It appears to be a distinct possibility that the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team could end up seeing their name announced as the top overall seed in the 2024 NCAA baseball tournament.
For many fans, at least if you keep up with the chatter on social media, that's a reward that they'd prefer to see the Vols pass on.
D1 Baseball posted their updated NCAA tournament seeding projections on Saturday morning, and the Vols checked in as the #1 overall seed .
Of course, many UT fans might just be having PTSD regarding the last time the Vols were the #1 seed back in 2022. That squad won the SEC regular season title (just like this year) and won the SEC tournament title (Vols currently in the semifinals), so there are certainly some parallels there. The 2022 team unfortunately fell short of Omaha by dropping 2 out of 3 games against Notre Dame in the Super Regional.
However, the issues with the top overall seed go far beyond the Vols in 2022. The top overall seed in the tournament has oddly struggled for an extended period of time. According to the NCAA , the top overall seed has missed the College World Series nine times. It has played in the final championship series in Omaha only twice, and just one top overall seed has won the title - the 1999 Miami Hurricanes in the current format.
That's certainly a lot of bad history on display for the top overall seed. But just because something bad happened in 2015 - or 2022, for that matter - doesn't mean it will happen in 2024.
Regardless of where the Vols end up, they're going to face a good team. That's just the reality of postseason collegiate sports. It's more of a matter of how prepared you are to play than it does about whether there's a 1, 2, or 5 next to your name - or no number at all.
The Vols have managed to find a way to rise to the occasion throughout the year. As such, they'll look to continue to prove they're more than just a number starting next weekend after the field of 64 is announced.
Update (Sunday, 9:30 am ET): The Vols are still locked into the top overall seed as expected in D1 Baseball's newest updated rankings. However, the opposite 16 seed and potential Super Regional host has been changed from East Carolina to Mississippi State. Apparently Hail State did enough in Hoover to warrant getting the final hosting privileges of the tourney. They also have Southern Miss in that region, so - provided of course that the Vols reach the Supers, which can't be taken for granted - you could be looking at either a rematch with the Bulldogs after some chippy moments this weekend, or you could be looking at a rematch from last year's exciting Super Regional in Hattiesburg.
Either way, if the Vols take care of business next weekend, that would make for some spicy, entertaining postseason baseball with a trip to Omaha on the line.
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