2026 NCAA Super Regional Preview: Right Side Bracket
Breaking down one side of the super regional bracket, which covers four matchups that each come with their own exciting storylines.
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The field is set, and the road to Omaha is down to 16. Regionals are in the rearview mirror, and what we’re left with is the best part of the college baseball postseason, super regionals, where every series is winner-take-all and one bad weekend ends your season for good.
This year’s field has plenty to get excited about. Four programs are making their super regional debut, a pair of four-seeds pulled off stunning regional upsets to get here, and seven SEC teams are still standing.
The chalk didn’t hold everywhere, ask UCLA, Georgia Tech, or Florida State, and that’s what makes this stage of the tournament so good. Every team left has earned it, and every series this weekend has real stakes.
Below, we break down one side of the bracket, covering four matchups that each carry their own storyline: Kansas hosting Oklahoma in Lawrence for the Jayhawks’ first-ever super regional appearance, St. John’s taking their Cinderella run to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama, Oregon making the trip to Austin to take on a Texas team that’s looked like a national title contender all year, and an all-SEC showdown in Athens where Mississippi State and its record-breaking offense will try to get revenge on a Georgia squad that swept them in the regular season.
Lawrence Super Regional (Oklahoma vs. Kansas)
Winner Projection: Kansas Jayhawks
This one has all the makings of a Big 12 reunion nobody expected to be this dramatic. Kansas enters as the No. 15 national seed and is making its first-ever super regional appearance, which alone is worth celebrating in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks went undefeated through the Lawrence Regional, knocking off Northeastern and sweeping Arkansas, a bracket that plenty of people thought was the toughest and figured Arkansas would cruise out of.
Kansas trailed 5-0 in the regional final before exploding for 11 runs over the next three frames to close it out 13-10, which tells you everything about the resilience Dan Fitzgerald has built in this program.
The guys you need to watch on this Kansas team are Tyson LeBlanc and left fielder Brady Ballinger, who came into 2026 as one of the most talked-about hitters in the country.
LeBlanc was an All-Big 12, and it is easy to see why, as he slashed .344/.430/.709 with a 1.139 OPS. He’s smashed 12 doubles, 24 home runs, and 68 RBI thus far.
Ballinger dealt with a hamate injury late in the regular season, but he is hitting .289 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs on the year, and he was back for the NCAA Regional after missing the Big 12 Tournament. A fully healthy Ballinger is as dangerous a bat as anyone in this super regional field.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, had to claw their way here the hard way. Facing one of the best offenses in college baseball, the Sooners trailed Georgia Tech 7-3 in the seventh inning before storming back to win 8-7 in 10 innings on a 454-foot walk-off home run by Dayton Tockey.
Tockey hit his third homer of the regional, while Deiten Lachance, who entered the postseason with 14 home runs on the year, had been the Sooners’ biggest power threat throughout the week.
Oklahoma’s offense is all of a sudden legitimately dangerous after struggling for most of the year, and Jaxon Willits gives them a legitimate draft-caliber shortstop who can beat you multiple ways.
Still, Kansas has the home crowd, the momentum of a program-first moment, and a lineup that can hurt you. Give the slight edge to the Jayhawks to punch their first-ever ticket to Omaha.
Tuscaloosa Super Regional (St. John’s vs. Alabama)
Winner Projection: Alabama Crimson Tide
If you haven’t been following St. John’s this postseason, stop what you’re doing and get familiar, because this Red Storm team has been must-watch baseball.
The Johnnies entered Tallahassee as the fourth and final seed, and left as regional champions, becoming just the 13th fourth seed to reach the super regionals since the current format began in 1999.
They knocked out host Florida State twice, including a regional final where catcher Adam Agresti crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning, his 19th home run of the season, and closer Victor Frederick slammed the door in the ninth.
Agresti has been the engine of this offense all year, leading the team with 19 home runs, 46 extra-base hits, and a 1.057 OPS entering the regional, with outfielder Shaun McMillan providing a second legitimate power threat.
On the mound, Liam O’Leary has been a steady ace who isn’t going to overpower anyone but competes deep into games. Alabama, meanwhile, is a program that looks like it’s built for this exact stage.
The Crimson Tide swept through the Tuscaloosa Regional with catcher Brady Neal earning tournament MVP honors after delivering the biggest hit of the weekend.
Neal has been Alabama’s best hitter all season, raising his average to .332 after a rough 2025 that had people questioning his transfer from LSU. He’s been one of the better redemption stories in college baseball this year.
Shortstop Justin Lebron earned Preseason All-SEC First Team recognition for the second straight year and has been consistent enough all season, and the rotation with Tyler Fay and Zane Adams gives the Tide real options on the mound.
St. John’s has the magic, and Agresti has the power to make this a fight, but Alabama’s depth, home-field advantage at a loud Sewell-Thomas Stadium, and the experience of playing through the SEC grind makes them the strong favorite. Expect the Crimson Tide to move on to Omaha.
Austin Super Regional (Oregon vs. Texas)
Winner Projection: Texas Longhorns
In a Big Ten-SEC battle that will feature no shortage of star power or prowess, Oregon makes the long trek from Eugene to Austin to take on Texas. Both teams swept through their respective home regionals in rather convincing fashion.
The Ducks held Yale, Washington State and Oregon State to just 3 runs across 27 impressive innings. Texas battered Holy Cross and Tarleton State, scoring 35 runs in two games, then won a tight 6-4 battle vs. UC Santa Barbara to advance.
Oregon enters with a team ERA of 3.98, good for the 11th-best mark in the nation. The Ducks have their horses, and they’ll lean on them.
Righty Will Sanford struck out 14 over 6.1 scoreless innings vs. Washington State last weekend, while lefty Miles Gosztola held Oregon State to 1 run over six IP in the win that sent Oregon to its third super regional in the last four years. Tanner Bradley is a shutdown weapon in the pen — his ERA is down to 1.76 over 51 innings and 30 appearances.
Texas’ bullpen has looked shaky at points this season, but it has the No. 1 arm in this super regional without question. Sophomore LHP Dylan Volantis (1.94 ERA over 83.1 IP with 116 K) was the Just Baseball SEC Pitcher of the Year, and he headlines the rotation. Freshman righty Sam Cozart has emerged as the top reliever for the Longhorns.
Righty Ruger Riojas is a big X-factor. He had an All-American level first half to the season, tapered off down the stretch but just threw five innings of one-run ball against UCSB last weekend. He’s a gamer.
The Texas lineup is quite dynamic. Outfielders Aiden Robbins and Anthony Pack Jr. have been at the heart of things all year long, and they each hit four home runs last weekend.
Pack is Just Baseball’s SEC Freshman of the Year and leads the team with a .358 average. Robbins is a firecracker and leads with 76 hits, 23 homers and 62 RBI. Sandwiched between them at the top of the lineup is catcher Carson Tinney, who’s been red-hot and now has 21 homers and 56 RBI to his name, along with an elite glove behind the dish.
Oregon won’t be totally out-gunned in the star department, however. The middle infield duo of second baseman Ryan Cooney and shortstop Maddox Maloney swallow up just about everything. Cooney (.335/.424/.531) is a magnetic leadoff man for the Ducks.
Third baseman Drew Smith leads the team with 15 bombs and 61 RBI. Designated hitter Naulivou Lauaki Jr. checks in at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, providing a monstrous presence with the swing to boot. He homered twice last weekend.
Expect both teams to pitch it well. Disch-Falk Field can feel rather large, especially compared to other SEC parks, but it won’t be anything new for Oregon. And don’t expect this weekend to feel daunting for the Ducks, either. They closed their regular season against UCLA, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, and USC, which just beat Texas A&M twice in College Station. They know what big games feel like.
Texas is after its first trip to Omaha since 2022. Oregon’s lone CWS appearance came in 1954, and this is only its fourth time in a super regional. Two well-balanced teams will go at it on The Forty Acres, but back the Longhorns to lean on its luminaries and come out on top in a tight three-game battle.
Athens Super Regional (Mississippi State vs. Georgia)
Winner Projection: Georgia Bulldogs
One of two SEC vs. SEC super regionals on tap this weekend, Mississippi State heads to Athens with revenge on its mind. Georgia, eyeing its first trip to Omaha since 2008, will hope it still has State’s number on a grander stage.
The pair of Bulldogs have squared off four times this season, and it’s been Georgia that’s come out on top all four times. At the beginning of April, it went to Dudy Noble Field in Starkville and swept State, taking a trio of close games with scores of 10-9, 3-1 and 8-5, the latter of which came in 10 innings. Two weeks ago in Hoover, UGA took a 5-3 win in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Both teams hosted a regional last weekend, and both went 3-0. Georgia’s potent offense has garnered headlines, but its pitching stole the show, allowing just 5 total runs in a win over Long Island and pair of victories vs. Liberty.
Mississippi State smashed its way through the Starkville regional, bashing Lipscomb, Cincinnati and Louisiana pitching to the tune of 39 runs. It’s the first time MSU has won a regional since 2022, when it finally broke through and won its first College World Series title.
Both teams can rake, as you likely already know. Georgia leads the nation in home runs with 165, while State is eighth with 117. Each lineup boasts depth, and both Wes Johnson and Brian O’Connor won’t shy away from going deep into their benches. Both teams have 11 players who’ve driven in 20 or more runs this season.
Georgia catcher and Just Baseball SEC Player of the Year Daniel Jackson leads the way. Putting together one of the best seasons in SEC history, the junior has swatted 29 homers, stolen 25 bases and enters the weekend slashing .396/.493/.830. Center fielder Rylan Lujo also obtained Just Baseball All-SEC honors after hitting .394 with 15 extra-base hits and 25 RBI in SEC play.
UGA will be without star third baseman Tre Phelps (.370/.490/.674) on Friday. He was ejected in the regional-clinching win over Liberty on Sunday for taunting after hitting a home run. That’s a notable omission which will likely lead to Michael O’Shaugnessy (.285/.399/.669) taking the reins at third for game one.
Mississippi State counters with its fair share of boppers, most notably third baseman Ace Reese. Another member of the Just Baseball All-SEC Team, the junior is up to 21 doubles, 22 homers and 72 RBI. Freshman phenom outfielder Jacob Parker continued his incredible first season of college baseball over the weekend with a seven-hit weekend that landed him regional MVP honors. He’s now slashing .340/.446/.717 with 16 bombs and 58 RBI.
Pitching is essentially the key to every series at this stage in the season, but it remains especially true in this matchup. State has the edge thanks to ace left-hander Tomas Valincius (2.99 ERA in 93.1 IP with 130 K), but the big X-factor is right-hander Ryan McPherson. Injury kept the sophomore out of action for a couple of months, but he returned at the tail end of the regular season and just fired five great innings of two-run ball vs. Louisiana last weekend.
RHP Joey Volchko (3.87 ERA in 81.1 IP with 98 K) has taken the ball first for UGA all season. It’s been righties Caden Aoki and Matt Scott that have brought consistency and length to the bump as of late, though. Both had big outings vs. Liberty to ice the Athens regional. If either team has to dip especially far into its bullpen, then it’s anyone’s guess.
Georgia has answered the bell at every turn this season, providing third-year head coach Wes Johnson with what could turn out to be his best shot at getting this program back to Omaha. Both teams will benefit from the Foley Field dimensions, but it sure is tough to hang with UGA in the slugging department.
The red and black Bulldogs punch their ticket this weekend.
2026 MLB Draft Prospects To Watch
| Player | Position | Team | Just Baseball Rank |
| Justin Lebron | SS | Alabama | 12 |
| Ace Reese | 3B | Mississippi State | 15 |
| Ruger Riojas | RHP | Texas | 32 |
| Daniel Jackson | C | Georgia | 33 |
| Joey Volchko | RHP | Georgia | 36 |
| Aiden Robbins | OF | Texas | 38 |
| Carson Tinney | C | Texas | 42 |
| LJ Mercurius | RHP | Oklahoma | 56 |
| Ryan Cooney | 2B | Oregon | 57 |
| Tyson LeBlanc | SS | Kansas | 61 |
| Camden Johnson | 3B/OF | Oklahoma | 66 |
| Maddox Molony | SS | Oregon | 67 |
| Brendan Brock | C/OF | Oklahoma | 82 |
| Dominic Voegele | RHP | Kansas | 95 |
| Brady Ballinger | 1B/OF | Kansas | 97 |
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