USC's College World Series Hopes Take Hit With Regional Hosts Announced

The USC Trojans will not be hosting an opening regional in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. On Sunday evening, the NCAA revealed the 16 sites the regionals. USC missed the cut. Now, the Trojans will have to await the selection show on Monday to know their fate when the full tournament field is shown.

USC finished the regular season and the Big Ten conference tournament with an overall record of 43-15.

USC Misses Out on Hosting Regional

usc trojans andy stankiewicz college baseball world series regional host big ten ucla bruins selection los angeles rivalry — USC’s Kevin Takeuchi, left, picks off Oregon utility Jack Brooks at second as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

USC was knocking on the door of hosting a regional in 2026 NCAA Tournament heading into the bottom of the ninth inning against the No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins on Saturday. A win over their crosstown rival would have not only advanced them to the Big Ten tournament championship game, it would have also given them a signature win on their tournament resume.

🚨 2026 DI Baseball Regional Host Sites 🚨

👉 https://t.co/4UMGre4vOL

The 16 sites are listed in alphabetical order.#RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/fZn8Ism7HE
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) May 25, 2026

The Trojans led the Bruins by a score of 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, two runners on, UCLA first baseball Mulivai Levu stepped into the batter’s box. Levu turned on the first pitch of the at-bat, launching the ball into the right-center field bleachers to win the game for UCLA. In the end, this one swing of the could be the difference between USC playing the regional in Los Angeles or in the eastern time zone later this week.

The following day, UCLA would keep their ninth inning magic alive, tying the game at 2-2 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against the Oregon Ducks. The Bruins would win in extra innings on a walk-off hit by pitch.

USC’s Tournament Projection

Despite not hosting a regional, USC should have a strong seed. According to “D1 Baseball,” USC is projected to earn a No. 2 seed and play at the Fayetteville Regional, hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks. The other two teams in this region according to the projection are the TCU Horned Frogs and the Lamar Cardinals.

The NCAA Tournament is made up of 64 teams with the top 16 highest seeds hosting a regional with four teams in it. These four teams in each regional play in a double elimination tournament against each other, with the winner advancing to the Super Regionals.

The Super Regionals are between two teams that won their regional. They face off in a best of three series that is hosted by whoever the higher ranked team is. The eight winners of this advance to the College World Series.

The College World Series is a place USC hasn’t been since 2001. They last won it all in 1998. The College World Series consists of the eight winners of the Super Regionals. They play in a double elimination tournament with the two top teams meeting in a best of three series for the championship.

USC could still wind up getting here, but the road will be more difficult as they won’t be in their own backyard to start.

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