Heading into SEC Tournament, Alabama Baseball Projected to Host Regional

In it's latest guess about what the NCAA Tournament's field of 64 might look like, D1Baseball has the Crimson Tide playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today Network

Don't look now, but the words "Play ball!" may be heard at Sewell-Thomas Stadium again this season. The latest projections by the website D1Baseball has the Alabama Crimson Tide as hosting a regional next week as the No. 14 seeded team in the upcoming 2023 NCAA Tournament

The projected Tuscaloosa Regional also included Southern Miss, Arizona State and Samford. The Crimson Tide has already faced the two closest teams geographically, winning all three games by a combined score of 37-12. 

The regional would be matched with Fayetteville Regional for a Super Regional, with the winning team in the best-of-3 series advancing to the College World Series. The projected regional had No. 3 Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Maine. The Crimson Tide went 1-2 during a regular-season series at the Razorbacks.   

The real brackets are set to be unveiled next Monday. Alabama hasn't hosted a regional since 2006, and just five in program history, all under head coach Jim Wells (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002 the others).

Last week, D1Baseball had Alabama as the second seed in the Durham Regional, hosted by No. 15 Duke. The Crimson Tide has won five straight, and eight of its last 10 games heading into the postseason.

After sweeping Ole Miss over the weekend to close out the regular season, the NCCA has Alabama listed 12th in RPI. That's actually down a spot from a week ago as the Rebels have really struggled in league play this season, going 6-24 and are already done for the season. The reigning national champions are No. 83 in RPI, down from No. 79 last week. 

However, Alabama's opponent on Tuesday, Kentucky, is No. 2 in RPI, which helps the Crimson Tide. Even though it's a single-elimination game in the SEC Tournament, a win would be viewed as a big plus and maybe lock down hosting. A loss would barely register as a negative, so Alabama might still have a chance to host, depending on what else happens this week.  

D1 has Florida, Arkansa, LSU and Vanderbilt as locks to be top-eight seeds, meaning they would host regionals and super regionals if they advance. The 9-16 overall seeds remain muddled, with Alabama and Auburn now among the frontrunners along with Kentucky, and South Carolina needing a little help to host a regional. Tennessee, which has been outstanding at home but struggled on the road, may be locked in as a regional two-seed. Ten SEC teams are projected to make the tournament, with Texas A&M the last league team in as a three-seed. 

Meanwhile, despite the hot finish to the regular season the Crimson Tide didn't make much of a dent in the latest Top 25 polls. D1Baseball had it at No. 24, and Collegiate Baseball had Alabama at No. 19. the same spot as last week. Baseball America and the coaches' poll still had it unranked.  

SEE ALSO: What Does Alabama Baseball Need to Do in Hoover to Secure NCAA Hosting Spot? Just a Minute