Huskers face Gators to start World Series hunt

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska (39-20) has been selected as the No. 2 seed for the NCAA Regional in Stillwater, Okla., and will play third-seeded Florida (28-27) on Friday, May 31 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Oklahoma State (40-17) is the tournament’s No. 11 overall seed and will play No. 4 seed Niagara (38-15).

Friday will be the second meeting between Nebraska and Florida. The Gators were the No. 9 seed in last week’s SEC Baseball Tournament, falling to eighth-seeded Vanderbilt in the opening round.

Monday’s selection marks Nebraska’s 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and the 15th appearance in the last 24 seasons (excluding the canceled season in 2020).

This is Nebraska’s second NCAA Tournament appearance under Head Coach Will Bolt.

The four-team, double-elimination regional is among 16 this weekend which will decide spots for eight super regionals next weekend.

The Stillwater regional champ would take on whoever wins No. 6 Clemson’s regional in Clemson, S.C.

Super regional champs then advance into the eight-team College World Series starting on June 14.

Other regional hosts this weekend ared:

No. 1 Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn.

No. 2 Kentucky at Lexington, Ken.

No. 3 Texas A&M at College Station, Tex.

No. 4 North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C.

No. 5 Arkansas at Fayetteville, Ark.

No. 7 Georgia at Athens, Ga.

No. 8 Florida State at Tallahassee, Fla.

No. 9 Oklahoma at Norman, Okla.

No. 10 North Carolina State at Raleigh, N.C.

No. 12 Virginia at Charlottesville, Va.

No. 13 Arizona at Tucson, Ariz.

No. 14 UC Santa Barbara at Santa Barbara, Calif.

No. 15 Oregon State at Corvallis, Ore.

No. 16 East Carolina at Greenville, N.C.

Big Ten had two other teams taken for the NCAA tournament: regular-season champ Illinois and Indiana.

Many believed the Hoosiers would not advance after falling twice to Nebraska on Saturday, but the Hoosiers are a No. 3 seed in No. 1 overall seed Tennessee’s regional.

Illinois is a No. 3 seed in No. 2 overall seed Kentucky’s Lexington, Ken., regional.