Meet the Other Teams in Tennessee's Regional

Vols on SI take a deep dive into the other three teams: UNC, VCU, and East Carolina, in Tennessee's regional.

Tennessee Volunteers' Manny Marin (4) swings at the ball as Arkansas Razorbacks take on Tennessee Volunteers during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The college baseball regionals are ready to get underway this weekend, and the Vols will look to advance to the super regionals for the sixth-straight year.

They were drawn into the, Chapel Hill Regional along with hosts North Carolina, East Carolina, and VCU.

Here is a breakdown of each team (besides Tennessee) in the regional.

East Carolina

East Carolina University takes on Campbell University baseball on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at Segra Stadium. Fay Ecu Campbell 18 | Andrew Craft / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee’s first and only guaranteed opponent as of right now, the Pirates will be no pushover in this regional.

They won the American Conference behind the pitching of Ethan Norby, who was named the tournament's MVP. He pitched 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts to beat UTSA in the final game of the tournament (winner-take-all format). Jake Herring leads the team in batting average (.358), RBIs (72), and is tied for the most home runs (nine).

This Pirates team can produce fireworks and showed it earlier this season when they beat UNC (the host of this regional) 10-3.

First pitch between Tennessee and them is set for 11:00 A.M. C.T. on Friday.

UNC

Clemson outfielder Bryce Clavon (1) dives back to first under the tag of University of North Carolina junior Erik Paulsen (44) during the bottom of the third inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Friday, April 10, 2026. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

North Carolina was the runner-up in the ACC this season. The Tar Heels have been led by Owen Hull, who leads the team in batting average (.374) and RBIs (75), and Cooper Nicholson, who leads the team in home runs (15).

Freshman pitcher Caden Glauber has a team-best 1.93 ERA as well as a 9-0 record. He will be a challenge for all of the teams in this regional.

The Tar Heels showed why they deserved to host a regional this season with big performances like sweeping 23. Notre Dame, winning the regular season series versus 3. Georgia Tech (although the Yellow Jackets would defeat them in the ACC Championship), and they defeated 22. Boston College leads 2-1 in the season series.

VCU

Nov 13, 2019; Richmond, VA, USA; The Virginia Commonwealth Rams mascot cheers on the court against the LSU Tigers in the first half at Stuart C. Siegel Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The VCU Rams might be the four seed, but they might be the hottest team in the regional. The Rams have scored 40 runs in their last three contests as they took home the Atlantic 10 title.

Sophomore Jacob Lee leads the team in batting average (.342), home runs (17), and is tied for the most RBIs (56), while fellow sophomore Nick Flores is also dangerous at the plate with a .322 batting average, and junior Nate Kirkpatrick is tied with Lee for the most RBIs, also with 56.

Relief pitcher Zach Peters posts a team-leading 1.60 ERA and has six saves this season. If the starting pitchers can keep the Rams from going down too much, Peters, along with the other relievers, can keep VCU in striking distance with any team.