No. 1 Clemson (45-14)
No. 2 Vanderbilt (31-25)
No. 3 St. John’s (39-15)
No. 4 Morehead State (37-24)
Clemson
The Tigers, hosting for the third straight year in Monte Lee’s short tenure, tied North Carolina for the best record in the ACC with a 22-8 mark and have done it with power and a steady rotation. Clemson ranks second in the nation with 94 homers, and Seth Beer (20) is fourth in the country. Chris Williams isn’t far behind with 17 homers to go along with his team-leading 66 RBI, and Logan Davidson rounds out the power trio (.298/15/45). On the mound, Jake Higginbotham (6-1, 3.27), Brooks Crawford (8-2, 3.35) and Jacob Hennessy (4-3, 3.65) aren’t overpowering, but opponents hit under .255 off each of them. Throw in Ryan Miller (6-1, 2.40, 4 SV), who is fourth with 63.2 IP (all out of the bullpen), and Ryley Gillam (2-3, 0.99, 11 SV), and the Tigers have as much depth as they’ve had in recent memory.
Vanderbilt
The Commodores return to the Clemson Regional as the 2-seed for the second straight year – they won the Regional last year before falling to Oregon State in the Super Regionals. It wasn’t a typical season for Vandy, which finished in the middle of the pack in the SEC with a 16-14 record. It hit .264 and had an ERA of 4.17 this year, compared to .280 and 3.71 last year. Offensively, Austin Martin (.332/1/17/21 SB) and Philip Clarke (.302/4/33) are the only hitters above .300, and Pat DeMarco and Stephen Scott bring some pop with nine and 12 homers, respectively. The Commodores offset nine strikeouts a game (7.7 a game last year) by running (94-115 stolen bases; 54-80 last year). On the mound, the powerful staff strikes out better than one per inning, with Drake Fellows (6-4, 3.81, 94 K, 85 IP, .217 BAA) and Patrick Raby (4-5, 3.47, 62.1 IP, 52 K) capable of shutting down an offense.
St. John’s
The Red Storm, like Vandy, returns to the Clemson Regional for the second straight year. The Big East champs (16-3) went 19-9 away from home and feature a pitching staff that limits opponents to a .223 batting average and a 2.95 ERA. Sean Mooney (11-2, 2.52, 89.1 IP, 25 BB, 100 K) is a premier arm, and Kevin Magee (6-3, 2.48, 72.2 IP, 13 BB, 90 K) is a strong No. 2. The offense has a little pop throughout and boasts six hitters who are above .300. John Valente (.356/5/40/11 SB) does a little of everything, and Jamie Galazin (.327) has 14 doubles, four triples and six homers to lead the team in slugging (.519).
Morehead State
The Eagles earned a trip to Regionals by surprising Tennessee Tech twice in the OVC Tournament. Simply put, Morehead State does it with hitting – eight regulars are hitting better than .300. Equally important is that the Eagles can get on base – five regulars have more walks than strikeouts. Braxton Morris (.374/25 2B/7 HR/59) has had a special year, and Reid Leonard (.347/4/40) overcame a slow start to become a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award for best shortstop. And Trevor Snyder (.337/18/69) is third in the nation in homers. Watch out for Niko Hulsizer, who led the nation with 27 homers and 82 RBI last year. After battling injuries for a chunk of the season, he’s getting hot at the right time. On the mound, the Eagles shuffle a lot of arms, but Dalton Stambaugh (7-3, 6.17) and Cory Conway (8-3, 3.70) have thrown well.