ATHENS – Georgia baseball believes it has proven itself as a top-eight team in the country, worthy of a national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But nothing will be certain until the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs return from the SEC Tournament and hear their postseason fate on May 26.
Conference Tournament results could marginally change NCAA Tournament seeding, but most of the work is done in the regular season, especially for top-ranked teams.
That’s what made Georgia’s season-closing series win over Texas A&M so important.
Beating the Aggies helped the Bulldogs finish the regular season on a strong note, which three other national seed contenders failed to do. Auburn, Alabama and Florida State dropped series losses to Ole Miss, Florida and North Carolina, respectively.
The Tar Heels and Arkansas boosted their resumes with series wins over top-25 opponents.
West-coast giants Oregon and Oregon State finished their regular seasons with sweeps, as did Coastal Carolina and Vanderbilt.
High-ranked SEC powers Georgia, Texas and LSU all protected their status with 2-1 series wins over unranked opponents.
The Bulldogs are trying to earn their first College World Series spot in 17 years. A national seed would make that road significantly easier, as UGA would host the first-round regional and second-round super regional at Foley Field.
Several Georgia players and coach Wes Johnson have highlighted the national seed as the No. 1 goal to achieve in the regular season.
But only eight national seeds are available, and more teams have made a case to earn one. The committee will compare teams with no head-to-head history and little to no common opponents.
Metrics like RPI, strength of schedule and conference affiliation will all be considered, along with overall and conference records.
UGA holds the No. 1 RPI ranking in the country. The Bulldogs also have the nation’s No. 5 strength of schedule and a No. 5 finish in the SEC, college baseball’s toughest conference.
Here’s where Georgia stands in terms of RPI, overall record, conference record and strength of schedule compared to other national seed contenders. The 13 teams below were the only ones unanimously projected to earn top-16 hosting bids by Baseball America, On3 and D1Baseball last week.
NCAA Tournament national seed resume comparison
| Team | RPI Ranking | Overall record | Conference record | Record last weekend | Strength of Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 1 | 42-14 | 18-12 (SEC) | 2-1 (Texas A&M) | 5 |
| Auburn | 2 | 38-17 | 17-13 (SEC) | 1-2 (Ole Miss) | 1 |
| Vanderbilt | 3 | 39-16 | 19-11 (SEC) | 3-0 (Kentucky) | 2 |
| Texas | 4 | 42-11 | 22-8 (SEC) | 2-1 (Oklahoma) | 15 |
| Arkansas | 5 | 43-12 | 20-10 (SEC) | 2-1 (Tennessee) | 13 |
| Oregon State | 6 | 41-12-1 | N/A (Independent) | 3-0 (Long Beach State) | 40 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 39-12 | 18-11 (ACC) | 2-1 (Florida State) | 31 |
| LSU | 8 | 42-13 | 19-11 (SEC) | 2-1 (South Carolina) | 33 |
| Alabama | 9 | 40-15 | 16-14 (SEC) | 2-1 (Florida) | 16 |
| Coastal Carolina | 11 | 44-11 | 26-4 (Sun Belt) | 3-0 (Old Dominion) | 71 |
| Oregon | 12 | 41-13 | 22-8 (Big Ten) | 3-0 (Iowa) | 35 |
| Florida State | 14 | 37-13 | 17-10 (ACC) | 1-2 (North Carolina) | 29 |
| UCLA | 15 | 39-15 | 22-8 (Big Ten) | 2-1 (Northwestern) | 23 |
National projections will shift after last weekend’s action and conference tournament results. But Georgia appears to be in a competitive spot for a national seed, especially coming off its seventh SEC series win.
“You look at our RPI, you look at our nonconference schedule, you look at what we’ve done at home, we won two road series,” Johnson said. “Yeah, I mean, I think we are (a national seed), but it’s the committee.”
Georgia fans ought to feel confident about a trip to Omaha if the Bulldogs earn a national seed. UGA is 29-4 at Foley Field this season, including a 7-2 mark against top-25 teams.
Georgia’s NCAA Tournament fate will be revealed on an ESPN2 selection show at noon on May 26.
The Bulldogs will open SEC Tournament action Wednesday afternoon against either No. 12 seed Oklahoma or No. 13 seed Kentucky. UGA beat both the Sooners and the Wildcats in home series earlier this season.
