d1baseball.com staff | June 6, 2024
Every 2024 college baseball super regional, previewed
Editor's note: The following . Stay locked into D1Baseball's coverage by .
DI baseball super regional tournaments run from June 7 to June 10. Below you will find previews for each region, from . This article will continue to be updated with more regions.
Here are D1Baseball's five reasons to watch each super regional:
*Italics indicate preview is yet to be published
Athens Super Regional Preview
Bryan-College Station Super Regional
Chapel Hill Super Regional: North Carolina vs. West Virginia
![Vance Honeycutt UNC baseball](http://krikya18.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/original/public-s3/images/2024/06/06/Vance-Honeycutt-UNC-baseball.jpeg?itok=v2P4Itnx)
Here are the five reasons to watch the Chapel Hill Super Regional:
1. Super-duper star power: WVU’s JJ Wetherholt and UNC’s Vance Honeycutt.
This super regional will showcase the two most dynamic power/speed talents in all of college baseball in Wetherholt and Honeycutt, both of whom will be drafted in the first round this summer. Wetherholt entered the spring as one of the VERY top contenders for the No. 1 overall pick, but an early-season hamstring injury cost him 24 games, and he returned at far less than 100 percent, but he’s gotten stronger down the stretch. He’s an athletic playmaker at short with top-of-the-scales speed, serious bat speed, and a better hit tool than Honeycutt. But Honeycutt is also an 80 runner, and he is the best defensive player in all of college baseball, with unmatched range and instincts in center field. And of course, he’s also UNC’s all-time home run king. It will be a treat to watch these two dynamic talents battle it out this weekend, and either one of them is capable of changing the series on his own, as Honeycutt did with two home runs in Saturday’s win against LSU.
2. The heart & soul of West Virginia’s Derek Clark.
Clark is something special. After spending his first three seasons at Division II Northwood, he transferred to West Virginia and emerged as a true ace after overcoming an early injury. He’s 8-1, 2.82 on the season with 83 strikeouts against 20 walks in 89.1 innings, and he was money in the Tucson Regional, holding a potent Dallas Baptist offense to one run in a complete-game victory Friday, then getting the final two outs in the regional clincher Sunday. He’s a joy to watch, and an inspiration to undersized guys everywhere. It will be fascinating to watch him take on the explosive and balanced North Carolina offense this weekend, but his advanced feel for both his changeup and slider gives him weapons against hitters from both sides, which is crucial against a UNC order that goes right/left/right all the way through. Here’s what I wrote about West Virginia ace lefthander Derek Clark after seeing him throw a complete game in a win against UCF in April:
Clark is the ultimate “pitchability lefty,” with an easy three-quarters arm action that produces good run on his 88-90 fastball, along with superb feel for his deceptive, tumbling changeup at 77-79 and his sharp slider at 77-80. And he’ll drop down to sidearm to throw a 74-76 sweeper just to give hitters one more thing to think about. At 5-foot-8, 170 pounds (or 5-9, 190, depending where you look), Clark isn’t built like a traditional innings-eater, but that just makes his accomplishments that much more special.
3. Randy Maze’s last ride.
Over 12 seasons as West Virginia’s head coach, Mazey transformed the Mountaineers from Big East also-ran to regular Big 12 contender, despite disadvantages with weather and in-state talent relative to WVU’s Big 12 peers. In 2017, he led WVU to its first regional in 21 years, and in 2019 the Mountaineers hosted a regional for the first time. They made another regional in 2023, and now they have reached their first-ever super regional, after winning the Tucson Regional as the No. 3 seed. Mazey will retire after this season, but his legacy will endure, because he was the architect of a very unlikely success story in Morgantown. Can the Mountaineers carry their coach to Omaha in his final weeks at the helm? It would be a compelling story — and you can be sure the West Virginia faithful will travel in significant numbers to Chapel Hill this weekend to will their team to victory.
4. That Bosh Magic.
Boshamer Stadium doesn’t have a reputation as a particularly intimidating venue for road teams, but the UNC fans really show up in the postseason, and the Tar Heels have a long history of producing memorable and dramatic postseason victories at home, fueled by the energy in the stands. We saw that again in Monday’s regional clincher against LSU, when the Tar Heels rallied from behind in the ninth inning to tie the game, then won it in the 10th — prompting coach Scott Forbes to invoke that “Bosh magic” in his postgame press conference, adding that when Alex Madera delivered the game-winning single in the 10th, “that might be the loudest I’ve ever heard Boshamer Stadium.” The Tar Heels have been superb at home all season long, going 34-2 at the Bosh, and they will be tough to beat in a three-game series in Chapel Hill this weekend.
5. Which gritty role players will play the hero?
On Monday, Wilkerson and Madera came up with the big hits from the bottom of the order to propel UNC past LSU, providing a reminder that star power is far from the only thing that matters in college baseball. On paper, UNC is a strong favorite in this matchup — it ranks 17th in the nation in OPS and 15th in ERA, while West Virginia ranks 129th in OPS and 51st in ERA. But some valuable qualities can’t be quantified, and both of these teams have shown toughness and character in spades. In April, Mazey said “this has been the most injured team I have ever coached”, alluding to extended absences by Wetherholt, catcher Logan Sauve, middle infielder Brodie Kresser and first baseman Grant Hussey. But WVU kept grinding, and then got healthier in the second half, and now this battle-hardened group appears ready for anything.
UNC, meanwhile, had to withstand the losses of two Friday night starters — expected ace Jake Knapp in the preseason, and then freshman ace Folger Boaz nine weeks into the year. But the Heels remade their rotation on the fly, as super-talented freshman righty Jason DeCaro assumed the Friday job and rock-solid lefty Shea Sprague served as a rock on Saturdays all year long.
So both of these teams have overcome their share of adversity, and whichever team loses this weekend, it won’t be for a lack of heart or toughness. At some point this weekend, a lesser-known player will deliver some special performance in a huge moment. And it’s anyone’s guess who that hero will be.
Charlottesville Super Regional: Virginia vs. Kansas State
![Tyson Neighbors KSU baseball](http://krikya18.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/original/public-s3/images/2024/06/06/Tyson-Neighbors-KSU-baseball.jpeg?itok=w0a495mK)
Here are the five reasons to watch the Charlottesville Super Regional:
1. The shortstop show: Kansas State’s Kaelen Culpepper and Virginia’s Griff O’Ferrall.
Two of the nation’s premier shortstops will battle it out this weekend in Culpepper and O’Ferrall, and they are also two of the most dynamic talents in college baseball, period. Both are likely Day One draft picks, and both are a joy to watch. O’Ferrall is the best defensive shortstop in Division I, a true wizard with incredible instincts, range, hands, footwork and overall actions. He can make the dazzling play, and he makes every routine play, while also serving as the engine that makes Virginia’s fearsome offense go. Culpepper is a less polished defender, but he has the athleticism to range deep into the hole and the bazooka arm strength to make any throw a shortstop might ever need to make. He can make your jaw drop on defense at times, and he has considerably more strength than O’Ferrall, with 11 homers and a .570 slugging percentage. He hit for the cycle in K-State’s regional opener against Louisiana Tech, then led the Wildcats to a win against Arkansas superstar Hagen Smith with a three-run homer Saturday.
2. Jacob Ference vs. the Kansas State running game.
Coach Pete Hughes’ Wildcats love to push the action with an aggressive running game, ranking 10th in the nation in stolen bases. Center fielder Brendan Jones (38-for-40) is the biggest threat, and he has taken a huge step forward with the bat this year, helping him get on base more often to utilize his wheels — his OBP has climbed from .374 last year to .441 this year. But Culpepper (17 SB), second baseman Brady Day (16) and third baseman Danniel Rivera (10) are all very good runners as well, and even first baseman David Bishop (15), outfielders Nick English (10) and Chuck Ingram (9) are threats to run. That means Virginia’s pitching staff is going to have to be very diligent with runners on base, picking over liberally and varying their hold times, but it also means catcher Jacob Ference will see his arm tested. On the season, Ference has thrown out 11 of 50 basestealers (22 percent), so this feels like an advantage K-State might be able to exploit.
Ference is also a player to watch offensively, because he has put together an All-America caliber campaign as a transfer from Division III Salisbury, mostly relegating preseason All-America catcher Ethan Anderson to DH duties. In this star-studded Virginia lineup, it is Ference that has the best OPS (1.203), slashing .362/.469/.734 with 17 homers, 13 doubles and 41 RBIs. Ference showed good power in the fall, hitting six or seven homers in scrimmage action, but nobody could have seen THIS coming.
3. The Virginia offensive juggernaut.
The Cavaliers are dangerous on offense every single year, because longtime associate head coach Kevin McMullan and the other coaches do such a great job instilling a disciplined offensive approach throughout the lineup. But this year’s UVa lineup is as good as any the Cavaliers have had in the two-plus decades of the O’Connor/McMullan era. Virginia ranks fourth in the nation in OPS (1.006) and third in scoring (9.5 runs per game). Nine Virginia players with at least 150 plate appearances are hitting above .300, and two others are hitting above .290. And the Cavaliers have more power than ever; historically they have been more of a doubles offense, taking advantage of one of the ACC’s more spacious home fields, but this year’s club has 114 homers, 12th-most in the nation. Kansas State will have its hands full against this unit.
4. The Tyson Neighbors experience.
Neither one of these teams is built around exceptional pitching, although both staffs have coalesced pretty well when it matters most. Lefty Owen Boerema and cutter specialist Jackson Wentworth give Kansas State two solid starters who will need to provide some length this weekend and prevent Virginia’s dangerous offense from racing out to a big early lead. But Neighbors is by far the most talented arm in this entire super regional, and he looms in the late innings if Kansas State can establish a lead in the middle of the game. With a mid-to-upper-90s fastball that averages 95, along with a hammer curveball and wicked slider at are both legit plus offerings on the major league scale, Neighbors has the stuff to dominate anybody, and he has 60 strikeouts in 36.2 innings this year. If his command is sharp, good luck.
5. Jay Woolfolk: Virginia’s X-Factor.
Woolfolk is one of the more famous names in the ACC, having arrived in Charlottesville as a football quarterback who doubled as an electric bullpen weapon for the baseball team. He eventually left the gridiron behind to focus on the diamond, and expectations for him were high heading into his junior year, but he had an up and down campaign, starting the year in the rotation but winding up back in the bullpen by March. Finally, in Sunday’s regional final against Mississippi State, Woolfolk made his first start since March 17 — and turned in the best outing of his career, limiting the Bulldogs to two runs over eight innings of work. That performance surely gave Virginia the confidence to hand the ball to Woolfolk again when the stakes are high this weekend, either as a starter or in a high-leverage situation out of the bullpen earlier in the weekend. With a 91-96 fastball that averages 92.4, a swing-and-miss slider and a quality changeup, Woolfolk has always had the stuff to succeed, and if he can locate like he did last week, he’ll be tough to beat.
Clemson Super Regional
Knoxville Super Regional: Tennessee vs. Evansville
![Evansville Mark Shallenberger](http://krikya18.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/original/public-s3/images/2024/06/06/Evansville-Mark-Shallenberger-baseball.jpg?itok=s7AW3mjz)
Here are the five reasons to watch the Knoxville Super Regional:
1. Tennessee’s College World Series journey through Rocky Top.
Yes, Tennessee advanced to the College World Series last year, but it did so on the road, winning the Clemson Regional and the Hattiesburg Super Regional to advance. Additionally, it advanced to the 2021 CWS playing the regional and super regional rounds at home. It still feels like the Vols have some unfinished business in Knoxville, however, after they lost to Notre Dame in the super regional round that ended their remarkable 2022 season. For all of the success Tony Vitello has enjoyed in such a short period of time as Tennessee’s head coach, he’s especially motivated to guide his team to a national championship after entering the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed for the second time in three years.
2. Does Evansville have another Ace up its sleeve?
Evansville has been playing spoiler as of late. Although they lost their in-season series against Indiana State, which followed a loss to the Sycamores last year in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Purple Aces got redemption by beating ISU in the MVC tourney this year. In doing so Evansville ruined Indiana State’s opportunity to host a regional (Indiana State’s season came to a close at the Lexington Regional last weekend) and earned its first postseason berth since 2006, and its fourth overall in program history. They continued to rock the boat at the Greenville Regional, going 3-1 with a pair of wins against host East Carolina, which includes Monday’s thrilling 6-5 regional title-clinching win.
3. Volunteer power.
Tennessee broke its program record for home runs hit in a season when it slugged five in a 12-3 win against Southern Miss on Sunday. The previous record of 158 home runs was set two years ago, and this year’s group of Volunteers now has 159 dingers, a number that is expected to climb given how dangerous their lineup is. Those 159 homers are also the most in the entire nation, and six of the nine regulars in their starting lineup—Christian Moore, Billy Amick, Dylan Dreiling, Kavares Tears, Blake Burke and Dean Curley—are in double digits, led by Moore’s 29. The Vols are slashing an astonishing .311/.417/.604 as a team.
4. A pair of powerful Aces.
Evansville can’t match Tennessee’s lethal lineup one through nine, but they do have a pair of sluggers that have been especially hot down the stretch. Mark Shallenberger’s three-run home run in the sixth inning against ECU on Monday proved to be the game-winner, quickly turning a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead that Evansville wouldn’t relinquish. That home run was his 17th of the year and his second in as many days against the Pirates. Kip Fougerousse has hit a home run in his last six games with eight in his last nine games, 10 in his last 13 games and 12 in his last 15 games. He is batting 27-for-61 (.443) during that stretch with 29 RBIs, leap-frogging Shallenberger for the team lead in home runs (21). There is no shortage of hot-hitting Evansville batters in the Aces’ lineup for a squad slashing .301/.410/.509 as a team, so there could be plenty of fireworks in Knoxville.
5. Can Evansville’s staff hold steady?
Tennessee’s team ERA is 3.80, the third-best mark in the nation and the best of any team whose season is still alive. Evansville’s staff ERA is 5.95, and the Aces allowed VCU and East Carolina to score 11 and 19 runs during Saturday’s and Sunday’s games at the Greenville Regional (a win and a loss, respectively). The Purple Aces are going to need some of their arms to step forward because trying to outscore the Vols isn’t an especially wise approach. Getting another big outing out of lefthanded freshman ace Kenton Deverman, who moved to 9-1 on the season last Friday by limiting ECU to just one run on three hits over eight innings, is paramount to UE’s success in this best-of-three series.
Lexington Super Regional
Tallahassee Super Regional: UConn vs. Florida State
![Jamie arnold FSU baseball](http://krikya18.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/original/public-s3/images/2024/06/06/jamie-arnold-FSU-baseball.jpeg?itok=mYmCWL7I)
Here are the five reasons to watch the Tallahassee Super Regional:
1. Jamie Arnold.
Now that Wake Forest’s Chase Burns, ECU’s Trey Yesavage, Arkansas’ Hagen Smith and DBU’s Ryan Johnson have been knocked out of the postseason, Arnold is the undisputed top pitcher left standing in the NCAA tournament, and he shortens a best-of-three series significantly because the Seminoles can count on him to give them length and put them in a terrific position to win. Arnold, a sophomore lefthander with a low slot and a Chris Sale-ish look to his operation, is 11-3, 2.45 with 146 strikeouts (fourth in the nation behind Burns, Smith and Johnson) against just 22 walks in 95.1 innings this year. His mid-90s fastball explodes on hitters and is tough to handle even when you know it’s coming, but he also has a putaway slider and a useful changeup. He’s the real deal.
2. UConn’s grit.
The Huskies have their share of talent, but nowhere near the level of Florida State’s sheer talent. If the Huskies win this thing, it will be because of their heart, their toughness, and their discipline. This is a very mature roster that features nine players who transferred from the Division III ranks and play with a chip on their shoulders. It’s a classic blue-collar club that feels like a perfect match for head coach Jim Penders and longtime assistants Jeff Hourigan and Josh McDonald, a group that has a long track record of producing tough players who know how to execute. This team feels a little like an old-school Big West club, the kind of teams we’ve seen pull off road upsets before, because they play ironclad defense, string together competitive at-bats, throw lots of strikes and execute in all phases of the game. The Huskies will not be intimidated.
3. Cam Smith and James Tibbs.
The Seminoles have two players in the heart of the order who will both likely be selected in the first round this summer in sophomore third baseman Cam Smith and junior right fielder James Tibbs. It’s hard to find a more dangerous duo anywhere in college baseball. Tibbs, a potential top-10 overall pick, combines huge lefthanded power that plays to all fields with remarkable control of the strike zone. For much of the season, he had more home runs than Ks, although now he has 25 homers against 30 strikeouts — to go along with 51 walks and a .362/.486/.781 slash line. Smith has a longer, more projectable frame than Tibbs (who is built like a tank and has a compact swing), and as a freshman the length in his swing got exploited, but he has dramatically improved his approach and plate discipline this year. Now he leads FSU in batting (.396) and OBP (.490) while slugging .462. He offers real power from the right side, with 16 homers and 20 doubles, and his defense has improved markedly at third base. There are threats throughout FSU’s lineup, but none bigger than these two.
4. Stephen Quigley and the UConn pitching staff.
Superb pitching played a huge role in UConn’s triumph in the Norman Regional, led by veteran righthander Stephen Quigley, who held host Oklahoma to one run over eight innings in Saturday’s winners’ bracket game, then worked 1.2 strong innings of relief in Monday’s clincher. It’s hard to find teams that have three reliable workhorse starters in this era, but UConn does with Quigley, power righty Ian Cooke and big-bodied warrior lefty Garrett Coe. Add in lefty Gabe Van Emon (an accomplished D-III transfer who had an up and down year but came through in a huge way in the regional final with 7.1 innings of shutout ball), and UConn has four arms capable of providing significant length, so they can piggyback one after the other if they need to. And lefty Braden Quinn plus righty Brady Afthim give UConn two very good bullpen options in the left inning, with swing-and-miss breaking balls that help them get big strikeouts in tight spots. The UConn arms have their work cut out for them against this Seminole lineup, but this pitching staff has a real chance to rein in that FSU offense enough to give the Huskies a chance to pull off the upset.
5. Can Carson Dorsey run it back?
A big key for Florida State is getting the guys behind Arnold on the pitching staff to deliver. There’s plenty of talent on that staff, but it’s been an up-and-down ride, and the bullpen has been vulnerable at times. And once injuries struck Cam Leiter and Conner Whittaker (who is now back in action and continues to build up toward full strength), FSU had to remake its rotation on the fly. Dorsey, a high-profile juco transfer lefty, has proven to be a better fit as a starter than he was at the back end, and he lasted 5.2 innings or longer four times in five starts between April 20 and May 17. He struggled in two outings at the ACC tournament, then bounced back with 8.2 innings of strong work against Stetson in the regional, allowing just two runs (one earned). With a lively fastball that averages 93 and the ability to miss some bats with both his slider and changeup, Dorsey has plenty of stuff. If he can maintain his composure and his command, he’s very tough to beat — but he’ll be tested by a disciplined UConn lineup stuffed with salty veterans who know how to execute, and can get in a pitcher’s head with the inside game.
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The 16 college baseball super regional teams, re-ranked
![](http://krikya18.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/medium_16x9/public-s3/images/2024-06/evansville-baseball.jpg?h=a2f8559b&itok=Z_zcZp6I)