2022 College World Series field of 64 predictions, three days before selections

Here are the latest projections, assembled by Kendall Rogers, Aaron Fitt and Mark Etheridge.

At-large picture

Clemson did what it needed to do the final weekend of the regular season with a home series sweep over Boston College. However, everything it accomplished that weekend was wiped out by going 0-2 at the ACC tournament and getting outscored 27-8 in the process by North Carolina and Virginia Tech. With the losses, Clemson’s aggregate ACC record dropped to 13-8 and its RPI is down to 32 as well. Monte Lee’s Tigers have an impressive 13 wins vs. RPI Top 50 teams, but the overall league record is problematic. UTSA replaced the Tigers in the field. UTSA is grouped closely with Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion, and we mentioned late last night that UTSA wasn’t in our previous field because it hadn’t played yet. Well, the Roadrunners played on Thursday and won, setting up a showdown with top-seeded Southern Miss on Friday. A win over the Golden Eagles would likely seal the deal for Pat Hallmark’s club. UTSA is up to 46 in the RPI with 16 wins vs. RPI Top 100 teams. 

Auto bids: There were just two automatic qualifier bid changes overnight. The first is North Dakota State out and Oral Roberts in out of the Summit League, while Rider replaces Fairfield in the MAAC tournament. It’s worth noting that neither team has been eliminated from their conference tournaments.

AT-LARGE LADDER

Here are the last four teams in the field, along with the first four teams out of the latest projection.

Last four in:

61. Alabama

62. Ole Miss

63. Old Dominion

64. UTSA

First four out:

65. Clemson

66. San Diego

67. Pennsylvania

68. Pittsburgh

National seed/host picture

There were just a couple of changes in the top eight pecking order. Louisville dropped out of the top eight after going 0-2 at the ACC tournament, while the bottom four teams in the top eight now include Maryland (+1), Texas A&M (+1), Miami (-2) and new top eight team Southern Miss.

In terms of other Top 16 hosts, Texas and East Carolina continue to gain ground in the pecking order after both winning on Thursday, while just one host change occurred: Virginia moved out of the Top 16 and LSU entered after beating Kentucky early Friday morning in Hoover. With the win, the Tigers moved to 20 in the RPI and now have an aggregate SEC record of 18-13.

Other potential hosts to watch include Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas State, Gonzaga and Dallas Baptist.

Stolen bid watch

Good news, bubble teams, there were no potential stolen bids on Thursday.