The field is set, and Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners baseball team knows exactly who it will be playing when the NCAA Tournament opens on Friday, May 31.
On Sunday afternoon, regional host sites were announced. The Sooners were chosen to host, indicating they were at least one of the top 16 seeds in the nation. On Monday, they found out who they would play this weekend.
The Sooners missed the cut as a national seed, finishing No. 9 instead of landing a projected top eight seed. If the Sooners had finished eighth, they would have been able to host a Super Regional should they advance. The loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament championship game likely made the difference.
Oklahoma will have no easy task trying to advance, as the Sooners are set to host Duke, Oral Roberts, and the UConn Huskies.
The Duke Blue Devils are the two-seed in the region and are fresh off of winning their second ACC Tournament.
UConn is the third seed in this region and hails from the Big East. They won the Big East regular season and are in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season.
Oklahoma’s first opponent in the tournament is Oral Roberts, the Summit League champions. Oklahoma played Oral Roberts in March and earned a seven-inning run-rule shutout, winning 10-0. Game time is set for Friday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Oklahoma’s region isn’t a cakewalk, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Sooners can come out on top with their improved pitching, which failed them in last year’s tournament, and an offense that is much more dynamic than last year.
If the Sooners advance, they will take on the winner of the Florida State Regional, which consists of the Seminoles, Alabama, Stetson, and the Big 12’s UCF.
Oklahoma also hopes their All-Big 12 Second Team outfielder Bryce Madron can go. He sat out the entire Big 12 tournament to rest an injury he sustained in the final regular season series against Cincinnati.
Otherwise, Oklahoma will be in excellent health as it prepares to play this weekend.
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