Louisville Baseball Not Chosen as Predetermined Regional Host
(Photo of Jim Patterson Stadium: University of Louisville Athletics)
INDIANAPOLIS - The Louisville baseball program was not chosen as one of the 20 predetermined regional host sites for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced Friday.
Unlike years past, the regional sites were chosen prior to the end of conference championships due to "health and safety protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic". Of the 20 selected, 16 will be awarded hosting rights at a later date.
“Certainly, this has been a unique season, but the committee is very appreciative of all of the schools that submitted bids to host," committee chair and Stetson AD Jeff Altier said. "We received a number of quality bids from schools around the country that were interested in being a part of this championship, including a few potential first-time hosts."
While the NCAA stated that the selection of the sites have "no bearing on the teams selected to participate or for seeding", Louisville and Florida State are the only teams ranked in D1Baseball's current Top 20 that were not named a potential predetermined regional host. Those bids instead went to Gonzaga and South Carolina who are rankled No. 22 and No. 25, respectively.
Louisville currently sits at 26-15 on the year, including 16-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and rank as high as the No. 11 team in the nation. However, their RPI comes in at 49th and strength of schedule is 75th.
The Cardinals' next action will come at North Carolina for their final road trip of the regular season. First pitch of their three-game series with the Tar Heels is set for Friday, May 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST.
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