Morris was head baseball coach at Georgia Tech from 1982-93, guiding the Yellow Jackets to nine consecutive NCAA tournament berths and four Atlantic Coast Conference championships. Georgia Tech was 504-244-1 in 12 seasons under Morris.University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris speaks to the media on campus in Coral Gables, Florida, Feb. 27, 2003. Morris gives his thoughts regarding the NCAA's announcement that it has placed the University of Miami athletic department on two years of probation for violations in the school's baseball program.New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, right, chats with Miami Hurricanes baseball coach Jim Morris after being introduced during a banquet in the newly named Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Feb. 13, 2009, at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Rodriguez donated $3.9 million to renovate the stadium.
Mark Richt, left, talks to head baseball coach Jim Morris after being introduced as the new football coach at the University of Miami, Dec. 4, 2015, in Coral Gables, Florida.
Stetson (45-11) will host South Florida in the DeLand regional. The Hatters, who will face Hartford in the first game of the regional, are 29-3 at home. South Florida (35-20-1) and Oklahoma State (29-24-1) round out the regional.
By virtue of their seeds, Florida and FSU will have home-field advantage in the regionals and super regionals on the path to Omaha, Nebraska.
Copyright 2018 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
