How to Watch Alabama Baseball and the 2021 NCAA Baseball Selection Show

The Crimson Tide's postseason fate will be decided on Monday as the teams of the NCAA regionals will be announced

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Publish date:
May 30, 2021 11:39 AM EDT

It all comes down to this for Alabama baseball.

While the Crimson Tide ultimately fell in the fourth round of this past week's SEC Tournament, it had a much stronger showing than many anticipated. After downing No. 24 South Carolina in the first round and then following it up with a 3-2, 11 inning upset of No. 4 Tennessee, Alabama slowly built up its tournament resume following a disappointing regular season.

While back-to-back losses to No. 13 Florida and the Volunteers to close out the tournament certainly won't help Alabama's chances, head coach Brad Bohannon is adamant that his team has done enough to warrant a ticket to an NCAA Regional.

"If we're trying to get the best teams in the postseason — if we're using the eye test — I think we're a No. 2 seed," Bohannon said after his team's loss to Tennessee in the fourth round. "I can tell you this, I think our league should have 12. There is no No. 2 seed that wants any part of Auburn's lineup. There's no No. 2 seed that wants to face Landon Marceaux in Game 1 of a regional, or Tyler Ras and Dylan Smith with Chase Lee and Landon Green behind them."

Alabama finished the season with an overall record of 31-24, with its two wins in the SEC Tournament placing it above the highly-coveted 30-win mark. Despite having injuries to multiple starting pitchers as well as up and down its lineup, the Crimson Tide also managed to pick up 14 SEC wins in a incredibly tough conference schedule.

A schedule that has now been deemed the second-toughest in the nation.

"I've been in this league 18 years as an assistant coach or head coach, and this is by far the best the league's ever been," Bohannon said. "I am exceptionally proud to have 14 league wins. That is so hard to do. I'm not going to apologize for our league record. I believe, if you put teams like Arkansas and Vanderbilt and Tennessee and Florida and Mississippi State in these other leagues, their league records would look a lot different."

With an RPI of 34, eight wins versus top-30 RPI opponents and 18 comeback victories, the Crimson Tide believes it has a case to be selected for a regional.

Here is how you can watch Monday's NCAA Baseball Selection Show, where Alabama baseball's postseason fate will be revealed:

How to Watch Alabama Baseball and the NCAA Baseball Selection Show

When: 11 a.m. CT on Monday, May 31

TV: ESPN2

Online: ESPN app

Alabama 2021 Regular-Season Review: The Crimson Tide finished the season with an overall record of 29-22, including a 12-17 record in the SEC. While pitching has been a struggle all season, the Crimson Tide bats have been fairly productive until recently. Third baseman Zane Denton has frequently been a contributor on offense, leading the team with a .317 batting average and totaling 63 hits with 36 runs and 38 RBIs. In terms of power, catcher Sam Praytor leads Alabama with 13 home runs as well as RBIs with 44 on the season.

Crimson Tide SEC Tournament Recap: Alabama began it's SEC Tournament run with a 9-3 defeat of South Carolina in the first round, advancing to double-elimination play. The Crimson Tide's most important win of the tournament came the next day when it downed No. 4 Tennessee 3-2 in 11 innings. However, its final two games of the tournament were not as fortunate. Alabama first lost to No. 13 Florida 7-2, then 11-0 in a rematch with a vengeful Tennessee team. While its last two games of the tournament didn't go as well as its first two, the Crimson Tide are hopeful that its deep run will be enough to warrant it a bid to a regional on Monday.

Alabama College World Series History: While Alabama has never won a CWS, it has appeared in the event a grand total of five times dating back to 1950. The Crimson Tide has finished runner-up twice — 1983 and 1997. Alabama's last appearance in Omaha was in 1999, when the No. 5-seed Crimson Tide was ousted in the semifinals by No. 1-seed Miami.