Story perspectives

Troy Beats Florida, Earns First Super Regional, SEC Dominates

6/6/2026

Summary

Troy Advances

Troy beat Florida 10-2 on June 1, 2026, winning the regional and hosting Little Rock.
Super Regional pairings are West Virginia (16) vs Cal Poly, Little Rock vs Troy, North Carolina (5) vs Southern California, and five other series.
Only North Carolina represented the ACC, the conference’s smallest Super Regional presence.
Cal Poly, Kansas, Little Rock and Troy each made their first Super Regional appearance.
Seven SEC teams advanced, positioning the league for a two-team College World Series slot.

Summary

Super Regionals Announced

The regional round reduced the tournament field from 64 teams to 16.
Super Regional matchups, dates, and television broadcast partners were announced for the weekend.
The broadcast partners will provide nationwide coverage of the Super Regional series.
A $19.99 subscription grants a full year of On3 and Rivals national college baseball coverage.

Summary

Carpentier Grand Slam

Dean Carpentier of USC hit a grand slam in the sixth inning of game 1 on June 5, 2026.
Ryan Lynch of North Carolina opened the game as pitcher and returned for the third inning.
Tyler Howe of UNC celebrated a second-inning run with teammate Owen Hull.
Coach Scott Forbes of North Carolina visited the mound and reacted during the seventh inning.

Summary

Upsets Shake Seeds

Upsets eliminated No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 2 seed Georgia Tech in the regional round, creating unexpected matchups.
Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said hosting the super regional at Lawrence gives the team an advantage.
West Virginia, the No. 16 national seed, will open its super regional against surprise winner Cal Poly.
All eight super regional series will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, with streaming on the ESPN app and Fubo.

History

Historical Context

By expanding the 64-team field to sixteen double-elimination regionals and eight best-of-three super regionals in 1999, the NCAA created a two-stage format that sent Miami (FL) to its third College World Series title. The 2026 tournament, now with 32 national seeds but still 16 regionals, shows how that 1999 restructuring continues to shape the championship.

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Troy Advances

Troy beat Florida 10-2 on June 1, 2026, winning the regional and hosting Little Rock.
Super Regional pairings are West Virginia (16) vs Cal Poly, Little Rock vs Troy, North Carolina (5) vs Southern California, and five other series.
Only North Carolina represented the ACC, the conference’s smallest Super Regional presence.
Cal Poly, Kansas, Little Rock and Troy each made their first Super Regional appearance.
Seven SEC teams advanced, positioning the league for a two-team College World Series slot.

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